Application Guide

How to Apply for Staff Site Reliability Engineer

at OVO Energy

🏢 About OVO Energy

OVO Energy is a UK-based energy supplier with a clear mission to make energy cheaper, greener, and simpler for a sustainable future. What makes them unique is their commitment to sustainability and innovation in the energy sector, offering a chance to work on technology that directly impacts environmental goals while serving millions of customers.

About This Role

As a Staff Site Reliability Engineer at OVO Energy, you'll be responsible for designing and automating monitoring systems (like Datadog, Prometheus, and Grafana), managing SLOs/SLIs, improving incident response, and optimizing cloud costs. This role is impactful because it directly enhances system reliability and efficiency, supporting OVO's mission to deliver sustainable energy solutions to customers.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve refining monitoring dashboards in Datadog or Grafana to catch issues early, collaborating with teams to define SLOs for critical services, and responding to incidents with a focus on blameless post-mortems. You could also spend time automating repetitive tasks or analyzing cloud usage data to implement cost-saving strategies, all while ensuring systems support OVO's reliable energy delivery.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who OVO Energy Is Looking For

  • Has a strong software engineering background with professional experience in Python, Typescript, Go, or Java, and applies best practices like CI/CD and unit testing to infrastructure.
  • Is an expert in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with hands-on experience in public cloud ecosystems (AWS, GCP, or Azure), including cloud-native networking and storage.
  • Has proven experience in developing and automating monitoring/observability systems (e.g., Datadog, Prometheus, Grafana) and managing SLOs/SLIs.
  • Is skilled in incident management, post-mortem analysis, and cost optimization strategies in cloud environments.

📝 Tips for Applying to OVO Energy

1

Highlight specific examples in your resume where you've automated monitoring tasks or improved incident response processes, using tools like Datadog or Prometheus.

2

Tailor your application to mention OVO Energy's sustainability mission, showing how your SRE experience aligns with making energy systems more reliable and efficient.

3

Include quantifiable achievements related to cost optimization in cloud environments (e.g., reduced AWS costs by X% while maintaining performance).

4

Demonstrate your software engineering skills by linking infrastructure projects to programming languages like Python or Go, emphasizing CI/CD and testing practices.

5

Research and reference OVO Energy's tech stack or recent projects in your cover letter to show genuine interest in their specific challenges.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Emphasize your experience with monitoring and observability systems (e.g., Datadog, Prometheus) and how you've automated tasks to improve efficiency.", 'Discuss your background in software engineering, highlighting projects where you applied programming languages (Python, Go, etc.) to infrastructure problems.', "Connect your skills to OVO Energy's mission by explaining how your SRE work can contribute to making energy systems more reliable and sustainable.", 'Mention specific achievements in incident management, SLO/SLI tracking, or cloud cost optimization, with measurable results.']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Look into OVO Energy's sustainability initiatives and how technology supports their goal of making energy greener and simpler.
  • → Research OVO Energy's tech blog or public case studies to understand their current infrastructure, cloud usage, and any mentioned tools (e.g., AWS, Datadog).
  • → Explore the UK energy sector's challenges and regulations to contextualize how SRE work at OVO might differ from other industries.
  • → Check OVO Energy's career page or LinkedIn for insights into their company culture and recent projects related to reliability or cloud optimization.

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How have you designed or improved monitoring and alerting systems using tools like Datadog, Prometheus, or Grafana in past roles?
2 Describe a time you led or contributed to a blameless post-mortem after an incident. What were the root causes and lasting improvements?
3 How do you balance cost optimization with performance and reliability when managing cloud infrastructure (e.g., in AWS or GCP)?
4 Can you walk through a project where you applied software engineering best practices (like CI/CD or unit testing) to infrastructure code?
5 How would you approach defining and tracking SLOs/SLIs for key services at a company like OVO Energy, given their focus on sustainability?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Submitting a generic resume without tailoring it to highlight SRE-specific skills like IaC, monitoring automation, or incident management.
  • Failing to mention OVO Energy's mission or sustainability focus in your application, which could show a lack of alignment with company values.
  • Overemphasizing generic cloud experience without concrete examples of cost optimization, SLO/SLI management, or software engineering practices in infrastructure.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to OVO Energy!

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