Principal Cloud Platform Architect

Principal Cloud Platform Architect – Azure & DevOps

• Reading (Onsite twice per month – free car parking).
• £90,000–£100,000 + 15–25% bonus.
• Other benefits – flexible working, enhanced maternity/paternity & adoption leave, contributory pension scheme, life assurance, private medical insurance, 25 days holiday (birthday off).

The Role:

This role sits within and complements the IT Infrastructure team, taking ownership of cloud delivery, platform engineering, and operational excellence across the wider Microsoft ecosystem.

The successful candidate will act as the technical lead for Azure cloud infrastructure and DevOps delivery, helping shape and implement next-generation cloud platforms within a highly regulated financial services environment.

You’ll work closely with infrastructure, development, security, and third-party partners to design, build, and optimise secure, scalable, and resilient cloud solutions - driving both transformation and long-term operational maturity.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role suited to someone who enjoys balancing architecture, engineering, cloud governance, automation, and stakeholder engagement within enterprise-scale Azure environments.

Key Experience Required:

• Strong background leading Azure cloud delivery and platform engineering initiatives within complex enterprise environments.
• Hands-on experience designing and implementing enterprise-scale Azure Landing Zones using Terraform and Infrastructure as Code principles.
• Strong Azure architecture and cloud operations experience across IaaS, PaaS, networking, identity, governance, and security.
• Experience implementing and improving CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices using Azure DevOps and/or GitHub Actions.
• Practical experience with Azure services including Azure Firewall, API Management, Container Apps, Front Door, Key Vault, VNets, and hybrid networking.
• Strong understanding of Microsoft Entra ID and hybrid identity solutions, including SSO, federation, enterprise applications, and modern authentication.
• Experience operating within hybrid cloud environments spanning both on-premise infrastructure and Azure cloud platforms.
• Background delivering or supporting complex cloud migration and transformation programmes.
• Strong understanding of Azure governance and operational best practices, including Azure Policy, Management Groups, Defender for Cloud, monitoring, and cost optimisation.
• Ability to work closely with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, translating business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
• Comfortable taking ownership of technical delivery, mentoring others, and driving engineering standards across cloud operations.
• Strong scripting and automation capability using PowerShell, Bash, Terraform, or similar tooling.

Secondary Requirements:

• Experience working within regulated or compliance-driven environments such as financial services, insurance, healthcare, or government.
• Exposure to serverless and event-driven Azure architectures using Functions, Logic Apps, Service Bus, or API integrations.
• Experience supporting cloud security, audit, risk, and remediation activities within enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with observability, monitoring, and operational tooling such as Azure Monitor, Datadog, Application Insights, or similar.
• Experience working with containers and modern deployment approaches across Azure-native platforms.
• Exposure to modern application integration concepts including RESTful APIs, OAuth2, JWT, and distributed systems.
• Experience supporting platform modernisation, cloud optimisation, or FinOps initiatives.

Desirable Requirements:

• Microsoft Azure certifications such as AZ-305, AZ-400, SC-300, AZ-700 or equivalent.
• Exposure to Azure Databricks, Power Platform integrations, or Azure AI/Copilot technologies.
• Experience working within DevOps-led engineering cultures focused on automation, scalability, and continuous improvement.
• Previous experience acting as a technical lead, cloud architect, or principal-level engineer.

If you’re an experienced Azure Platform Engineer, Cloud Architect, DevOps Lead, or Cloud Delivery Lead looking for a role where you can genuinely influence cloud strategy, architecture, engineering standards, and long-term platform direction - this is an opportunity to make a significant impact within a growing financial services organisation.

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