Cloud Engineering & Operations Lead

Cloud Engineering & Operations Lead

Location: London (Hybrid Working)
Travel: Occasional travel to London, Essex and South Coast
Salary: Competitive + Benefits

Are you a technically strong infrastructure specialist with real depth across Azure, Kubernetes, modern security, and enterprise scale engineering Do you want to shape, build, and lead the evolution of a modern cloud-first infrastructure estate within a highly regulated financial services environment?

This organisation is investing heavily in its technology platforms and is looking for an Azure Technical Lead who can combine hands-on engineering with architectural thinking, security best practice, and strategic influence. If you're someone who enjoys solving complex infrastructure challenges, elevating standards, and making a real impact-this is the role where your expertise will truly matter.

The Role
As the Technical Lead/Azure Platform Specialist, you will take ownership of the organisation's infrastructure and cloud platforms, ensuring they are secure, scalable, resilient, and aligned with best practice. This is a hands-on role with influence.

You will be responsible for cloud engineering, Kubernetes/AKS, identity and endpoint management, security alignment, architectural governance, vendor oversight, and proactive platform improvement.

This is a role for someone who is technically deep, enjoys autonomy, and thrives in a regulated environment where architecture, security, and resilience are paramount.

What You'll Be Doing
Cloud, Infrastructure & Platform Leadership

• Lead the design, build, and optimisation of cloud and on prem infrastructure.
• Act as the subject matter expert across Azure, including compute, networking, storage, and databases.
• Own and mature Kubernetes (AKS) and containerisation across the estate.
• Oversee identity platforms (Entra ID/M365), network design, and core infrastructure services.
• Ensure modern endpoint and VDI/endpoint management capabilities are secure and effective.

Architecture, Strategy & Governance

• Develop and maintain infrastructure patterns, standards, and design principles.
• Contribute to and challenge architectural decisions, ensuring enterprise-scale thinking.
• Collaborate with architecture, security, and group technology teams.
• Lead continuous improvement across infrastructure maturity, tooling, and automation.

Security, Resilience & Compliance

• Maintain a strong security posture across cloud, identity, network, and endpoints.
• Support threat detection, vulnerability management, patching, and privileged access governance.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory expectations (FCA/PRA/regulated environment).
• Contribute to operational resilience, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning.

Service Delivery & Vendor Management

• Manage key third party technology providers, SLAs, and service performance.
• Oversee procurement, contract reviews, and platform assurance.
• Provide technical direction across internal projects and transformation initiatives.

What We're Looking For:

Must Have Technical Skills
Strong hands on Azure cloud experience (compute, networking, storage, databases)
Deep knowledge of AKS/Kubernetes & containerisation (major requirement)
Broad experience across infrastructure security and governance
Strong understanding of Entra ID/M365 identity, access controls, and conditional access
Experience with VDI/endpoint and modern workplace technologies
Strong understanding of enterprise-scale architectures and infrastructure patterns
Awareness of Power BI/Power Platform in a cloud-integrated environment

Experience & Behaviours

• 5+ years in senior infrastructure, cloud, or platform engineering roles
• Experience working in financial services, insurance, or highly regulated environments
• Strong communicator with the ability to articulate technical concepts clearly
• Able to operate across hands-on engineering, design thinking, and stakeholder influence
• Comfortable challenging, improving, and evolving standards and practices

Why This Role?

• Real influence over the future state of the infrastructure and cloud platforms
• Hands-on ownership combined with strategic input
• Modern, cloud centric environment
• Greenfield maturity building, not Legacy firefighting
• Tight-knit technology function with room to innovate and lead

(Please note this role will require regular travel to multiple sites across UK south)

Interested?
If you're ready to shape a cloud-first, secure, modern infrastructure environment-and want a role where your technical depth is genuinely valued-apply now or reach out for a confidential chat.

Working Pattern Hybrid working with an expectation of 2-3 days per week in the London office. The role will also involve periodic travel to regional locations, including Essex, South Coast and possibly further location. Please note regional office visits form part of the office attendance expectation and are not additional travel requirements.

Why Join? This is an opportunity to become a key figure within a business that is actively investing in technology. You'll have the platform to influence cloud strategy, shape operational capability and play a leading role in the organisation's next phase of digital growth. If you have the above and are keen to hear more then please apply for immediate consideration!