1294 Senior Cloud Ops Engineer

You will be in a hands-on role that demands strong technical expertise, a problem-solving mindset, and a proactive approach to continuous improvement. You will support the development and operation of cloud Landing Zones and act as a trusted delivery partner for internal stakeholders and project teams. By applying DevOps and automation principles, you will reduce manual overhead, accelerate delivery cycles, and improve operational resilience.

You will contribute to broader strategic goals by supporting the shift from traditional on-premises infrastructure to scalable, cloud-native services aligned with an "as-a-service" delivery model. The engineer will also work closely with security, compliance, and disaster recovery teams to ensure that cloud services are not only high-performing and flexible, but also resilient and governed appropriately.

As Southern Water continues to grow its cloud footprint, this position offers an opportunity to shape how cloud services are delivered across the business. It is ideal for someone looking to deepen their technical expertise while contributing to a major enterprise-wide transformation in digital infrastructure.

Responsibilities to include:

Azure Cloud Engineering (building, configuring, and maintaining Azure cloud environments (IaaS, PaaS, storage, networking, identity).

Deploying and support Azure Landing Zones in line with enterprise architecture standards.

Supporting the transition from IaaS to PaaS services by designing and implementing modern cloud-native solutions.

Monitoring and manage cloud workloads to ensure availability, performance, and security.

Operations & Automation

Implementing infrastructure as code (IaC) using tools such as Bicep, ARM templates, or Terraform.

Automating provisioning, scaling, and maintenance of cloud resources using DevOps pipelines and scripts (PowerShell, Azure CLI, CI/CD etc.).

Monitoring system health, respond to incidents, and participate in root cause analysis and continuous improvement.

Enforcing cloud security best practices, including role-based access control (RBAC), encryption, and secure networking.

Supporting compliance with internal policies and regulatory standards by ensuring guardrails and policies are in place.

Collaborating with Security Operations and Compliance teams to remediate vulnerabilities and audit issues.

Cost Management & FinOps Support

Contributing to cost optimization by right-sizing resources and identifying opportunities to reduce waste.

Use Azure Cost Management tools and dashboards to track and forecast cloud spend.

Process Development & Documentation

Working with infrastructure architects, data platform teams, developers, and project teams to support solution delivery.

Acting as an escalation point for cloud-related incidents and changes.

Assisting with service transitions, knowledge transfer, and training for BAU support teams.

Supporting the implementation and testing of disaster recovery and business continuity plans related to cloud infrastructure.

Ensuring cloud services are resilient and recoverable in line with Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO).

Collaborating with the DR/BCP team to maintain and update recovery procedures and test plans.

Recommending improvements or innovations based on emerging technologies and industry trends.

Knowledge and skills needed:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field or equivalent work experience.

Extensive experience with Microsoft Azure cloud services and PaaS/IaaS solutions.

Strong knowledge of landing zone architecture and best practices.

Proven experience in defining and implementing cloud infrastructure standards and best practices.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Knowledge of IaC tools like Terraform or CloudFormation to provision and manage infrastructure resources programmatically.

Containerisation and Orchestration: Proficient with container technologies like Docker and container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes.

Automation: Strong scripting skills (e.g., Python, PowerShell) and the ability to automate routine tasks and deployment processes for efficiency and consistency.

Security: Expertise in cloud security best practices, identity and access management (IAM), encryption, and compliance frameworks (e.g., PCI DSS, NIST).

Networking: Strong knowledge of cloud networking concepts, including virtual networks, subnets, security groups, load balancers, and VPN configurations.

DevOps Principles: An understanding of DevOps practices and the ability to integrate development and operations workflows for faster and more reliable deployments.

FinOps (Cloud Financial Operations): Experience with managing cloud costs, optimising cloud spending, and implementing FinOps principles to drive cost-effective cloud strategies while balancing performance and scalability.

Capability required:

Cloud Platform Expertise: Expert in MS Azure with a deep understanding of its services, features, and capabilities.

Scaling and Performance Optimisation: Ability to scale cloud resources based on demand and optimize resource utilization for cost-effectiveness.

Cloud Security and Compliance: Expertise in applying security best practices, including identity and access management (IAM), encryption, regulatory compliance and cloud-native security tools.

Troubleshooting: Strong problem-solving and debugging skills to identify and resolve issues quickly.

Documentation: Thorough documentation of configurations, processes, and procedures to ensure clarity and knowledge sharing.

Communication: Excellent communication skills to convey technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Training: Demonstrated ability to train, mentor, and develop team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning, skill-building, and knowledge-sharing within the team.