Senior Cloud Platform Engineer

Senior Cloud Platform Engineer | Circa £65,000 + excellent benefits | Permanent | Hybrid We’re looking for an experienced Senior Cloud Platform Engineer to take a leading role in how we engineer, modernise and continuously improve our cloud platforms at Thatcham Research. This is a senior, hands-on technical role where you’ll combine deep Microsoft Azure expertise with technical leadership. You’ll help turn our cloud architecture and strategy into practical solutions, lead complex implementations and create more automated, resilient, secure and scalable ways of working. What you'll be doing: Working closely with our Cloud Hosting Architect and teams across IT, Cyber Security, Data, Business Systems and Product, you’ll be at the heart of our cloud engineering capability. You'll: - Lead the technical activity and priorities of our Cloud Platform Engineering function, providing guidance and technical oversight to other engineers. - Take the lead on complex Azure implementations, from technical planning through deployment, testing and transition into operational support. - Identify opportunities to modernise our existing Azure environment, tackling technical debt and improving resilience, security, performance and cost efficiency. - Drive our use of Infrastructure as Code, automated deployment and CI/CD, using technologies such as Terraform, Bicep, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, PowerShell and Python. - Work across Azure infrastructure, networking, identity, security, governance and hybrid services. - Establish engineering standards, reusable deployment patterns, technical documentation and code review practices. - Share your expertise through mentoring, knowledge sharing and practical technical guidance. - Work with Microsoft, AWS and other technology partners to support cloud delivery and continuous improvement. Skills & experience that will set you up for success in this role: You’ll already be an accomplished cloud engineer with substantial hands-on experience in complex production Azure environments. We're particularly interested in your experience of: - Microsoft Azure, including compute, storage, networking, identity, security and monitoring. - Azure landing zones, subscriptions, Azure Policy, RBAC, private endpoints, firewalls and hybrid connectivity. - Terraform and/or Bicep and building repeatable infrastructure through Infrastructure as Code. - CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation. - Leading complex technical implementations and coordinating cloud engineering activity. - Modernising existing Azure environments and improving reliability, resilience, security and cost efficiency. - Providing technical leadership, mentoring other engineers and establishing good engineering practices. Experience with AWS and hybrid cloud environments would be a great addition, but these are desirable rather than essential. You'll also hold Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) and at least one advanced Microsoft Azure certification. Why this role? For the right cloud engineer, this is an opportunity to have genuine technical influence. You won’t just be responding to tickets or maintaining what already exists. You’ll be helping to determine how our cloud engineering is delivered, improving automation and deployment practices, solving complex technical challenges and building capability across the team. The role has no direct line-management responsibility, so your leadership comes through technical expertise, direction and influence while remaining very much hands-on. If you enjoy getting under the bonnet of Azure, challenging existing approaches and turning good architecture into secure, repeatable and well-engineered cloud solutions, we’d love to hear from you. Did you know... 💡 Research tells us that men are more likely to apply to jobs if they meet only 60% of the criteria, whereas women often hesitate or don't apply unless they meet all of the criteria. This difference in application behaviour can contribute to the gender gap in career advancement and opportunities. We know the perfect candidate doesn't exist! If you think you have what it takes but don't tick every box, we'd still encourage you to apply - it could be a perfect fit! Perks & Benefits 👀 Salary - Circa £65,000 negotiable dependent on skills & experience. - 10% non-contributory pension - 29 days holiday (inclusive of Christmas shutdown) + public holidays - Group Life Assurance (equal to 4 x basic salary) - Group Income Protection (after 6 months’ service) - Salary Sacrifice schemes (cycle to work, home & tech scheme) - Enhanced and competitive parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender or family structure - Moneyhealth’s Financial Coaching & Wellbeing Platform - Health Cash Plan (cash back on eligible medical treatments) - Benenden Health Care (opt-in benefit) - Reward & Recognition Programme - Discounted gym membership - Sports & Social club - Payroll charitable giving - Subsidised on-site restaurant - Free on-site parking When we work 🕒 Our standard working hours are 8:30 - 16:30 Monday - Thursday, early finish on Friday - 8:30 - 15:45 (Talk to us about flexible working if this doesn’t quite suit you – we take work-life balance seriously!) How we work 🏠 / 🏢 We understand the benefits of remote and in-person collaboration and therefore have a hybrid working model – you’ll be expected to work from our office in Thatcham at least two days per week. What we do ⚙️ At the cutting edge of automotive research in the UK, Thatcham Research has a unique role in shaping the design of new vehicles and influencing ever higher standards of safety, security and repair. With an on-site Crash Laboratory, Repair Technology Centre and Training Academy, our research expertise is driving some of the very latest automotive developments in technology, materials and standards in this fast moving and highly technical industry. Our Gamston facility is one of the UK’s leading sites for active safety, trialling and assessing the latest crash avoidance and driver assistance technologies. Our Values 🧡 As an organisation that believes a strong set of Values are key to our organisational success and a sense of belonging for all colleagues, we ask that you understand, represent and apply our Values of Fearless, Inquisitive, Resourceful, Supportive and Trusted and demonstrate these Values throughout the recruitment process. Our Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging 🫶 We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace which values diversity and embraces each individual's authentic self. We are proud to champion a culture where colleagues freely share their diverse perspectives, recognising that these contribute to our innovative spirit. Our journey of growth and understanding is continuous as we actively invest in diversity training, workshops, and partnerships to ensure positive change. Beyond our partnerships with the Automotive 30% Club and Women in Data (WiD), we collaborate with various organisations to advance equity not only in gender but also across ethnicity, age, disability, social mobility, LGBTQ+ identities, experiences, and thinking. Our aspiration is to create an environment where everyone thrives, achieves, and experiences a genuine sense of belonging. Recruitment process 💻 We’re proud to manage our recruitment in-house and believe this direct approach enables us to give you the best possible Employee Experience we can – which starts right here, your application! We’re continuously striving to improve the candidate journey, and transparency (or communication) is a key area of focus – yes, even with salary & benefits. What can you expect from our recruitment process? 🫱🏻 🫲🏽 - Regular updates on the progress / outcome of your application - An initial telephone screening call with a Talent Acquisition Partner - First interview with the hiring manager, usually via Teams - Second/Final interview, in-person at our office (we may give you a role specific task to present on!) - Personalised feedback following your interview – because everyone deserves that! - An opportunity to give us your honest feedback in a short survey on all of the above Check out our post on using AI during your application and interview! We’re committed to removing barriers. If there are any adjustments we can make to better support you, please let us know when you apply. All applicants must have Right to Work in the UK. If you experience any technical issues when completing your application, please get in touch at people.team@thatcham.org and we’ll be happy to help. To ensure fairness and protect your data, we’re unable to accept applications or CVs via email. The best way to apply and to stay updated on your progress, is through our online application form.