The Senior Cloud Operations Engineer plays a critical role in the design, implementation, and ongoing operation of Southern Water's cloud infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on Microsoft Azure. As a key technical contributor within the Cloud Operations function, you will be responsible for ensuring that cloud-based services are available, secure, efficient, and cost-effective. This includes provisioning and managing compute, storage, networking, and identity services, as well as supporting the use of advanced PaaS capabilities and analytics platforms. Enforce cloud security best practices, including role-based access control (RBAC), encryption, and secure networking. Support compliance with internal policies and regulatory standards by ensuring guardrails and policies are in place. Collaborate with Security Operations and Compliance teams to remediate vulnerabilities and audit issues. Document standard operating procedures, cloud configurations, and runbooks. Help maintain consistent operational practices and contribute to knowledge sharing across the team. Work with infrastructure architects, data platform teams, developers, and project teams to support solution delivery. Act as an escalation point for cloud-related incidents and changes. Assist with service transitions, knowledge transfer, and training for BAU support teams. Stay informed on the latest Azure features, cloud architecture patterns, and best practices. Participate in training, certifications, or knowledge-sharing sessions to continuously enhance cloud skills. Recommend improvements or innovations based on emerging technologies and industry trends. 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. 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. Continuous Learning: A commitment to staying up-to-date with evolving cloud technologies and industry best practices, supported by Southern Water. 25 days annual leave + Bank Holidays. Free annual flu jab and eye test vouchers. Pension contributions up to 11% (depending on your contribution). An employee assistance program. A network of sports and social clubs. Company and performance-related bonus. Life assurance equal to 4x salary. Salary sacrifice electric car scheme (after 6 months service). Health Cash Plan. Two paid volunteering days a year. Occupational health service. Discounts with over 800 popular retailers. Digital GP service. Study support may be available for job-related qualifications. Competitive maternity & paternity leave and flexible return to work options. Cycle to work scheme.We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications so if you are interested in the position please do send your application over today to ensure consideration.We value diversity and are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to facilitate your participation in the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to let us know. We are dedicated to ensuring that all candidates have an equal opportunity to showcase their skills and experience.Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support - because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That's why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you'll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position. Our Benefits Company and performance-related bonus Generous pension with up to 11% company contribution Life assurance payment equal to four times your annual salary Health benefits through a Cash Plan Two paid community volunteering days a year 25 days annual holiday Occupational health service Perkbox benefits offering discounts and savings on several products and experiences Study support may be available for job-related qualifications We offer competitive maternity leave and flexible return to work options
