Cloud Infrastructure Lead

Cloud Infrastructure Lead £50,000+ depending on experience The Role We are looking for a Cloud Infrastructure Lead who is technically capable, naturally curious and able to take ownership and work things out independently . This is a hands-on role working across our cloud infrastructure, DevOps and platform environments, with a particular focus on Microsoft Azure, Kubernetes, automation and reliability . You don't need to be an expert in every technology we use. What matters is that you have a strong technical foundation, learn quickly and are confident investigating problems, asking questions and finding solutions. You will work closely with our Engineering, Data, Product and wider technical teams. Communication is a major part of this role . You'll need to build relationships, understand how systems work by talking to colleagues, explain technical issues clearly and share what you've learned. Over time, you'll take increasing ownership of our Cloud Infrastructure and have the opportunity to grow into a senior/lead role. About XCM XCM is on a cloud-first journey, transitioning from legacy infrastructure towards a modern, highly automated cloud platform. Our technology environment is complex and constantly evolving. This means there is always something new to learn and problems that require initiative, curiosity and good judgement. You'll be joining an experienced technical team, but we don't expect you to sit back and wait for instructions. We want someone who will get involved, ask questions, understand the bigger picture and take problems away to solve them . What You'll Be Doing Cloud & Platform Engineering Help manage, maintain and continuously improve our Microsoft Azure environments. Design and implement secure, scalable and resilient cloud infrastructure. Support Kubernetes platforms running our products and services. Work with Azure networking, compute, storage, identity and platform services. Help improve platform scalability, reliability, security and performance. Support the migration away from legacy infrastructure. Investigate infrastructure issues and take ownership of finding solutions. Identify opportunities to improve how we operate our cloud environment. Automation & DevOps Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code using technologies such as Terraform and Helm. Automate infrastructure deployment, provisioning, patching and operational tasks. Contribute to CI/CD and GitOps practices. Reduce manual effort and improve the consistency and reliability of our infrastructure. Develop tools and processes that make life easier for the wider technical team. Reliability & Operations Help ensure our platforms remain available, secure and performant. Work with monitoring, logging and observability tools. Investigate incidents and identify root causes rather than simply treating symptoms. Implement preventative improvements following incidents. Support infrastructure upgrades, maintenance and changes. Contribute to disaster recovery, resilience and business continuity. Maintain relevant technical documentation and operational processes. Working With People Communication is just as important as technical ability. You'll be expected to: Speak to colleagues to understand problems and gather information. Ask questions rather than make assumptions. Learn from people around you and quickly turn that knowledge into action. Explain technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical colleagues. Build strong relationships with the people who rely on our infrastructure. Share knowledge and help others understand the systems you work with. Challenge ideas constructively and contribute your own suggestions. Be comfortable saying "I don't know, but I'll find out." What We're Looking For We're looking for someone with a good technical foundation who combines it with initiative, curiosity and excellent communication skills . Technical Experience You'll ideally have experience with several of the following: Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Terraform or another Infrastructure as Code technology Helm CI/CD and Git-based workflows Cloud networking and security Monitoring and observability Windows and/or Linux administration PowerShell, Python or another scripting language Infrastructure automation Production systems and operational support Experience with some of the following would also be useful: Azure Entra ID Azure Monitor & Log Analytics Azure Backup & Disaster Recovery GitOps VMware SQL / PostgreSQL ClickHouse Kafka Networking, firewalls, VPNs, DNS and certificates You don't need to be an expert in all of these. A willingness and ability to learn new technologies is more important. The Person We're Looking For Autonomous You are comfortable being given an outcome rather than a step-by-step set of instructions . You can take a problem, break it down, work out what you need to understand, speak to the right people, research possible solutions and move things forward. You don't wait for someone else to solve the problem for you. A Brilliant Communicator You naturally talk to people and understand that some of the best technical knowledge in a business isn't written down — it's in the heads of the people who built and operate the systems. You're comfortable approaching colleagues, asking questions, listening carefully and joining the dots between different pieces of information. You can explain what you've discovered clearly and keep people informed when something isn't going to plan. A Fast Learner You enjoy learning how things work. When you encounter something unfamiliar, you're interested rather than frustrated. You can absorb a lot of information quickly, retain it and apply it to new situations. You don't need to have worked with every technology we use — you need to be able to learn what you need to know . A Problem Solver You enjoy getting to the bottom of things. When something doesn't work, you're naturally inclined to investigate why , rather than simply look for a quick fix. You're persistent when problems are difficult and comfortable working through uncertainty. Proactive & Curious You don't just maintain systems because that's how they've always been done. You look for opportunities to make things better, faster, safer and more reliable . If you spot something that could be improved, you raise it and, where possible, take ownership of making the improvement. Collaborative & Accountable Although you'll have significant autonomy, you won't work in isolation. You're someone who is happy to ask for help, offer help and share knowledge . When you take ownership of something, you see it through, keep people informed and follow up until it's resolved. How We Expect You to Work A typical problem might be: "We've noticed an issue with X. Can you investigate it and work out what we need to do?" We don't necessarily expect you to already know the answer. We expect you to: Understand the problem. Speak to the right people. Investigate the available information. Research and learn where necessary. Develop potential solutions. Discuss your thinking with the relevant people. Implement the solution. Learn from the experience and improve the process. The ability to take something away and figure it out is one of the most important attributes we're looking for. What Success Looks Like You'll be successful when: You can take ownership of infrastructure problems without constant direction. Colleagues trust you to investigate and resolve technical issues. You quickly develop an understanding of our systems and how they fit together. You build strong relationships across the technical teams. Infrastructure becomes increasingly automated, reliable and maintainable. You identify and implement improvements rather than simply maintaining the status quo. You become a trusted technical point of contact for Cloud and DevOps. You increasingly take ownership of areas of our infrastructure. You continue developing your technical knowledge and progress towards a senior/lead position. Why This Role Is Exciting Real ownership — take responsibility for significant parts of our cloud infrastructure. Autonomy — take problems away and solve them rather than wait for instructions. Learn from experienced people — work alongside knowledgeable Engineering, Data and Technology teams. Variety — work across cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, automation, networking, security and reliability. Growth — develop towards a senior/lead infrastructure position. Influence — help shape how XCM's cloud platform evolves. Modern technology — Azure, Kubernetes, Infrastructure as Code, automation and cloud-native platforms. Collaboration — work in an environment where communication, knowledge sharing and problem-solving are valued.