Cloud Platform Engineering Lead

Cloud Platform Lead London Hybrid (3 days in the office) Permanent Build the cloud platform that others depend on. We're partnered with a high-performing, London-based Insurer operating at scale in a highly regulated environment. The organisation is investing heavily in its cloud capability and is now hiring a Cloud Platform Engineering Lead to take full ownership of its cloud platform and shape how cloud is delivered across the business. This is a true platform engineering leadership role - not just keeping the lights on, but designing, evolving and running a secure, scalable cloud platform treated as a product.Why this role stands out

• Real ownership - end-to-end responsibility for the cloud platform
• Hands-on leadership - stay technical while setting standards and direction
• Engineering-led culture - platform as a product, not a utility
• Modern cloud estate - Azure-first (with some AWS), IaC, CI/CD, automation
• Strategic visibility - work closely with Architecture, Security and senior IT leadership
• Influence without bureaucracy - small internal team, clear decision-making

You'll act as the technical authority for cloud, owning standards, guardrails and outcomes, while steering a trusted cloud services partner to deliver high-quality BAU and project work.What you'll be doing

• Owning the cloud platform architecture (Azure-first, AWS exposure)
• Designing and evolving shared platform services:
  • Landing zones
  • Networking & identity
  • Security controls & guardrails
  • Observability, backup & DR
• Treating cloud as a product with roadmaps, standards and continuous improvement
• Remaining hands-on with:
  • Terraform & Infrastructure-as-Code
  • CI/CD pipelines and automation
  • Reusable modules and engineering patterns
• Embedding security-by-design (NIST, ISO, GDPR principles)
• Acting as a senior escalation point for incidents and outages
• Leading FinOps practices - cost control, optimisation and transparency
• Managing and directing a UK-based cloud services partner from a position of strong technical ownership

What we're looking for

• 8+ years' experience designing and operating cloud platforms (Azure essential)
• Strong background in platform engineering, not just infrastructure operations
• Proven expertise with Terraform and lifecycle management of IaC
• Deep understanding of:
  • Cloud security, networking and identity
  • CI/CD and DevOps practices
  • Containers and modern deployment patterns
  • High availability, backup and disaster recovery
  • Cloud cost optimisation / FinOps
• Experience working in regulated or security-sensitive environments
• Confident communicator able to influence engineers, architects, partners and stakeholders

Experience in insurance or financial services is helpful but not essential - strong cloud engineering capability and leadership matter most.You'll be part of a lean, senior team, working alongside the Architecture Team (EA and Domain), with additional 3rd Party partner support. This gives you space to focus on quality, standards and strategic improvements, not firefighting.If you're looking for a hands-on cloud leadership role where your decisions genuinely shape the platform and the engineering culture, this is one worth exploring. Confidential discussions welcome.