Cloud Engineer

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP; London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm is seeking an experienced Senior Cloud Engineer to join their team in London. This role focuses on designing, implementing, and managing cloud infrastructures primarily on Azure, and includes mentoring team members and maintaining a security-first mindset in all operations. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with AWS, Terraform, and CI/CD processes.

Benefits

Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives

Continuous Learning Opportunities

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of experience in cloud engineering with a focus on Azure.
• Strong background in IaC, particularly using Terraform.
• Solid understanding of security practices and disaster recovery solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design and manage Azure-based infrastructure ensuring high availability.
• Develop and implement CI/CD pipelines and automation processes.
• Provide mentorship and guide junior engineers.

Skills

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Azure

AWS

CI/CD Pipeline Development

Monitoring and Observability

Mentoring

Problem-Solving

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Terraform

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

Job description

The Opportunity
Key responsibilities:

We are seeking an experienced Senior Cloud Engineer with a primary focus on Microsoft Azure and supplementary experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The ideal candidate will have a strong background in designing, implementing, and managing cloud infrastructures, with expertise in Infrastructure as Code (IaC), particularly using Terraform, proficiency in designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines, and a deep understanding of monitoring and observability practices. A key aspect of this role involves mentoring team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and maintaining a security-first mindset in all cloud operations.

Design and Implementation:
• Architect, deploy, and manage Azure-based infrastructure to ensure high availability, scalability, and security.
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform for automated and consistent environment provisioning.

Pipeline Development:
• Design and implement CI/CD pipelines to streamline application development and deployment processes.
• Integrate containerization and orchestration tools, to enhance deployment efficiency.

Security and Compliance:
• Implement and enforce security best practices across all cloud infrastructures, including identity and access management, network security, and data protection.
• Continuously monitor and assess security vulnerabilities, applying necessary patches and updates to maintain a robust security posture.

Monitoring and Observability:
• Implement end-to-end monitoring and observability solutions on Azure to ensure system health, performance tracking, and real-time insights.
• Develop and improve instrumentation for monitoring, logging, and distributed tracing.
• Proactively monitor systems, infrastructure, and applications to provide input in improving the stability, security, efficiency, and scalability of systems.

Mentoring and Team Development:
• Provide guidance and mentorship to junior engineers, promoting knowledge sharing and professional growth within the team.
• Lead training sessions and workshops to upskill team members in cloud technologies, IaC, and security protocols.

Collaboration and Support:
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to understand infrastructure requirements and deliver solutions that align with business objectives.
• Stay updated with the latest industry trends and advancements in cloud technologies to drive continuous improvement and innovation.
• Provide technical support and troubleshooting for Cloud related issues.
• Provide clear and accurate communications in a timely manner

Documentation
• Maintain comprehensive documentation including configurations, policies, procedures, and troubleshooting guides.

Work Health and Safety
• Comply with WHS obligations and responsibilities in accordance with the requirements for this role as set out on the intranet

Qualifications, skills and experience:
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in cloud engineering, with a strong emphasis on Azure services and practical exposure to AWS.
• Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools, especially Terraform.
• Experience in designing and managing CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Azure DevOps, Jenkins, or AWS CodePipeline.
• Solid understanding of monitoring and observability tools and practices, including experience with Azure Monitor, SCOM, SolarWinds or similar technologies.
• Strong understanding of networking concepts, security protocols, and compliance requirements in cloud environments.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and technically lead, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to identifying and resolving infrastructure challenges.
• Strong communication skills, capable of articulating complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Troubleshooting, incident, problem and change management experience
• Strong awareness of technology trends
• Solid understanding of Disaster Recovery solutions and principles

Success Factors

Bringing my Best
• Works with autonomy to deliver high quality work
• Identifies opportunities to take on stretch assignments
• Embraces change and actively acquires new knowledge and skills to add value to their role

Creating Great Results
• Explores stakeholder needs and perspectives to develop solutions
• Trusted by stakeholders and team for recommendations on areas within specialty
• Adapts communication and approach to different audiences and stakeholder needs

Supporting and Developing others
• Plays a valuable leadership role within the team
• Actively supports others by sharing their firm knowledge and subject matter expertise
• Effectively collaborates within department and across business services to deliver for stakeholders

Enhancing the firm
• Provides advice in the context of firm commercial issues and goals
• Navigates competing tensions to achieve what is in the best interests of the firm
• Makes recommendations on how the firm can adapt to industry changes and developments

Global Competencies

As part of our commitment to professional growth and high performance, all our people are expected to demonstrate behaviors and skills in line with our global competency frameworks. These frameworks cover key areas, which provide clear guidance on what good looks like and support development at every stage of your career with us:
• Personal Leadership
• Builds Authentic Relationships
• Collaborates with others
• Enhances the Client Experience
• Achieves Results

While specific competencies may vary depending on role level, we encourage everyone to aim to perform in line with their relevant framework.

Team
Information Technology

Working Pattern

Full time

Location
London

Contract type
Permanent Contract

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to attracting people from all backgrounds and creating a respectful and inclusive culture where everyone thrives. We see this as essential to our success, including our ability to innovate and achieve sustained high performance. This is a key part of our Values-Human, Bold, and Outstanding.