Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

XPS Pensions Group; Remote; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading pension consultancy is seeking a Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to support an Azure-based Pension Administration system. This remote position requires experience in cloud infrastructure and SQL databases, with responsibilities including server monitoring, maintenance, and supporting business critical applications. The ideal candidate will have strong skills in Microsoft Windows, Azure, and communication. We offer a competitive salary, annual bonus, and various benefits.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual discretionary bonus

25 days holiday with buy/sell flexibility

Flexible benefits scheme

Employee assistance program

Digital GP service

Paid volunteer days

Referral bonuses

Qualifications

• Experience in a Cloud Infrastructure Engineer role or similar required.
• Azure and SQL database skills are essential.
• Team player with good communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Support Azure based Pension Administration system.
• Ensure servers are monitored and patched regularly.
• Respond to monitoring alerts and perform server maintenance.

Skills

Cloud Infrastructure experience

SQL database experience

Strong Microsoft Windows skills

Virtualisation with Hyper-V

Azure, O365, Intune skills

Communication skills

Problem-solving skills

Education

IT qualifications (National Diploma, HND, or degree in IT)

Tools

Hyper-V

PowerShell

Active Directory

Job description

Job description

Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Location Reading

Employment Type : Permanent, Full Time

Grade : Senior Consultant

Remote

REQ003032

About XPS Group :

XPS Group is a prominent UK consultancy and administration firm within the pensions and insurance sectors. As a FTSE 250 company with over 2000 employees, we leverage expertise alongside advanced technology to serve over 1,400 pension schemes and their sponsors. Our goal is to foster a workplace where diverse talents thrive.

About the Role :

XPS Group IT provides IT services to all XPS offices located across the UK and Ireland. XPS currently employs 2,000 employees across multiple business areas. XPS have an in-house IT Service Desk, 2ndline, 3rd line and infrastructure engineers. There is a dedicated Cyber Security Team monitoring the security of the network and servers. There is a primary and secondary data centre which uses Hyper-V servers. Around 200 Virtual and 19 physical servers exist across the business.

This role will be remote however there will be some office attendance.

XPS have many large projects in the pipeline, office moves, migration to the cloud, which will mean the department will remain very busy for the next 18 months+. Some of these projects may require you to travel to other XPS sites or the XPS London data centre.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Infrastructure around the Azure based Pension Administration system.
• Ensure all servers are in monitoring and the monitoring is fit for purpose.
• Respond to monitoring alerts.
• Ensure all servers are patched and conduct monthly patching.
• Perform maintenance on all virtual servers, set-up maintenance plans and proactive monitoring.
• Keep CMDB database up to date and update capacity planning spreadsheet.
• Ensure all servers are backed up, check daily for backup failures and resolve.
• Monitor certificate expiry and update certificates.
• Test that file restore, server restores, and network failover test are successful.
• Business critical application support (XPS Radar) which runs on IIS, SQL, SSL certificates and Windows server. This is hosted in Azure.
• Networking, SD-WAN, switches, routers, Firewalls, load balancer and SonicWALL VPN.

The XPS IT strategy is cloud first, more systems will be moving into the cloud over time.

Additional Responsibilities

• Design, advanced support and monitoring of the Azure environment, Office 365, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Power Automate, Power BI, Intune, MFA and Teams support.
• ADFS, SAML, WAP, Web servers.
• Managing mail flow, Office 365 and Mimecast.
• DRaaS and BaaS with Zerto and Comm Vault (work with existing third party).
• Perform DR test with DRaaS provider based on the annual DR testing schedule.
• Test backups work on a regular basis.
• Provide data for auditors.
• Azure, Storage accounts, management / deployment of Azure resources.
• Scripting (Powershell / Terraform)

Your Profile : Essential

• Previous working experience in a similar Cloud Infrastructure Engineer role or similar
• SQL database experience
• Strong Microsoft Windows skills
• Virtualisation skills with Hyper‑V
• The ability to think on your feet. Where there is no solution, research the problem and update the ticket / knowledgebase
• Strong Azure, O365, Intune, Authentication skills
• Well‑presented and good communication skills
• A passion for technology with an aim to grow into a mature infrastructure role
• Reliable, on time with good attendance
• Must be a team player and work with the various members of IT
• A can‑do attitude is essential. If a user asks a question, the first response should not be no, we should always try to help where we can
• Ability to be reliable, this role will require some regular out of hours working based on regular maintenance

Qualifications

• Some IT qualifications, for example : National Diploma, HND or degree in IT. Or equivalent IT qualifications Azure, MCP / MCSA / MCSE or CCNA

Desirable

• Active Directory / Entra ID experience
• Previous infrastructure or 3rd line experience
• Experience maintaining Dell PowerEdge servers
• Compellent SAN experience
• Hyper‑V cluster experience / Virtual Machine Manager
• Microsoft Failover clusters
• Average SQL server administration
• Competent networking skills
• Experience with backup technologies
• ADFS, ADCS
• DHCP
• Internal and external DNS
• Domain sites and trusts
• MDM with Office 365
• BitLocker
• DFS
• UPS and PDU management
• Certificate management, (SSL), generate CSRs and apply certificates
• PowerShell
• NAS / SAN and iSCSI volume management
• Previous monitoring management (PRTG)
• ITIL V3 foundation
• Maintaining build images
• Decommissioning infrastructure

What We Offer

Enjoy a competitive salary, annual discretionary bonus, and 25 days’ holiday with buy / sell flexibility. Benefits include pension matching, healthcare plans, life assurance, and retailer discounts. We support our team with a flexible benefits scheme, employee assistance, and digital GP service. Participating in volunteering events is encouraged with paid volunteer days available. Referral bonuses are offered for introducing suitable candidates to XPS.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit applications below or contact [e-mail]. Join XPS Group and contribute to a dynamic and inclusive workplace.

Equal Opportunity Statement

XPS Group is committed to diversity and equal opportunities. We welcome applications from all candidates, irrespective of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or belief. As a Disability Confident employer, we ensure accessible and supportive work settings for all employees.

Eligibility

Any employment offer made will be conditional upon you satisfying DBS Disclosure checks, Employment or educational references, Satisfactory credit checks and eligibility to work in the UK before an offer can be made. XPS Group is not able to provide sponsorship to employees.