Lead Cloud Serverless Developer Contract

VML Enterprise Solutions; City Of London; On-site; GBP 76,000 - 99,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology solutions firm in London is seeking a highly experienced Lead Cloud Developer to lead a large-scale Generative AI project. You will be responsible for architectural decisions and managing the development of cloud-native AWS serverless applications. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with AWS services, TypeScript, and cloud security, alongside exceptional leadership and mentorship skills. This role offers a competitive benefits package and opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

Discretionary bonus scheme

Training opportunities

Competitive pension

Medical insurance

Life assurance

Qualifications

• Proven expertise in leading the development of complex, cloud-native applications.
• Hands-on cloud security expert with experience in security implementations.
• Exceptional proficiency in TypeScript and able to mentor team members.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of AWS serverless applications.
• Guide and mentor autonomous squads within the team.
• Drive architectural decisions and champion best practices.

Skills

Architectural Leadership

AWS Serverless Mastery

TypeScript Expertise

DevOps & Automation Champion

Exceptional Communication & Mentorship

Agile Leadership

Tools

CloudFormation

Terraform

Jest

Playwright

Job description

Lead Cloud Serverless Developer Contract

London, England, United Kingdom

Who We Are:

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever‑evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse.

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production and technology. We deliver end‑to‑end solutions that result in revolutionary work.

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a highly experienced and visionary Lead Cloud Developer to join our dynamic team. This is a pivotal role within an exciting, large‑scale Generative AI project, where you will be instrumental in shaping the technical direction and leading the development of complex, cloud‑native AWS serverless applications.

As a technical leader, you will guide and mentor small, autonomous squads, contributing significantly to the overall program's success. You will be expected to drive architectural decisions, champion best practices, and foster a culture of innovation and continuous learning. Our team thrives on exploring cutting‑edge technologies and sharing knowledge, and you will be at the forefront of this evolution, actively contributing to our collective expertise and skill development.

What We're Looking For:

We require a seasoned professional with a proven track record in leading and delivering sophisticated cloud solutions. This individual must be a hands‑on cloud security expert, capable of not only analysing complex cloud environments and security postures but also actively implementing and actioning robust security solutions.

• Architectural Leadership: Proven expertise in designing, architecting, and leading the development of complex, cloud‑native serverless applications at scale.
• AWS Serverless Mastery: Deep hands‑on experience and architectural understanding of AWS Serverless products, including S3, DynamoDB, Lambda, API Gateway and other core services.
• API & Key Management: Deep expertise in analysing current APIs, their security mechanisms, and comprehensive key management strategies, including the design and implementation of robust key rotation processes and secure credential handling.
• TypeScript Expertise: Exceptional proficiency in TypeScript, capable of setting coding standards, performing advanced code reviews, and guiding team members.
• Security & Data Strategy: Demonstrated ability to design and implement robust data governance and security strategies within cloud‑native architectures, ensuring compliance and resilience.
• DevOps & Automation Champion: A strong advocate for DevOps principles, with experience in driving automation, CI/CD pipelines, and operational excellence.
• Infrastructure‑as‑Code (IaC) Leadership: Mastery of an IaC language (e.g. CloudFormation, Terraform), including designing and managing complex cloud environments.
• Advanced Testing Strategies: Expertise in defining and implementing comprehensive automation testing frameworks and strategies across the development lifecycle.
• Exceptional Communication & Mentorship: Outstanding communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to mentor junior developers, articulate complex technical concepts, and influence stakeholders.
• Agile Leadership: Extensive experience leading and influencing technical direction within fast‑paced, agile, and cross‑functional team environments.

Even Better If You Bring:

These additional skills will position you as a key influencer and architect within our team:

• Advanced Serverless Architecture: Architectural leadership in advanced serverless patterns, event‑driven architectures, and deep expertise with AWS Lambda (especially TypeScript‑based implementations).
• DynamoDB Optimization: Deep expertise in DynamoDB Single Table Design, including complex access patterns, performance optimisation, and data modelling for scale.
• Identity & Access Management: Experience defining and implementing secure authentication and authorization flows using SSO and OIDC, and integrating with enterprise identity providers.
• Multi‑Tenancy Architecture: Proven ability to architect and implement multi‑tenant systems with stringent data isolation, security and compliance requirements.
• Microservices & API Design: Extensive experience designing, developing and optimising microservices architectures and robust API Gateways.
• Quality‑Driven Engineering: A strong advocate for Test‑Driven Development (TDD) and a quality‑first engineering culture, with hands‑on experience using frameworks like Jest and Playwright.
• Distributed Systems: Experience developing and leading the architecture of highly available, fault‑tolerant multi‑site or multi‑region applications.
• Cross‑Cutting Concerns: Driving the implementation and standardisation of cross‑cutting concerns (e.g. Observability, Security, Performance, Cost Optimisation) across the platform.
• Generative AI Leadership: Demonstrated expertise and active contribution to Generative AI initiatives, particularly with LLMs and Image Diffusion models, driving their integration, optimisation, and ethical deployment.

What We Can Offer You:

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself and respect who you are.

We offer a great benefits package including a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family‑friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.

Our Personality and Behaviours: We believe that we are what we do, not just what we say. Our shared values and behaviours show how to bring the VML Enterprise Solution's culture to life through the actions we all take every day:

• Connect Meaningfully
• Include Purposefully

Our brilliant, talented people are what makes VML Enterprise Solutions what we are. That’s why we look for people who go beyond and always push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

AT VML Enterprise Solutions

Our Enterprise Solutions division houses strategic consultants, creative and technical architects and skilled developers and operators that together help some of the world’s leading organisations to deliver outstanding digital experiences across all major routes to market worldwide: marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B and social platforms. With over 4,200 experts in 55 operational centres across 34 countries, our capabilities span the entire buying journey from customer acquisition, through engagement, to conversion and loyalty, driving multi‑channel growth for world‑leading brands.

We work with some of the most exciting brands such as The Coca‑Cola Company, EY, Bosch, Unilever, Ford, DFS, Mercedes‑Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Shell and Tiffany & Co. We’ve built over 500 platforms for brands and retailers and generate in excess of $29bn annually for our clients and work with over 50 strategic partners including Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, HCL, Shopify, Sitecore, BigCommerce, commerce tools and Acquia. Our reputation is based on our people, and we believe we have some of the best in the business.

As our business grows internationally, we’re looking for new people to join us on our journey to inspire and take a key role in shaping some of the best commerce solutions, services and websites in the world. Working as a team, no problem is insurmountable; we share in our client’s successes and believe that anyone can show creative bravery no matter what their role is in the team.

WPP (VML Enterprise Solutions) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

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