Principal Platform Architect

Anson McCade; Leeds; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology consultancy in the UK is seeking an experienced Digital Platform Architect / Lead Engineer to design, deliver, and support secure digital platforms. This role demands a skilled leader to guide a multi-disciplinary agile team, leveraging extensive cloud transformation experience. Candidates should possess expertise with major cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP), containerisation technologies, and CI/CD practices. Security Clearance eligibility is required. This position is pivotal in shaping the strategic direction for technology solutions.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in large-scale cloud transformations.
• Engagement with public cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Expertise in automation and CI/CD tools like Terraform and Ansible.

Responsibilities

• Design and build modern digital platforms on public cloud.
• Lead technical decision-making processes for the team.
• Mentor colleagues and foster a DevOps culture.
• Manage relationships with senior stakeholders.

Skills

Cloud transformation experience

AWS/Azure/GCP operation

CI/CD practices

Scripting languages

Containerisation knowledge

Agile leadership

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Jenkins

GitLab

Kubernetes

Docker

Job description

We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Digital Platform Architect / Lead Engineer to join a multi-disciplinary agile team. In this role, you will be instrumental in designing, building, and supporting modern, secure, and highly-available digital platforms on public cloud infrastructure. You will be a key technical leader, guiding delivery, mentoring colleagues, and helping to set the strategic direction for our technology solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Design & Delivery: Design, automate, build, and provide ongoing support for modern digital platforms utilizing public cloud technologies.
• Technical Leadership: Lead technical decision-making processes, effectively balancing competing priorities across user needs, non-functional requirements (NFRs), and critical business outcomes.
• Mentorship & Culture: Provide direction, coaching, and mentoring to team colleagues, actively fostering a strong DevOps culture and supporting their professional growth.
• Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders (up to C-level), contributing to the establishment of architectural principles and the setting of strategic technical direction.
• Innovation & Compliance: Champion the use of new and emerging technologies for positive impact, ensuring all developed solutions strictly adhere to security and compliance standards.
• Standards & Strategy: Develop and maintain blueprints, standards, and reference architectures. Contribute actively to account strategies and support pre-sales opportunities where required.

Minimum Requirements

Experience and Expertise

• Proven, hands‑on experience delivering successful large-scale cloud transformations (including migration, modernisation, and platform engineering initiatives).
• Strong practical experience designing and operating modern service platforms utilizing major public cloud providers (AWS, Azure, or GCP) across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS models.
• Expertise in automation and continuous integration / continuous delivery (CI / CD) practices using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Jenkins, GitLab, etc.
• Proficiency in at least one scripting / programming language (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ruby, Go, or Groovy).
• Hands‑on knowledge and experience with containerisation technologies (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker) and infrastructure‑as‑code principles.
• Track record of successfully managing, coaching, and developing technical colleagues.
• Extensive experience leading agile, multi‑disciplinary teams and making effective, pragmatic decisions in fast‑paced delivery environments.

Skills and Communication

• Exceptional ability to clearly and effectively communicate complex technical designs and concepts to both highly technical and non-technical audiences.

Security

• SC Clearance Eligibility: Must already hold or be able to successfully obtain UK Security Check (SC) Clearance. Please note: Sponsorship is not available for this requirement.