Senior AI & Automation Engineer

Kerridge Commercial Systems; Barnsley; Hybrid; GBP 58,000 - 98,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work policy (3 days in office,

Job summary

Kerridge Commercial Systems is seeking a senior cloud automation engineer to lead complex automation, IaC, and AI-enabled initiatives across Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. You will craft reusable frameworks, drive AI-led improvements, and mentor engineers to advance cloud engineering capabilities.

The role emphasizes secure-by-design automation, cost optimisation via FinOps, and resilient cloud operations, with a flexible hybrid work model and leadership responsibilities across the team.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of relevant experience in automation and cloud engineering.
• Hands-on automation across multiple languages with design delivery of CI/CD.
• Extensive IaC across Azure and OCI, including Terraform and Bicep.
• Experience building AI/LLM-assisted tooling and agents.
• Strong security, identity management, and secrets management practices.
• Understanding of resilience, DR, RTO/RPO, and failover concepts.
• Proven track record mentoring engineers and leading technical work.
• Experience applying FinOps to optimise cloud costs through automation.
• Familiarity with ISO 27001, SOC 2, or GDPR controls is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and delivery of complex automation and AI-powered solutions across Azure and OCI.
• Develop reusable automation frameworks and engineering patterns for consistency and scale.
• Drive AI-first capabilities to enhance service delivery and operational effectiveness.
• Automate provisioning, reduce manual work, and improve resilience of cloud operations.
• Design and maintain IaC solutions ensuring secure, reliable deployments.
• Build and enhance CI/CD pipelines for automated, compliant deployments.
• Embed security and identity controls into automation by default.
• Improve system resilience, recovery capabilities, and performance through engineering.
• Implement cost-optimisation and FinOps practices within provisioning processes.
• Provide technical leadership as a subject matter expert for cloud, automation, and AI.
• Mentor and coach engineers to elevate automation and cloud capabilities.
• Lead code reviews, knowledge-sharing, and training to promote best practices.
• Collaborate with teams to evaluate and optimise cloud, automation, and AI tooling.
• Champion engineering standards that protect customer data and services.
• Contribute to continuous improvement and team strategy across the organization.
• Foster a collaborative, innovative culture and provide leadership coverage when needed.
• Ensure automation aligns with security, governance, and operational standards.
• Role may include on-call out-of-hours support.

Skills

10+ years experience

automation across multiple languages

CI/CD design & delivery

AI/LLM tooling experience

security, IAM, secrets management

resilience, DR, RTO/RPO

mentoring engineers

FinOps / cloud cost optimisation

engineering standards contributions

Tools

Terraform

Bicep

Azure

OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure)

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

Salary: £58,000 - 98,000 per year

Requirements:

• We require at least 10 years experience.
• We require extensive hands‑on automation and scripting experience across multiple languages.
• We require advanced Infrastructure as Code experience across Azure and OCI, including Terraform and Bicep.
• We require proven design and delivery of complex CI/CD and automation solutions.
• We require experience building and operating AI / LLM-assisted tooling or agents.
• We require a strong grasp of security, identity management, and secrets management, including Microsoft Entra / IAM.
• We require understanding of resilience, DR, and recovery objectives, including RTO/RPO and failover.
• We require a track record of mentoring engineers and leading technical work.
• We prefer experience applying FinOps to optimise cloud cost through automation.
• We prefer familiarity with ISO 27001, SOC 2, or GDPR control expectations.
• We prefer experience contributing to engineering standards or reusable patterns.

Responsibilities:

• We lead the design, development, and delivery of complex automation, Infrastructure as Code, and AI-powered solutions across Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure environments.
• We develop and implement reusable automation frameworks, standards, and engineering patterns to improve consistency, scalability, and operational efficiency.
• We drive the adoption of AI-first ways of working by introducing innovative automation and AI capabilities that enhance service delivery and operational effectiveness.
• We lead initiatives to automate provisioning, reduce manual effort, and improve operational resilience across cloud operations functions.
• We design and maintain Infrastructure as Code solutions using industry-standard tools and practices to ensure secure, reliable, and repeatable deployments.
• We build and enhance CI/CD pipelines to support efficient, automated, and compliant deployment processes.
• We embed security, identity management, access controls, and secrets management into automation solutions by default, ensuring secure-by-design practices.
• We drive improvements in system resilience, recovery capabilities, and operational performance through well-engineered automation solutions.
• We implement cost-optimisation and FinOps practices within automation and cloud provisioning processes to improve resource efficiency and reduce waste.
• We provide technical leadership on complex automation, cloud engineering, and AI initiatives, serving as a trusted subject matter expert for the team.
• We mentor, coach, and develop engineers, improving automation, AI, and cloud engineering capabilities across the Cloud Operations function.
• We lead code reviews, technical knowledge-sharing sessions, training workshops, and demonstrations to promote engineering excellence and adoption of best practices.
• We collaborate with internal technology teams and stakeholders to evaluate, implement, and optimise cloud, automation, and AI tooling.
• We champion engineering standards that improve security, compliance, reliability, and the protection of customer data and services.
• We contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, team strategy development, and the advancement of automation and AI capabilities across the organisation.
• We lead by example in fostering a collaborative, innovative, and learning-focused culture that encourages the adoption of modern cloud, automation, and AI practices.
• We support technical decision-making and provide leadership coverage on complex engineering matters when required.
• We ensure automation solutions align with organisational security, compliance, governance, and operational standards.
• This role may include working as part of an on-call rota to provide out-of-hours support.

Technologies:

• AI
• Azure
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• ERP
• IAM
• Support
• LLM
• Oracle
• Security
• Terraform
• AI Agents
• LESS

More:

We are Klipboard, a global, growing business providing specialist software, services, and support for fully integrated trading and business management solutions across the distributive trade. We serve wholesalers, distributors, merchants, and retailers of all sizes, from small traders to multinational enterprises, and operate from offices in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Kenya, and North America. Our mission is to design and deliver high-performance, integrated ERP solutions that help our customers source effectively, stock efficiently, sell profitably, and service competitively. We are embracing AI and emerging technologies to improve customer outcomes, collaboration, and continuous improvement, and we are looking for people who are curious about AI, open to change, and eager to learn how technology can improve the way we work. We offer a flexible hybrid work policy with three days in the office and two days working from home, supporting a balanced work environment that combines collaboration with remote flexibility. We are also evolving from Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) to Klipboard as part of our next chapter of growth.

last updated 36 week of 2026