Senior AI & Automation Engineer

KERRIDGE COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS CORP; Tankersley; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work policy

On-call compensation

Job summary

Klipboard is seeking an experienced Senior AI & Automation Engineer to design and deliver complex automation, IaC, and AI-driven solutions across Azure and OCI. You will mentor engineers, promote secure-by-design patterns, and drive FinOps-style cost awareness while advancing our AI-first operating model.

Hybrid work policy applies with three days in the office and two days remote. You will collaborate with Cloud Operations to improve resilience, automation quality, and delivery speed across our

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years' experience in automation and scripting.
• Advanced IaC experience across Azure and OCI (Terraform, Bicep).
• Proven design and delivery of complex CI/CD and automation solutions.
• Experience building AI/LLM-assisted tooling or agents.
• Strong security, identity and secrets management knowledge.
• Mentoring engineers and leading technical work.

Responsibilities

• Lead automation, IaC, and AI-powered solutions across Azure and OCI environments.
• Develop reusable automation frameworks, standards, and patterns to improve consistency and efficiency.
• Drive AI-first approaches to improve service delivery and operational effectiveness.
• Lead initiatives to automate provisioning, reduce manual effort, and enhance resilience.
• Design and maintain IaC solutions for secure, reliable deployments.
• Build and enhance CI/CD pipelines for efficient, compliant deployments.
• Embed security and IAM into automation by default.
• Mentor engineers and lead technical initiatives across Cloud Operations.
• Lead code reviews and knowledge-sharing sessions to promote best practices.
• Collaborate with teams to optimize cloud tooling and standards.

Skills

Automation engineering

IaC (Terraform, Bicep)

CI/CD pipelines

AI/LLM tooling

Security & IAM

Mentoring engineers

Azure & OCI

Scripting languages

Tools

Terraform

Bicep

Azure

OCI

CI/CD tooling

Job description

30+ days ago Requisition ID: 3390

"At Klipboard we've introduced a flexible hybrid work policy, where employees spend three days in the office and two days working from home. This approach promotes a balanced work environment that combines office collaboration with the comfort and convenience of remote work."

Klipboard provides specialist software, services and support to deliver fully integrated trading and business management solutions to companies in the distributive trade – wherever they are in the world. With a unique depth of knowledge and experience in ERP/SaaS solutions, Klipboard has a wide range of clients includes wholesalers, distributors, merchants and retailers from small traders to multinational enterprises. Klipboard has offices in the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, South Africa, Kenya and North America. Our mission is simple: to design and deliver high performance, integrated ERP solutions that enable our distributive trade customers to source effectively, stock efficiently, sell profitably and service competitively.

Klipboard is a global, growing business that embraces AI and emerging technologies to enhance customer outcomes, collaboration, and continuous improvement. We’re looking for people who are curious about or fluid with AI, open to change, and excited to learn how technology can improve the way we work and help our customers which is always supported by strong human insight and communication.

A technical lead within our shared-service AI and automation team, which provides and evangelises AI capabilities, automation and tooling to Cloud Operations and associated teams across both Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The Senior AI & Automation Engineer designs and delivers complex automation, Infrastructure as Code and domain‑specific AI agents, and sets the technical direction for how we industrialise provisioning, reduce toil and improve recovery times across our online products and services. The role mentors engineers, leads by example on security and quality, and drives the adoption of an AI‑first, automation‑first approach through influence, knowledge‑share and training. You proactively identify where automation and Infrastructure as Code will deliver the greatest resilience and efficiency gains.

This role may include working as part of an on‑call rota to provide out‑of‑hours support. On‑call is a compensated rota, with the details set out in our on‑call policy.

Key Responsibilities:

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

Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum 10 years' experience
• Extensive hands‑on automation and scripting experience across multiple languages
• Advanced Infrastructure as Code across Azure and OCI (Terraform, Bicep)
• Proven design and delivery of complex CI/CD and automation solutions
• Experience building and operating AI / LLM‑assisted tooling or agents
• Strong grasp of security, identity (Microsoft Entra / IAM) and secrets management
• Understanding of resilience, DR and recovery objectives (RTO/RPO, failover)
• A track record of mentoring engineers and leading technical work

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• Experience applying FinOps to optimise cloud cost through automation
• Familiarity with ISO 27001, SOC 2 or GDPR control expectations
• Experience contributing to engineering standards or reusable patterns
• Klipboard is embracing AI at pace across our products and ways of working. We’re looking for people who are curious about how AI can enhance productivity, decision‑making and customer outcomes, and who are open to learning and adapting as this space evolves.

Company Info

You may also have seen from our recent posts that we are excited to begin sharing our new company name – Klipboard. Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) is becoming Klipboard and our new brand is designed to bring together our expertise across distribution, automotive, retail, rental, transport management, manufacturing, and field service management. We have offices based across the world and we are looking for talented individuals to join our growing teams. Due to our growth over the last few years it is an exciting time to join us as we enter our next chapter! At Klipboard we've introduced a flexible hybrid work policy, where employees spend three days in the office and two days working from home. This approach promotes a balanced work environment that combines office collaboration with the comfort and convenience of remote work.

As a global company, we value and respect the diversity of our workforce, aiming to empower everyone to embrace each other's differences. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to our company and culture. We recognize the benefits of a diverse workforce, where creativity and valuing differences enable us all to thrive and sparks innovation.

If you require any help, adjustments and/or support during the interview and offer process then please advise our TA or HR team.

Research shows that women and other underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for a role unless they meet every listed requirement. However, we recognise that skills and experience come in many forms, and we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every criterion. If you are passionate about this role and believe you have the right mindset and transferrable skills, we would love to hear from you!