Senior Cloud Platform Engineer

Zaizi Ltd; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Loyalty Pension

Group Life Assurance

Hybrid working

Job summary

Zaizi Ltd is seeking a Senior Cloud Platform Engineer to design, deploy, and maintain sovereign cloud infrastructure for sensitive UK defence operations. You will work with GCP, GKE Enterprise, and air-gapped environments to support tactical edge analytics and offline workloads.

Key responsibilities include building sovereign Landing Zones, enforcing Zero-Trust security, and delivering secure DevSecOps pipelines in constrained network scenarios.

Qualifications

• Defence & High-Assurance context experience required.
• Active UK SC Clearance or DV eligibility preferred.
• Proven experience delivering cloud platforms within UK Defence or National Security environments.
• Hands-on GCP and infrastructure automation expertise (Terraform, Ansible).
• Deep knowledge of GCP networking and security controls.
• Experience with air-gapped, offline deployments and edge/offline artifact management.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy and maintain sovereign cloud infrastructure for sensitive operations.
• Manage production GCP environments and Sovereign Landing Zones using Terraform/Ansible.
• Operate GKE/GKE Enterprise clusters in air-gapped or low-bandwidth environments.
• Implement Zero-Trust networks, Private Google Access, and SBd-aligned IAM policies.
• Build secure CI/CD pipelines with container scanning and policy enforcement.
• Configure private interconnects and strict data isolation to prevent exfiltration.

Skills

GCP

Kubernetes

Terraform

Ansible

GKE Enterprise

Zero-Trust

CI/CD

OPA/Gatekeeper

Air-gapped deployments

Tools

GKE Enterprise

Istio

Kyverno

Job description

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Cloud Platform Engineer with deep expertise in Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Kubernetes, and High-Assurance UK Defence environments.

In this role, you will design, deploy, and maintain mission-critical, sovereign cloud infrastructure for sensitive national security operations. You will operate at the intersection of modern cloud-native software engineering and strict defense compliance—building automated, air-gapped platforms using Google Distributed Cloud air-gapped (GDC air-gapped) and GKE Enterprise capable of supporting tactical edge analytics and disconnected containerised workloads.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Sovereign Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Design, build, and maintain enterprise-grade GCP environments and Sovereign Landing Zones using Terraform and Ansible.
• Kubernetes Orchestration: Manage, scale, and secure production GKE and GKE Enterprise clusters in air-gapped or low-bandwidth environments.
• High-Assurance Security Architecture: Implement Zero-Trust network topologies, Private Google Access, Service Controls, and IAM policies aligned with NCSC Cloud Security Principles, JSP 604, and MoD Secure by Design (SbD) frameworks.
• Air-Gapped & Edge Deployments: Operate fully disconnected, sovereign cloud nodes (GDC air-gapped) and handle offline artifact management (e.g., container image mirroring, local Helm repositories, offline Terraform providers).
• DevSecOps & Policy-as-Code: Build secure CI/CD pipelines incorporating container scanning, cryptographic image signing, secret management (Vault/GCP KMS), and automated policy enforcement (OPA/Gatekeeper).
• Data Sovereignty & Isolation: Configure private interconnects, network firewalls, and outbound-only proxies to guarantee strict data sovereignty and prevent data exfiltration.

Required Experience

• Defence & High-Assurance Context
• Active UK SC Clearance, ideally MoD Developed Vetting or eligibility for DV.
• Proven experience delivering cloud platforms within UK Defence (MoD, CSOC, DE&S), Intelligence, or National Security environments.
• Working knowledge of UK Government Security Classifications (OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE / SECRET / TOP SECRET), NCSC guidelines, and JSP 604 accreditation loops.
• GCP & Infrastructure Automation
• 3+ years of production experience operating Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Expertise in Terraform for declarative infrastructure management.
• Deep understanding of GCP networking (VPC Service Controls, Cloud Interconnect, Private Service Connect, Cloud NAT, DNS).
• Containerisation & Kubernetes
• Production experience administering GKE / GKE Enterprise.
• Hands-on experience with container security, Service Mesh (Istio), and admission controllers (OPA/Gatekeeper or Kyverno).
• Experience managing air-gapped software deployments where continuous internet connectivity is absent.

Desirable Qualifications

• Certifications: GCP Professional Cloud Architect, GCP Professional Cloud Security Engineer, or Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).
• Experience with Google Distributed Cloud air-gapped (GDC air-gapped) hardware appliances or edge deployments.
• Familiarity with event streaming (Kafka, Cloud Pub/Sub) in low‑bandwidth, intermittent, or limited (DIL) connectivity scenarios.
• Background in Armed Forces technical branches, tactical C4ISR systems, or specialised defence consultancies.

Benefits

• Competitive Pay: Salaries reviewed annually to ensure they reflect your performance and market value.
• Loyalty Pension: We invest in your future. Starting at a 5% employer contribution, we increase this by 0.5% every year after your third anniversary, up to a maximum of 8%.
• Protection: Comprehensive Group Life Assurance for peace of mind.

Purpose & Culture

• Real Impact: Work on mission‑critical projects that secure and improve the UK’s digital infrastructure.
• Autonomy: A culture that empowers you to make decisions, prototype rapidly, and iterate towards success.
• Service & Community: We support those who serve. 10 paid days for Reservist Military Service.

Work / Life Balance

• Time Off: 25 days annual leave + Bank Holidays, with the flexibility to Buy/Sell additional days to suit your lifestyle.
• Giving back: 2 paid volunteering days per year.

Development & Growth

• Master Your Craft: Fully funded professional certifications (AWS, GCP, Agile, etc.) supported by 5 days paid study leave.
• Expand Your Horizons: An additional £500 annual "Personal Choice" fund to learn whatever inspires you—work‑related or not.
• Support: Access to 1-2-1 professional coaching and team training to accelerate your career.

Health & Balance

• Premium Health: Vitality Private Medical Insurance (includes Apple Watch, gym discounts, and rewards).
• Flexibility: Genuine hybrid working with a WFH equipment allowance to perfect your home setup.
• Wellbeing: Cycle to Work scheme and a commitment to sustainable, healthy working practices.