Associate Cloud Engineer

Who are we? Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and a no‑limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning more than 56 countries.

Responsibilities

• Build, operate, and improve our Azure cloud platform.
• Work on core platform components that support all cloud‑hosted workloads, including subscriptions, identity, networking, monitoring, and deployment automation.
• Contribute to platform changes using Infrastructure as Code (Bicep).
• Support the operation of live environments and investigate incidents.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement preventative improvements.
• Collaborate with senior cloud engineers and architects to deliver roadmap items, improve reliability and security, and enable delivery teams through well‑defined, well‑documented cloud services.
• Take ownership of tasks, work methodically, and contribute to shared systems relied upon across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Familiarity or practical experience working with Microsoft Azure.
• A working understanding of core cloud services such as compute, storage, networking, and identity.
• Experience (or strong interest) in Infrastructure as Code, ideally using Bicep.
• Familiarity with Azure DevOps or similar tools for source control and pipelines.
• Understanding of why environments, subscriptions, and access controls are structured and governed.
• Awareness of cloud security fundamentals such as identity, role‑based access, and secure configuration.
• Experience following engineering standards and change processes in shared environments.
• Comfortable making controlled changes to production or pre‑production systems.
• Interest in monitoring, logging, and understanding how systems behave in real‑world usage.
• Ability to troubleshoot issues methodically and to escalate appropriately when needed.
• Willingness to document work clearly and keep platform documentation accurate.
• A practical, detail‑oriented mindset with care when working on shared infrastructure.
• Good communication skills and the ability to work effectively within a team.
• Comfortable participating in agile ceremonies and collaborative planning sessions, where required.
• Motivated to develop deeper expertise in cloud and platform engineering over time.
• GCSE (or equivalent) Mathematics and English at Grade C, 4, or above – if you do not have this yet, you’ll need to achieve it through a function skills programme in your first year.
• Additional qualifications (any one of the following): 96 UCAS points from three A levels (General Studies accepted), 112 UCAS points with at least 64 from two A levels or equivalent, BTEC Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level three and 15 credits at level two, or a completed level three apprenticeship.

Benefits & Rewards

• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), pro‑rated for part‑year service.
• Life Assurance up to 4× salary.
• Income protection, guaranteeing an income for up to 5 years in the event of an illness or injury.
• Contributory pension scheme – 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution, rising to 5% & 5% in April 2025.
• Access to a Healthcare Cashplan.
• Discounts on gym membership, travel insurance, cycle‑to‑work, car leasing, and technology purchase.
• Access to discounted personal health policies – critical illness, private medical, dental plans.
• A range of commission‑free insurance products, including home, motor, travel and specialist vehicles.
• Hundreds of high‑street retailer discounts.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support employees outside of work.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to ensure that our roles align well with your needs. We can accommodate changes such as flexible hours or hybrid working, where applicable.