At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the evolution of cloud-native SaaS platforms and mentor a high-performing team.
- Company: Join BigHand, a tech leader empowering legal professionals with innovative solutions.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days holiday, wellness programs, and flexible working options.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse culture that values growth, collaboration, and fun.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping platform strategy and driving innovation.
- Qualifications: Strong experience in Azure, Kubernetes, and leading technical teams.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
About BigHand
BigHand offers technology solutions for busy legal professionals that provide data and insights to increase value and profits. Through our expert knowledge and innovative technology, we enable our customers to achieve enhanced efficiency, better decision-making and harness their competitive edge. We build with tomorrow in mind, transforming ideas into action and empowering our customers to succeed in a world of constant change. We make big happen for our customers. We are a business driven by our values and have these at the centre of everything we do. Our BigHanders are dedicated to building a culture where We Win Together, We Love to Learn, We Do the Right Thing, We Own It and We Find the Fun.
About the role
Join BigHand to lead the evolution of our cloud-native SaaS platforms, combining hands-on engineering with team leadership to deliver secure, scalable, and high-performing solutions on Azure. This is a high-impact role where you will shape platform strategy, drive reliability, and enable faster innovation across the business.
What you’ll do
- As a Lead Platform Operations Engineer, you will combine hands-on engineering with leadership to drive the evolution, reliability, and security of our SaaS platforms.
- Lead & Develop High-Performing Teams
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Platform Operations engineers
- Drive a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and DevOps best practice
- Manage performance, capacity planning, and team development
- Drive Cloud Platform Transformation
- Lead the transition of on-prem systems to Azure (IaaS, PaaS)
- Architect and evolve container-based platforms using Kubernetes and Docker
- Define and maintain platform standards, patterns, and best practices
- Own Platform Reliability, Security & Performance
- Lead incident response, root cause analysis, and platform improvements
- Implement robust monitoring, observability, and alerting strategies
- Drive security improvements aligned to ISO27001, SOC2, and modern SDLC practices
- Ensure strong governance across infrastructure, applications, and data
- Deliver Scalable & Secure Platform Operations
- Build and enhance Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, PowerShell)
- Drive CI/CD maturity using Azure DevOps and integrated security tooling
- Implement SRE principles, BCP/DR strategies, and resilience engineering
- Eliminate manual processes through automation
- Partner Across the Business
- Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, Architecture, and Customer teams
- Influence platform strategy balancing speed, cost, risk, and compliance
- Support customer onboarding and improve deployment processes
- Manage vendor relationships and identify optimisation opportunities
- Continuous Improvement & Innovation
- Track and prioritise technical debt
- Optimise cloud cost and capacity
- Bring emerging cloud, security, and AI knowledge into the organisation
- Champion DevOps and modern engineering practices across teams
What we’re looking for
You are a technically strong, hands-on leader with a passion for building scalable cloud platforms and developing high-performing teams.
Technical Expertise
- Deep experience with Microsoft Azure (Compute, Networking, Security, Data)
- Strong hands-on experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and container orchestration
- Expertise in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) and scripting (PowerShell, Bash, SQL, KQL)
- Proven delivery of CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps YAML essential)
- Experience implementing security tooling (SAST, DAST, container scanning, WAF)
- Strong knowledge of cloud security, encryption, TLS/SSL, certificates, and access control
- Experience with observability, monitoring, and alerting tools
Security & Compliance
- Practical experience implementing ISO27001 and SOC2 controls
- Knowledge of OWASP methodologies and secure development lifecycle practices
- Experience with vulnerability management, PAM, secrets management, and secure access
Platform & Operations Excellence
- Experience running and scaling highly available SaaS platforms
- Strong understanding of SRE, incident management, and operational best practices
- Experience implementing BCP/DR solutions across cloud and on-prem
Leadership & Delivery
- Proven leadership experience managing technical teams (5+ years)
- Ability to lead multiple complex initiatives end-to-end
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
- Ability to balance business priorities with engineering excellence
Mindset & Approach
- Curious, growth-oriented, and continuously learning
- Analytical problem-solver with strong attention to detail
- Comfortable challenging the status quo while driving pragmatic change
- Collaborative, positive, and team-focused
What we offer
- 25 days holiday (exc. bank holidays) + 3 BigHand days off between Christmas & New Year
- Various wellbeing benefits including private medical, vision, online wellbeing programs & webinars, access to online therapy and Employee Resource Groups (ERG)
- Company-wide Wellness day, for our teams all across the globe to switch off and spend the day doing something to nourish their mental health
- Opportunities to give back with company volunteer events and individual volunteer days
- Career growth opportunities and study leave allowance
- Family benefits including enhanced parental leave, secondary caregiver leave and fertility support
- Financial benefits including pension scheme, life assurance, and salary sacrificing
- Cycle to Work Scheme and Tech Scheme
- Growing business with a global presence, flexible working, modern offices, and remote work options
Our DEI Commitment
We welcome the unique value and individuality that you can bring to BigHand. We are an equal opportunity employer and are dedicated to recruiting solely based on capability and potential regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, educational background, national origin, religion, military status or physical ability. Our BigHanders are dedicated to advancing our culture of belonging by embracing differing viewpoints, opinions, thoughts, and ideas.
Lead Platform Operations Engineer in London employer: BigHand
BigHand is an exceptional employer that prioritises a collaborative and innovative work culture, where values such as teamwork, continuous learning, and integrity are at the forefront. With a strong commitment to employee wellbeing, we offer generous benefits including 25 days of holiday, wellness programmes, and career growth opportunities, all within a flexible working environment. Our global presence and focus on meaningful contributions empower our BigHanders to thrive both personally and professionally in the dynamic legal technology sector.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Platform Operations Engineer in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at BigHand or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to BigHand.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like BigHand.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like BigHand that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Platform Operations Engineer in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at BigHand.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at BigHand and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at BigHand
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If BigHand uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
