Platform Engineer in Newport, Wales

Platform Engineer in Newport, Wales

Newport +1 Full-Time 63000 - 77000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Design and maintain cloud applications, automate processes, and optimise system performance.
  • Company: Join Canada Life UK, a modern and agile organisation focused on building better futures.
  • Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, generous pension, private medical insurance, and professional development opportunities.
  • Other info: Flexible working arrangements available to support your work-life balance.
  • Why this job: Be part of a transformative journey in tech, making a real impact with innovative solutions.
  • Qualifications: Experience in platform engineering, Azure, and scripting languages like Python or Powershell.

The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation. Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues. Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

We are looking for a Platform Engineer with hands-on Azure, Databricks, and IaC experience, to support our transformation and the future growth of the Canada Life UK business. We are on a journey of simplifying our IT estate, removing our legacy systems and delivering innovative solutions through Cloud adoption, AI and expanding our digital services.

As a member of the CLUK Product Engineering team, you will be involved in every stage of the product lifecycle from conception, design, implementation, testing, through to operational support. With automation at the heart of everything we are doing, you should have a strong hands-on understanding of CI/CD tools, to build secure and reliable applications. We are looking for Azure experience, though strong experience in any cloud is welcome.

This role would suit someone with a background in platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, or enterprise data platform support, particularly where Azure, Databricks, Azure Data Factory automation (or equivalent technology), and operational governance are central to the work. This is not a narrow support role or a generic cloud engineering position. The engineer will work across the practical foundations of an enterprise data platform, helping ensure it remains secure, scalable, supportable, well governed, and easy for delivery teams to use.

Key responsibilities

  • Design, implement, and maintain applications in Cloud and On-prem, through CI/CD pipelines using Terraform and Bicep
  • Develop automation scripts for deployment and maintenance of applications
  • Monitor system performance and health; identify opportunities for optimization
  • Ensure compliance with all security policies and standards
  • Ensure platform components are reliable, maintainable, and safe to promote into production
  • Investigate platform issues, security findings, and technical debt items, then drive them to resolution
  • Participate in technical discussions and provide recommendations for improvements
  • Maintain technical documentation, runbooks, standards, and implementation guidance
  • Helping onboard users, teams, services, and workloads onto the platform.
  • Provide guidance to less experienced Product Engineering team members to help them learn and develop their own skills

Essential skills needed

  • Application support within a Financial Services context (SaaS, PaaS, Cloud, On-Prem hosted applications)
  • Relevant experience as a Platform or DevOps Engineer working with enterprise data platforms
  • Highly proficient in scripting languages like Powershell, Python, Bash.
  • Strong experience in provisioning and modifying resources hosted in a cloud-based environment using infrastructure as code techniques e.g. Azure/AWS/GCP and related services
  • Experience supporting Azure Databricks, Azure Data Factory or a similar technology to govern an enterprise data platform
  • Demonstrates following sound engineering practices, especially utilising automation tools, working knowledge of CI/CD pipeline tools such as Azure DevOps, Octopus Deploy, Jenkins or GitHub Actions (or similar)
  • Experience with secrets management, secure configuration, and security remediation practices
  • Used to working within Agile frameworks and can coach others to do the same
  • Good understanding of firewalls, private cloud connectivity, DNS, routing, and service integration patterns
  • Excellent problem-solving and troubleshooting skills
  • Effective communication and enjoys collaboration with cross-functional teams
  • Ability to work both independently and in a team environment

Desirable skills

  • Experience of migrating on-premises infrastructure to the cloud and understanding the challenges involved
  • Familiarity with cloud security best practices, identity and access management (IAM), and encryption techniques
  • Microsoft Azure certifications are a plus
  • Experience working in regulated or security-conscious enterprise environments
  • Experience with monitoring and observability tooling such as Datadog or similar platforms

Benefits of working at Canada Life

We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that's regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you'll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance. We have a fantastic number of other benefits and support services as well as regular personal and professional development.

How we work at Canada Life

Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us. We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures. Our blueprint behaviours shape and influence how we work, and are central to the relationships we have with others. Every day we are encouraged to be more curious, own the outcome, face into things together and find a way forward.

We want colleagues to have rewarding careers with us so we invest in the development of our people, technology and workplaces. That's why we offer a range of training, flexible working and opportunities to grow and develop.

Diversity and inclusion

Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us. We are proud of the progress we're making in DEI, and we continue for it to be a significant focus.

At Canada Life we believe in the power of great people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives coming together to build better futures. Emerging talent is crucial to our growth and creating an environment that continues to inspire us all.

We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part time, for any of our roles should this be a requirement for you.

Locations

NewportWales

Platform Engineer in Newport, Wales employer: Canada Life UK

Canada Life UK is an exceptional employer that prioritises the well-being and development of its employees, offering a modern and agile work environment in the heart of the UK. With a strong focus on employee growth opportunities and a welcoming culture, we empower our team to build better futures not only for our customers but also for themselves. Join us to be part of a legacy that has been shaping financial security since 1903, where your contributions truly matter.

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Contact Details:

Canada Life UK Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Platform Engineer in Newport, Wales

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 Canada Life UK 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 Canada Life UK.

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 Canada Life UK.

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 Canada Life UK 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 Platform Engineer in Newport, Wales

Azure
Databricks
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Terraform
Bicep
CI/CD tools
Scripting languages (Powershell, Python, Bash)

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 Canada Life UK.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Canada Life UK 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 Canada Life UK

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 Canada Life UK 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.