At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the strategy and evolution of our Azure cloud infrastructure and team.
- Company: Join Cazoo, a revolutionary automotive retail company transforming car buying experiences.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, generous pension contributions, and extensive health coverage.
- Other info: Dynamic hybrid work environment with excellent career growth and learning opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the automotive industry with cutting-edge cloud technology.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in leading cloud teams and designing secure Azure platforms.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 70000 £ per year.
Cazoo is the ultimate destination for car enthusiasts and buyers alike! As a leader in the market, we pride ourselves on providing unparalleled search tools, expert car guides, insightful reviews, and a comprehensive vehicle price guide. Our mission is simple: to empower buyers to find their perfect car efficiently and with confidence, while also helping automotive retailers reach millions of eager buyers. At Cazoo, you'll be part of a team that's revolutionising the way people buy and sell cars. If you're ready to drive your career forward in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, Cazoo is the place for you.
About the role
A senior leadership role owning the strategy, reliability, and evolution of our entire Azure estate — infrastructure, networking, cloud security, budget management, and platform engineering. You'll report to the Director of Technology, manage a team of Cloud Engineers, and own the platform underpinning our consumer-facing products, data platform, and internal tooling. The estate runs a hub-and-spoke landing zone, AKS-hosted microservices, event-driven architectures, and a growing Databricks data platform, and we're migrating off a legacy VM estate toward cloud-native services. You'll balance perfection against expediency to meet business needs, embedding yourself across technology, product, and commercial — setting expectations, building trust, and striking the right balance between short- and long-term goals.
What we ideally looking for
- Define and own a 3–5 year cloud strategy for Cazoo across infrastructure, networking, security, and platform engineering.
- Drive migration from the legacy VM estate to a cloud-native platform (AKS, Azure Functions, managed services).
- Design and maintain the Azure Landing Zone — hub-and-spoke topology, subscription management, and governance policies.
- Partner with Product, Commercial, and Engineering leadership so cloud accelerates business outcomes; represent Cloud & Security on the Technology Management Team, shaping strategy, culture, and ways of working.
- Manage cloud budgets, drive FinOps, and oversee third-party vendor relationships.
- Drive adoption of AI-assisted engineering, automation, and self-service platform capabilities that improve developer productivity and operational efficiency.
Platform & Infrastructure
- Deep expertise designing and operating secure Azure networking architectures, including hybrid connectivity, segmentation, routing, ingress and identity-aware access patterns.
- Ensure secure, scalable operation across AKS, Azure Functions, and remaining VM workloads.
- Own infrastructure-as-code with Terraform and Helm, ensuring consistency and repeatability across environments.
- Champion DevSecOps and security-by-design with InfoSec, enforcing Zero Trust, compliance, and threat mitigation.
- Maintain observability (Azure Monitor, Prometheus, Grafana, PagerDuty) and operational excellence through incident management, on-call, and continuous reliability improvement.
People & Culture
- Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing Cloud team, foster an engineering culture of feedback, continuous learning, and technical excellence.
- Give feedback, recognise great work, and support career development; own and improve team engagement scores.
- Provide technical leadership and mentorship across the wider technology organisation, not just the Cloud team.
- Bring a calm, steadying presence during incidents and high-pressure periods, and foster an architectural mindset across cloud and infrastructure teams.
Role requirements
- Several years leading Cloud or Platform Engineering teams, with significant Azure-at-scale experience.
- Azure networking: hub-and-spoke, VNets, VPNs, NSGs, ASGs, firewalls, DNS, ExpressRoute, hybrid connectivity.
- Designing, building, and operating secure, scalable Azure platforms (AKS, Azure Functions, managed PaaS).
- Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and Helm, including IaC best practices and governance.
- Proven cloud migration and modernisation programmes (legacy VM → cloud-native).
- Azure security: Key Vault, Managed Identities, RBAC, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Policy, Microsoft Entra ID.
- Observability and monitoring (Azure Monitor, Application Insights, Prometheus, Grafana, PagerDuty) and FinOps/cost-accountability practices across engineering teams.
- Strong grasp of SLIs, SLOs, and error budgets.
- Developing technical strategies for a cloud/infrastructure discipline and gaining senior-stakeholder buy-in; giving clear, actionable direction in complex situations to keep teams aligned.
- Exceptional communication — translating technical direction for non-technical stakeholders — and a natural coaching/mentoring style.
Desirable Skills/Experience (Nice-to-Have)
- WAF technologies — Azure Application Gateway, Azure Front Door, or third-party (Cloudflare, Akamai).
- Azure data services — Data Lake Storage, Databricks, AI Search, Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL Flexible Server.
- Container networking and service mesh (e.g. Istio), plus Azure Container Registry.
- Azure messaging — Service Bus, Event Grid, Event Hubs.
- CI/CD pipelines — Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions.
- API Management platforms — e.g. Azure APIM.
- Azure certifications.
Perks & Benefits
Here’s how we back you:
- Financials: We offer an annual bonus scheme. We more than match your commitment to your pension, so when you contribute 6%, we put in 9%, taking your total up to 15% of your base salary. Quarterly value-led awards with generous cash prizes. Referral Bonus: Recommend a colleague, get £2,000.
- Work-Life: 25 days (plus bank holidays) (increasing after 2 years service). Hybrid role, two days a week based in our Richmond office. Family Enhanced leave after 6 months of service: Maternity/Pregnant Parent Leave: 20 weeks at 100% pay. Paternity/Non-birth Parent Leave: 12 weeks at 100% pay. Volunteer Days: We offer 2 volunteer days a year so you can help out wherever matters to you.
- Health & Peace of Mind: AXA Private Healthcare: High-level coverage for you, partners, and dependents—including pre-existing conditions. Bupa Dental: Level 2 coverage for cashback on preventative, restorative and emergency care. Private GP: 24/7 digital access via Help@Hand. Income Protection: 13 weeks of sick pay, before going onto Long term Illness cover with Canada Life. Life Assurance: 4x basic salary covered by Unum. Specialist Support: Free counselling and menopause/fertility support via Peppy.
- Your Growth: Learning budget and continuous development opportunities. Every manager has a dedicated budget for your specific role development.
- The Extras: Your choice of a MacBook or Windows laptop. Perks@Work: Discounts at over 30,000 retailers and entertainment venues. Annual conference with top tier industry guest speakers. Whether it’s our Summer bash or the annual festive party, we make sure we take the time to bring everyone together and celebrate in style. Free food & drinks in the office. We’re proud partners of Brentford FC, and we share the rewards with you.
Diversity & Inclusion at Cazoo & MOTORS: The best ideas come from people with different backgrounds, experiences and ways of thinking. At Cazoo we are a place where people feel comfortable speaking up, contributing and growing. Bring your perspective. Bring your experience. Be yourself.
Head of Cloud (Azure) in Richmond employer: Cazoo & MOTORS
Cazoo is an exceptional employer that champions innovation and employee growth in the heart of Richmond, UK. With a dynamic work culture that prioritises collaboration and continuous learning, we offer competitive benefits including enhanced family leave, a generous pension scheme, and a commitment to your professional development. Join us to be part of a transformative journey in automotive retail, where your contributions will directly impact our mission to revolutionise the car buying experience.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Cloud (Azure) in Richmond
✨Join the IT Consultancy Buzz
Get involved in local or virtual IT consultancy meetups and forums. This is where we can rub shoulders with industry professionals, get insights into what Cazoo & MOTORS values, and even spot unadvertised opportunities. Don't miss out on these chances to make a name for ourselves in the IT world!
✨Show Off Your Skills
Create a personal project or case study relevant to the challenges Cazoo & MOTORS might face. Use platforms like GitHub or Medium to share your findings. This not only demonstrates our consulting skills but shows a proactive attitude, making us stand out from the crowd when applying for that full-time gig.
✨Leverage LinkedIn for Connections
Follow and engage with the relevant thought leaders and influencers in IT consultancy on LinkedIn. Share insightful content and join discussions to gain visibility. A well-placed comment or shared article could catch the attention of someone at Cazoo & MOTORS!
✨Direct Apply to Cazoo & MOTORS
Let's not forget to apply directly through the Cazoo & MOTORS website! Tailor your application to showcase our understanding of their consulting style and how we can contribute to their projects. A personalised approach can make a huge difference in landing that full-time position!
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Cloud (Azure) in Richmond
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:In IT consulting, it's all about problem-solving, so make sure your CV highlights your analytical skills and any relevant projects you've tackled. Mention specific technologies or methodologies you've used to resolve issues or improve processes; this shows you can think critically and deliver results, which is vital for us at Cazoo & MOTORS.
Highlight Relevant Certifications:Certifications like ITIL, PMP, or even specific tech stack qualifications can really make you stand out. Make sure to include these in your CV, as they not only demonstrate your expertise but also your commitment to staying current in the field. We love seeing candidates who are proactive about their professional development!
Tailor Your Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to connect personally with us at Cazoo & MOTORS. Share stories about your experiences in IT consulting, and how they shaped your desire to join our team. Mention why you’re excited about this particular role, and how you see yourself contributing to our projects.
Keep It Clear and Concise:We're all busy, so make sure your application is easy to read. Use bullet points for key achievements, and don’t overload us with jargon. A clean, professional layout goes a long way. Remember, the clearer your application, the more likely we are to invite you in for an interview!
How to prepare for a job interview at Cazoo & MOTORS
✨Brush Up on Your Technical Skills
For an IT consulting role, be ready to demonstrate your technical prowess. You might face questions on systems integration, cloud technologies, or even troubleshooting specific software. If you have experience with tools like AWS, Azure, or even specific programming languages, make sure you can talk about them fluently.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Approach
IT consulting is all about solving problems for clients. Think about how you can illustrate your approach to a past challenge using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). It's a great way to show how you tackle complex issues and come up with effective solutions.
✨Know the Business Impact of IT Solutions
When discussing your experiences, focus not just on the tech solutions you implemented, but also on their business impact. Employers want to see that you can connect IT with organisational goals. Prep examples that highlight how your tech contributions improved efficiency or reduced costs for past clients or projects.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
Since IT consulting often involves teamwork and client interactions, expect behavioural questions that assess your interpersonal skills. Be prepared with examples that demonstrate your adaptability, communication skills, and how you handle client feedback. Before the interview, think of situations where you worked closely with clients to create effective IT strategies or changes.
