Senior Cloud Engineer

Viridien is an advanced technology, digital and Earth data company that pushes the boundaries of science for a more prosperous and sustainable future. With our ingenuity, drive and deep curiosity we discover new insights, innovations, and solutions that efficiently and responsibly resolve complex natural resource, digital, energy transition and infrastructure challenges.

Viridien are seeking a Senior Cloud Engineer to lead the secure, reliable implementation of cloud architecture within our own and clients’ cloud environments. They will take end-to-end ownership from cloud foundations and automation through to secure, reliable production deployment. They will work closely with the software teams, to ensure that our market leading data transformation software solution can be securely, reliably and repeatedly deployed across a variety of cloud platforms and subject to varying governance and security patterns found within our deployment environments. The role includes implementing and operating Kubernetes platforms and database services (PaaS and VM-based) to meet agreed security, performance, and resilience requirements.

About The Team: Data Hub is a growing and dynamic team of scientists and developers who love solving complex problems. We provide leading edge technology solutions and services to solve our clients’ data transformation and analytics challenges across a range of industries including geothermal, environmental, hydrocarbon and mineral exploration. You will be working in an open and collaborative environment with opportunities to learn, grow, and develop. We have an informal team culture and believe work should be fun and rewarding. You will work hybrid in one of our hub locations (North Wales or Crawley) and you will be working alongside our teams of data engineers, machine learning engineers and software developers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Implement cloud architecture in Viridien and client cloud environments, translating designs into working, production-grade deployments.
• Build and automate cloud foundations: subscriptions/accounts, networking, identity integration, governance/guardrails, and baseline security controls.
• Deliver Kubernetes-based platforms (primarily AKS; EKS or equivalents where needed), including cluster configuration, networking, ingress, certificates, secrets, scaling, upgrades, and operational tooling.
• Own Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD: create and maintain Terraform/Bicep modules, deployment pipelines, environment promotion, and release controls.
• Security-by-design implementation: IAM/RBAC, network segmentation, private connectivity, encryption, secrets management, policy-as-code, logging/monitoring, vulnerability management integration.
• Operational readiness and handover: observability/alerting, backup and disaster recovery, runbooks, support documentation, and knowledge transfer to client operational teams.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues across cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, and database platforms; drive root-cause analysis and preventative improvements.
• Contribute to standards and reusable assets: reference implementations, landing-zone patterns, modules, and engineering guidance to improve repeatability and reduce delivery risk.
• Collaborate with client stakeholders (engineering, security, operations) to validate requirements, manage technical risks, and coordinate delivery plans and change windows.

Qualifications Required:

• Strong track record delivering production Azure environments, including hands-on experience of networking, IAM, governance, and security controls, ideally through working with external clients.
• Significant hands-on experience implementing and operating Kubernetes, including upgrade strategy, cluster security, workload isolation, and operational tooling.
• Proven capability delivering database platforms using both PaaS services and VM-based approaches, with a clear understanding of backup/restore, performance, and HA/DR.
• Strong experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform and/or Bicep/ARM) and CI/CD (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI or similar).
• Solid cloud security engineering knowledge: RBAC/IAM, private networking, key/secrets management, encryption, secure logging, and policy/guardrails.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills across networking (DNS, routing, firewalls), distributed systems, and platform services.
• Comfortable operating with autonomy: planning implementation, owning outcomes, and driving improvements.

Desirable:

• AWS delivery experience and/or any experience with Openstack.
• Experience with landing zones and well-architected frameworks (e.g., Azure Landing Zone, CAF).
• Scripting/automation (PowerShell, Python, Bash).
• Policy-as-code and security tooling integration (Azure Policy, OPA/Gatekeeper/Kyverno, Checkov/TFSec, Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, etc.).
• Hybrid/private cloud experience.
• Experience working under high-assurance security requirements dictated by external parties.

Additional Information:

• Hybrid working available from North Wales or Crawley.
• Opportunity to work across both Viridien and client cloud environments.
• Collaboration with software, data, and machine learning teams on large-scale data and analytics platforms.

Why work with us?

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience.
• Highly attractive bonus scheme.
• Hybrid model and flexible working with up to 2 days at home.
• Initial 22 days annual leave with future increases, complemented by a flexible buying and selling holiday program.
• Company pension with generous employer contribution.
• Wellbeing Unmind app – puts you in control of your mental health.
• A flexible benefits platform with numerous discount schemes - gym membership, restaurants, cinema tickets, and much more!
• Regular social club events, spontaneous reward events throughout the year.
• Cycle purchase scheme.
• Flexible Private Medical & Dental care programmes.
• Sponsorship of visas/comprehensive relocation packages.
• Bank Holiday Swap - our holiday swap program allows you to change it for another day of your choice!
• Relaxed dress code policy.

Learning and Development:

At Viridien, we foster a culture of continuous learning and provide tailored training programs through our Learning Hub, designed to enhance technical, commercial, and personal growth.

We Care About The Environment:

We encourage and actively support a strong sense of community, through volunteering and various company initiatives, as well as a strong company commitment to protecting our environment through sustainable solutions, energy saving and waste reduction enterprises.

Our Hiring Process:

At Viridien, we are committed to delivering a respectful, inclusive, and transparent recruitment experience. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may not be able to provide individual feedback to every applicant. Only candidates whose qualifications closely match the role criteria will be contacted for an interview. We do, however, aim to share personalized feedback with those who progress to the first round of interviews and beyond. We are also dedicated to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible to all. If you require any reasonable adjustments to fully participate in the application or interview stages, please don’t hesitate to contact your recruiter directly. We see things differently. Diversity fuels our innovation, we value the unique ways in which we differ, and we are committed to equal employment opportunities for all professionals.