Platform Engineer in Bournemouth

** Freelance Outside IR35 contract role **

** Temporary employment options available **

** Fully onsite position **

Start date: ASAP

Length of contract: Until 3rd April 2026 – with view to extend

Schedule: 40 hours p/week

Location: 5 days onsite in Billingham

Job Title: Platform Engineer (Infrastructure)

Overview

Oxford is seeking a Platform Engineer (Infrastructure) to support the design, implementation, and ongoing operation of core IT infrastructure services within our client’s global environment.

The engineer will work across on-premise and cloud platforms to ensure stability, availability, and security of business-critical systems, collaborating with senior engineers and global IT teams.

The role involves supporting server, storage, network, virtualization, and cloud environments while maintaining compliance with business, security, and regulatory standards.

The successful consultant must be capable of working independently, managing priorities in a fast-paced and highly regulated setting.

Key Responsibilities

• Support operation, configuration, and maintenance of enterprise infrastructure across compute, storage, networking, virtualization, and cloud services.
• Assist in deploying and integrating new systems and technologies in line with FDB security and compliance frameworks.
• Provide 2nd/3rd line technical support for infrastructure incidents and service requests, escalating when required.
• Monitor system performance, capacity, and availability; contribute to proactive optimization and stability improvements.
• Participate in backup, recovery, and disaster recovery activities aligned with business continuity requirements.
• Support SOP development, technical documentation, and configuration baseline management.
• Collaborate with global IT teams to deliver infrastructure projects and ensure compliance with change management processes.
• Participate in validation, testing, and audit readiness for GxP-relevant systems.
• Assist with automation of routine tasks via scripting or configuration management tools.
• Maintain awareness of emerging technologies and support evaluation of improvements to existing platforms.

Requirements

• Degree or equivalent experience in IT, Computer Science, or related discipline.
• 3+ years of experience supporting enterprise infrastructure (Windows, Linux, cloud or hybrid).
• Hands-on experience with Windows Server, Linux (RHEL/Debian), VMware, Active Directory, Citrix.
• Understanding of networking principles (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPN).
• Familiarity with AWS/Azure.
• Experience with backup and recovery platforms (Veeam preferred).
• Strong grasp of infrastructure security and compliance frameworks (ISO 27001 or similar).
• Strong troubleshooting skills and customer-focused approach.
• Excellent communication skills.

Desirable:

• Exposure to Docker/Kubernetes.
• Experience with monitoring tools (SolarWinds, Nagios, Grafana).
• Experience with configuration management (Ansible, Puppet, Satellite).
• Understanding of ITIL and change management processes.
• Experience working in a regulated/GxP or pharmaceutical environment is beneficial.
• Scripting/automation experience (PowerShell, Bash, Ansible).