At a Glance
- Tasks: Optimise serverless workflows and enhance our data platform with innovative features.
- Company: Join a vibrant tech start-up revolutionising data extraction and analytics.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, fully remote work, and a chance to shape the engineering landscape.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with high autonomy and excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a growing company while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in software/platform engineering with Azure experience and strong Python skills.
The predicted salary is between 43000 - 46000 £ per year.
Forward Deployed Platform Engineer (Azure Serverless)
Tech Start-Up - UK based – Remote – Full-time
We build a modern data & document platform with embedded analytics used by procurement teams. Azure-first, multi-tenant, and customer-obsessed. As our Forward Deployed Platform Engineer, you’ll own performance, reliability, and rapid customer-led enhancements cross our platform.
In terms of seniority, we’re looking for a professional with at least 5 years of experience in software or platform engineering. You should have real-world experience designing, deploying, and operating production systems — ideally with hands-on Azure experience (or other major cloud platform).
What you’ll do
- Performance: Optimise serverless workflows, APIs, and data pipelines for scale and speed.
- Reliability: Keep SLAs green by ensuring observability, monitoring, and proactive incident prevention.
- Enhancements: Ship thin, high-impact features in our embedded analytics (Next.js/React) and serverless APIs.
- Platform care: Improve CI/CD, testing, and release hygiene so changes land safely and often.
- Collaboration: Work closely with product and delivery teams to translate insights and feedback into technical outcomes.
Our stack (you don’t need all of it)
- Azure serverless: Functions (Python/Node), Durable/Logic Apps, Blob/Queue, Container Apps Jobs
- Datastores & analytics: Postgres on Azure, DuckDB, and data connectors into/out of our platform
- Frontend: Next.js + React powering embedded analytics experiences
What we’re looking for
- Hands-on Azure serverless experience and comfort running real production systems
- Python backend skills for building and extending serverless APIs
- Strong SQL skills (optimising queries, reading plans, using materialized views/indexes)
- Experience designing and integrating with data connectors/pipelines (file, API, or DB sources)
- Experience deploying LLM-based agents or ML-driven agents within cloud environments.
- Pragmatic React/Next.js skills to land small UI changes that deliver big user value
- Solid engineering practices: CI/CD, testing, observability, scalability, and security. Clear communication is key.
Nice to have
- DuckDB experience (or similar columnar/OLAP tools)
- Infrastructure-as-Code (Bicep/Terraform), Azure security (Key Vault/MSI), and multi-tenant know-how
- Familiarity with data extraction or transformation pipelines.
- Domain curiosity around invoices, contracts, telecom/IT spend
Impact in your first 90 days
- Ship 1–2 measurable performance wins
- Stabilise workflows with better observability and back-pressure
- Lead a customer-led enhancement from brief to production
What We Offer:
· A competitive salary range of £50,000 to £55,000 per annum.
· Fully Remote working arrangements to support work-life balance.
· The opportunity to be part of a growing tech start-up with a vibrant culture.
· The chance to lead and shape the engineering landscape of a growing tech start-up\'s.
· A collaborative high-autonomy culture.
Who is Thinking Machine
We make it possible for companies to unlock massive untapped value from their invoices and contracts in the technology sector. Understanding the complexities of technology services, we offer a platform that extracts accurate data from any document format, links that data into a single source-of-record and provides actionable evidence to customers to action relevant business outcomes and cost-saving opportunities.
Founded in 2019 by our CEO Richard Martin, today we’ve processed over a billion dollars in spend across 26 countries and 13 languages. Intrigued? Apply today and join us on this exciting journey!
Follow our Company Page to learn more about us here👉:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thinking-machine-systems/
Forward Deployed Platform Engineer (Azure Serverless) – Tech Start-Up - UK based – Remote in Crawley employer: Thinking Machine
Thinking Machine is an exceptional employer for a Forward Deployed Platform Engineer, offering a fully remote work environment that promotes a healthy work-life balance. With a vibrant start-up culture, employees have the unique opportunity to shape the engineering landscape while enjoying competitive salaries and a collaborative, high-autonomy atmosphere that fosters professional growth and innovation.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Forward Deployed Platform Engineer (Azure Serverless) – Tech Start-Up - UK based – Remote in Crawley
✨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 Thinking Machine 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 Thinking Machine.
✨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 Thinking Machine.
✨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 Thinking Machine 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 Forward Deployed Platform Engineer (Azure Serverless) – Tech Start-Up - UK based – Remote in Crawley
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 Thinking Machine.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Thinking Machine 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 Thinking Machine
✨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 Thinking Machine 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.
