Senior Cloud Ops Engineer

Southern Water•Worthington, MN

106d•$70,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Are you ready to make a difference in the water & waste industry? Southern Water are going through an immense digital transformation programme and require skilled and talented people to join our supportive and collaborative teams to deliver these transformation initiatives. The Senior Cloud Operations Engineer plays a critical role in the design, implementation, and ongoing operation of Southern Water’s cloud infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on Microsoft Azure. As a key technical contributor within the Cloud Operations function, you will be responsible for ensuring that cloud-based services are available, secure, efficient, and cost-effective. This includes provisioning and managing compute, storage, networking, and identity services, as well as supporting the use of advanced PaaS capabilities and analytics platforms. You will be in a hands-on role that demands strong technical expertise, a problem-solving mindset, and a proactive approach to continuous improvement. You will support the development and operation of cloud Landing Zones and act as a trusted delivery partner for internal stakeholders and project teams. By applying DevOps and automation principles, you will reduce manual overhead, accelerate delivery cycles, and improve operational resilience. You will contribute to broader strategic goals by supporting the shift from traditional on-premises infrastructure to scalable, cloud-native services aligned with an "as-a-service" delivery model. The engineer will also work closely with security, compliance, and disaster recovery teams to ensure that cloud services are not only high-performing and flexible, but also resilient and governed appropriately. As Southern Water continues to grow its cloud footprint, this position offers an opportunity to shape how cloud services are delivered across the business. It is ideal for someone looking to deepen their technical expertise while contributing to a major enterprise-wide transformation in digital infrastructure.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field or equivalent work experience.
Extensive experience with Microsoft Azure cloud services and PaaS/IaaS solutions.
Strong knowledge of landing zone architecture and best practices.
Proven experience in defining and implementing cloud infrastructure standards and best practices.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Knowledge of IaC tools like Terraform or CloudFormation to provision and manage infrastructure resources programmatically.
Containerisation and Orchestration: Proficient with container technologies like Docker and container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes.
Automation: Strong scripting skills (e.g., Python, PowerShell) and the ability to automate routine tasks and deployment processes for efficiency and consistency.
Security: Expertise in cloud security best practices, identity and access management (IAM), encryption, and compliance frameworks (e.g., PCI DSS, NIST).
Networking: Strong knowledge of cloud networking concepts, including virtual networks, subnets, security groups, load balancers, and VPN configurations.
DevOps Principles: An understanding of DevOps practices and the ability to integrate development and operations workflows for faster and more reliable deployments.
FinOps (Cloud Financial Operations): Experience with managing cloud costs, optimising cloud spending, and implementing FinOps principles to drive cost-effective cloud strategies while balancing performance and scalability.
Cloud Platform Expertise: Expert in MS Azure with a deep understanding of its services, features, and capabilities.
Scaling and Performance Optimisation: Ability to scale cloud resources based on demand and optimize resource utilization for cost-effectiveness.
Cloud Security and Compliance: Expertise in applying security best practices, including identity and access management (IAM), encryption, regulatory compliance and cloud-native security tools.
Troubleshooting: Strong problem-solving and debugging skills to identify and resolve issues quickly.
Documentation: Thorough documentation of configurations, processes, and procedures to ensure clarity and knowledge sharing.
Communication: Excellent communication skills to convey technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Training: Demonstrated ability to train, mentor, and develop team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning, skill-building, and knowledge-sharing within the team.
Continuous Learning: A commitment to staying up-to-date with evolving cloud technologies and industry best practices, supported by Southern Water.

Responsibilities

Azure Cloud Engineering Build, configure, and maintain Azure cloud environments (IaaS, PaaS, storage, networking, identity).
Deploy and support Azure Landing Zones in line with enterprise architecture standards.
Support the transition from IaaS to PaaS services by designing and implementing modern cloud-native solutions.
Monitor and manage cloud workloads to ensure availability, performance, and security.
Operations & Automation Implement infrastructure as code (IaC) using tools such as Bicep, ARM templates, or Terraform.
Automate provisioning, scaling, and maintenance of cloud resources using DevOps pipelines and scripts (PowerShell, Azure CLI, CI/CD etc.).
Monitor system health, respond to incidents, and participate in root cause analysis and continuous improvement.
Security, Governance & Compliance Enforce cloud security best practices, including role-based access control (RBAC), encryption, and secure networking.
Support compliance with internal policies and regulatory standards by ensuring guardrails and policies are in place.
Collaborate with Security Operations and Compliance teams to remediate vulnerabilities and audit issues.
Cost Management & FinOps Support Contribute to cost optimization by right-sizing resources and identifying opportunities to reduce waste.
Use Azure Cost Management tools and dashboards to track and forecast cloud spend.
Provide reporting and insights to the Cloud Operations Manager and Finance teams.
Process Development & Documentation Document standard operating procedures, cloud configurations, and runbooks.
Help maintain consistent operational practices and contribute to knowledge sharing across the team.
Collaboration & Support Work with infrastructure architects, data platform teams, developers, and project teams to support solution delivery.
Act as an escalation point for cloud-related incidents and changes.
Assist with service transitions, knowledge transfer, and training for BAU support teams.
Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Support the implementation and testing of disaster recovery and business continuity plans related to cloud infrastructure.
Ensure cloud services are resilient and recoverable in line with Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO).
Collaborate with the DR/BCP team to maintain and update recovery procedures and test plans.
Staying Current with Cloud Technologies Stay informed on the latest Azure features, cloud architecture patterns, and best practices.
Participate in training, certifications, or knowledge-sharing sessions to continuously enhance cloud skills.
Recommend improvements or innovations based on emerging technologies and industry trends.