Technical Cloud Lead (Azure)

Hi, we’re Smoove, part of the PEXA Group. Our vision is to simplify and revolutionise the home moving and ownership experience for everyone. We are on a mission to deliver products and services that remove the pain, frustration, uncertainty, friction and stress that the current process creates. We are a leading provider of tech in the property sector - founded in 2003, our product focus has been our conveyancer two-sided marketplace, connecting consumers with a range of quality conveyancers to choose from at competitive prices via our easy-to-use tech platform. We are now building out our ecosystem so consumers can benefit from our services either via their Estate Agent or their Mortgage Broker, through smarter conveyancing platforms, making the home buying or selling process easier, quicker, safer and more transparent. We're now looking for a Technical Cloud Lead to shape the next generation of our Azure platform while leading a small, high-performing cloud engineering function. This is more than an infrastructure role. As our Technical Cloud Lead, you'll own the technical direction of our Azure estate, leading the design, operation and continual improvement of the cloud platforms that support Smoove, Amity Law and Legal Eye. You'll combine hands-on engineering with technical leadership, working alongside software engineers, security specialists, architects and operational teams to build resilient, secure and highly automated cloud environments. You'll also mentor engineers, influence technical strategy and help drive our transition towards modern cloud-native and platform engineering practices. What You'll Be Doing You'll play a key role across cloud engineering, platform operations and technical leadership, including: Designing and evolving our Azure platform Leading the design, implementation and continuous improvement of our Azure infrastructureManaging Azure landing zones, networking, identity, governance and platform standardsSupporting cloud-native technologies including AKS, Istio and GrafanaOperating enterprise Azure services including SQL PaaS, Storage, Redis, Cosmos DB, Key Vault and virtual infrastructure Driving resilience and operational excellence Building highly available, secure and resilient cloud platformsLeading disaster recovery, backup, monitoring and observability initiativesManaging incident response, root cause analysis and continuous service improvementEnsuring platforms remain secure, reliable and operationally robust Modernising through automation Developing Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and BicepSupporting CI/CD pipelines and deployment automationUsing scripting and automation to remove manual effort and improve operational consistencyImproving developer experience through practical platform engineering Leading people and technology Mentoring and developing Azure Engineers and technical colleaguesActing as the senior technical escalation point for cloud infrastructureWorking closely with Product, Engineering, Security and Operations teams across the UK and AustraliaHelping define the roadmap for cloud infrastructure and operational maturity Governance and optimisation Supporting ISO27001, Cyber Essentials Plus and security assurance activitiesWorking with suppliers and cloud partnersDriving cloud cost optimisation and FinOps initiativesMaintaining documentation, standards and operational governance About You You'll be an experienced Azure infrastructure professional who enjoys balancing hands-on technical work with technical leadership. We're looking for someone who has experience with: Designing and operating enterprise Microsoft Azure environmentsAzure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and containerised platformsAzure networking, security, identity and platform servicesInfrastructure as Code using Terraform and BicepCI/CD pipelines and deployment automationMonitoring, observability and operational excellenceCloud security, disaster recovery and high availabilityTroubleshooting complex infrastructure, networking and application hosting issuesLeading engineers and influencing technical direction You'll also bring excellent communication skills and enjoy working collaboratively across engineering, product, security and operational teams. Experience within regulated or security-conscious environments would be highly advantageous. Why become a PEXArian? Great question! Being a PEXArian is so much more than just a job. We’re a passionate, motivated and unashamedly enthusiastic bunch at PEXA – we love what we do and we’re proud to admit it! Creating brilliant experiences for our members and their clients wouldn’t be possible without ensuring we deliver an exceptional employee experience. Here’s a snapshot of what your life at PEXA could look like: Your wellbeing: Enjoy four Wellness Days across the year to rest and recharge, plus 24/7 personal safety, medical and mental health support through Sonder. You’ll also receive an £800 Health Flex Pot to spend on health options, alongside access to a digital GP, mental health and nutrition consultations, and support with eye tests and glasses. Your growth: Grow your skills and shape your career through PEXA Academy and LinkedIn Learning. You’ll also have up to five days’ paid study leave each year for relevant courses. Your rewards: Our reward and recognition benefits include performance-based incentives, the PEXA OwnIt Equity Plan for eligible employees, PEXA Impact Awards and a £500 employee referral bonus. You’ll also have access to discounts through Perkbox and Get Active. Your family: Eligible permanent employees with at least 12 months’ continuous service can receive up to 20 weeks’ paid maternity or adoption leave and up to four weeks’ paid paternity leave, in addition to statutory entitlements. You’ll also have access to support for family and life events, including family grief counselling, discounted legal services and UK-registered veterinary advice. Your work/life blend: We know that work is just one aspect of your life – we want to help you create your ideal work/life blend, rather than squeezing in life around work. Our hybrid approach combines regular in-office connection with working from home. You may also be able to work remotely from an approved country for up to two weeks every six months and purchase up to four additional weeks of annual leave each year. Your opportunity to give back: Use your paid Volunteer Day to support a cause that matters to you and enjoy events throughout the year that bring PEXArians together to connect and celebrate. Sounds like you? We at PEXA are ready so if this role sounds like you apply today. To be conducted as part of post offer employment checks: The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found at [Cifas]. GDPR Compliance Digital Completion UK Limited (trading name “PEXA”), Optima Legal Services Limited (trading name "Optima Legal") and Smoove Limited (a holding company which comprises of the following wholly owned trading Subsidiary companies: United Legal Services Limited, Legal-Eye Limited, and Amity Law Limited) are all owned directly by DigCom UK Holdings Limited, which is a wholly owned Subsidiary of PEXA Group Limited in Australia (ACN 140 677 792; ASX: PXA) (referred to collectively as “PEXA Group”). When we process your applicant personal data for recruitment purposes, we do so as a controller. If as part of the recruitment process, we share your personal data with another company within the PEXA Group, that company may process your personal data as either an independent controller or, in certain circumstances, a joint controller. By applying for this role, you consent to us processing your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR") and the Data Protection Act 2018, and further information can be found in our privacy notice https://pexa.co.uk/applicant-policy/. #PEXAUK