Job Specifications
Principal Cloud Engineer (Azure) - Inside IR35 - Insurance
Location: Hybrid - 3 days per week in London
Duration: 6 months
Day Rate: £650-£750 per day (Inside IR35)
We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Cloud Engineer to drive a major cloud transformation programme for a leading specialty insurer. This role blends hands-on Azure engineering (60%) with cloud architecture, strategy, and design (40%), playing a key part in shaping the organisation's long‑term cloud vision.
As the technical authority on Azure, you will lead the design of cloud architectures, guide strategic decision‑making, and steer the delivery of robust, secure, and scalable cloud platforms. While you will collaborate closely with the DevOps team, this role is not focused on CI/CD delivery, instead, you will concentrate on designing the solution, defining the cloud approach, and engineering the core Azure infrastructure.
Key Responsibilities
Define, shape, and implement the organisation's Azure cloud strategy and cloud adoption roadmap.
Lead and contribute to the engineering and build-out of Azure infrastructure and cloud-native services.
Drive the migration from on‑premises to Azure, ensuring secure and scalable architecture.
Design high-level and low-level cloud architectures, ensuring alignment with business and technical needs.
Act as a key authority on Azure platform design, infrastructure patterns, governance, and best practice.
Work across senior business and technical stakeholders to translate requirements into cloud solutions.
Guide and advise the DevOps team on cloud standards and architecture where required - but not delivering CI/CD pipelines directly.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineering teams, uplifting cloud capability across the organisation.
Engineer solutions using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) and relevant automation tooling.
Essential Skills & Experience
Extensive hands-on experience in Azure cloud engineering, infrastructure build, and cloud solution delivery.
Strong design experience across Azure services including Virtual Networks, Landing Zones, Identity, PaaS, Serverless, IaaS, Storage, Security, and Governance.
Proven capability in cloud architecture, including designing scalable and secure multi‑tier systems.
Experience leading cloud transformation programmes or large-scale migrations.
Solid understanding of Kubernetes and containerisation within Azure ecosystems (AKS).
Strong experience with Infrastructure as Code, particularly Terraform.
Ability to translate complex technical concepts for senior business stakeholders.
Azure cloud certifications (e.g., AZ‑305, AZ‑700, AZ‑104).
Broader architecture certifications (e.g., TOGAF) desirable.
Desired Skills and Experience
Essential Skills & Experience
Extensive hands-on experience in Azure cloud engineering, infrastructure build, and cloud solution delivery.
Strong design experience across Azure services including Virtual Networks, Landing Zones, Identity, PaaS, Serverless, IaaS, Storage, Security, and Governance.
Proven capability in cloud architecture, including designing scalable and secure multi‑tier systems.
Experience leading cloud transformation programmes or large-scale migrations.
Solid understanding of Kubernetes and containerisation within Azure ecosystems (AKS).
Strong experience with Infrastructure as Code, particularly Terraform.
Ability to translate complex technical concepts for senior business stakeholders.
Azure cloud certifications (e.g., AZ‑305, AZ‑700, AZ‑104).
Broader architecture certifications (e.g., TOGAF) desirable.
About the Company
We are Pioneer Search, a UK based recruitment and search agency with a global reach, specialising in connecting aspiring people and ambitious businesses within:
• Software & Development
• Cyber Security & Cloud
• Data & Analytics
• IT Projects | Change & Transformation
• London Markets
Operating across these five core industry disciplines, we offer our clients a variety of tailored services including:
• Permanent Recruitment
• Search & Selection
• Contract/Interim Recruitment
• Contractor Management and Care
• Talen...
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