DC Thomson
Head of Cloud Engineering (12m FTC)
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Head of Cloud Engineering (12m FTC)
Location: Remote, UK
About Brightsolid
Brightsolid is a leading provider of hybrid cloud and managed services, delivering secure, sovereign, AI-ready infrastructure platforms across the UK. Our next-generation cloud platform is built on an open, extensible architecture using Canonical's OpenStack, enabling scalable, resilient, and multi-tenant cloud services for modern workloads including virtual machines, containers, bare metal and AI platforms.
Role Overview
The Head of Cloud Engineering is responsible for the end-to-end ownership of Brightsolid's technology platforms, spanning cloud infrastructure, network services, datacentre environments, and enterprise tooling.
This includes accountability not only for core infrastructure but also for critical enterprise platforms and SaaS services that underpin both internal operations and customer service delivery.
Key Responsibilities
Platform & Engineering Leadership
- Own the architecture, engineering, and lifecycle of Brightsolid's cloud platforms and services
- Lead Cloud Engineering and Network teams ensuring delivery of high-quality, scalable, secure infrastructure
- Drive engineering excellence through automation, standardisation, and modern operating models
Cloud Platform Ownership
- Maintain full accountability for multi-tenant cloud platforms, both internal and customer-facing
- Lead the transition from legacy environments to open-source platforms (Ubuntu, OpenStack, Kubernetes)
- Ensure platforms meet defined SLAs, resilience, compliance, and security requirements
Network & Datacentre Infrastructure
- Lead network engineering and datacentre strategy across all Brightsolid facilities
- Ensure high-availability, resilient, and high-performance connectivity and infrastructure
- Own disaster recovery, capacity planning, and infrastructure lifecycle management
Enterprise Tooling, SaaS & Platform Ownership
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Own the strategy, architecture, and operation of all engineering and business-critical tooling across the group
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Provide full lifecycle ownership of key enterprise platforms, including:
- ITSM and Service Management platforms (e.g. ServiceNow or equivalent)
- CRM and customer engagement platforms (e.g. Salesforce or equivalent)
- Monitoring, observability, and alerting platforms
- Automation, CI/CD, and DevOps tooling
- Identity, access management, and security tooling
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Take accountability for the selection, integration, optimisation, and governance of SaaS, PaaS, and third-party services, ensuring:
- Strong integration with core platform architecture
- High availability, performance, and user experience
- Compliance with security and data sovereignty requirements
- Clear ownership, cost control, and lifecycle management
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Define and enforce standards for tooling rationalisation, reducing duplication and driving platform consistency across the organisation
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Lead the transition from fragmented tools towards a cohesive, platform-led operating model, where tooling is:
- API-driven
- Automated-first
- Integrated into engineering workflows and service delivery
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Partner with Product, Operations, Security, and Commercial teams to ensure tooling aligns with service delivery, customer experience, and revenue outcomes
Open-Source & Platform Transformation
- Drive the adoption of open-source ecosystems, with a focus on Canonical, Ubuntu, OpenStack, and cloud-native tooling
- Reduce dependency on proprietary platforms (e.g. VMware) in favour of sovereign alternatives
- Deliver platforms that are AI-ready, scalable, and aligned to modern workload demands
Vendor & Partner Management
- Own strategic vendor relationships across:
- Cloud and infrastructure platforms
- SaaS/PaaS providers
- Hardware and datacentre vendors
- Ensure alignment between vendor strategy and Brightsolid's open-source and sovereign platform direction
- Manage commercial performance, cost optimisation, and innovation from partners
Collaboration & Customer Engagement
- Work cross-functionally with Product, Sales, and Customer Success teams to support solution development and delivery
- Support pre-sales engagements, technical strategy discussions, and complex customer solutions
Leadership & Culture
- Build and lead high-performing Cloud Engineering and Network teams
- Define and manage KPIs across platform availability, performance, cost, and customer outcomes
- Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement
Requirements
Essential Skills and Experience
- Proven experience leading, mentoring and developing high-performing engineering teams, including direct people leadership, performance management, team structure and succession planning
- Strong experience building a culture of automation, accountability, operational discipline and continuous improvement
- Experience working within a service provider or managed service environment delivering high-availability services in a 24x7 operational context
- Strong understanding of multi-datacentre architecture, service provider internet services, WAN connectivity, cloud infrastructure and operational support models
- Experience owning change management, problem management, SLA reporting and KPI reporting for engineering operations
- Strong understanding of security technologies and the role of security, compliance and resilience in platform operations
- Experience working closely with service operations, security operations, product management, sales and customers
- Eligible to work in the United Kingdom
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Desirable Skills And Experience
- Experience with OpenStack networking and Linux-based networking technologies
- Experience with modern network security approaches
- Experience working directly with Cisco, Canonical, NVIDIA and other strategic technology partners or service providers
- Relevant certifications such as CCNP, RHCE or equivalent
Working pattern
Role is remote. Travel is required to meet customers and support marketing engagements. Occasional travel to Brightsolid head office or branch office is required to manager discretion. We offer a generous package including 34 days holiday, Health Cash Plan, excellent Pension, a competitive salary, and many more staff discounts and benefits.
Join Brightsolid
Join Brightsolid and be part of a team that is shaping the future of cloud managed services. Apply now to take the next step in your career as a Solution Architect.
Behaviours
- Able and willing to work to the Brightsolid values
- Customer focused can-do attitude
- Adapts communication style to suit the needs and understanding of the audience and situation
- Respects the views and actions of others, appropriately challenging as required.
- Develops good working relationships with colleagues
- Shows commitment to their team, seen as helpful and approachable by colleagues
- Monitors progress against objectives, taking appropriate action to deliver results
- Consistently meets deadlines and delivers against commitments.
- Draws on experience and knowledge to solve problems.
- Offers constructive ideas to help resolve problems and deliver solutions
- Seeks guidance to help inform and support decision-making.
- Takes responsibility for own personal and career development, developing technical competence. Seeks mentorship, embraces feedback, and is enthusiastic about building new skills over time
- Prepared to take on challenges
To Apply
To apply for this role, please follow our online application process and submit a CV and cover letter.
Closing date for applications: 23rd July at 12:00 noon
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