Head of Cloud Engineering

Closer Still Media | London | Hybrid

At Closer Still, we strive to deliver the best. We’re on a mission to be the most dynamic B2B events and communities business in every market we serve, bringing people together to learn, connect and grow.

Operating across five regions, we power over 200 market‑leading events, publications and brands across Business Technologies, Healthcare, Learning, HR & Education, and Future Transport & Infrastructure.

But what truly sets us apart is our people.

A technical leader who’s built modern data platforms and integration systems eone who’s equally comfortable designing cloud architecture and rolling up their sleeves to solve hard problems. You’ve led engineering teams, championed Dev Ops practices, and have deep Azure experience. Bonus points if you’ve enabled third‑party developer ecosystems or worked in media/events/SaaS.

• Senior engineering leadership experience (Head of Engineering, Engineering Manager level)
• Proven track record building data platforms for analytics and AI/ML
• Deep Microsoft Azure expertise
• Hands‑on experience with Databricks, APIs, and integration platforms
• Strong understanding of MLOps and product ionizing machine learning
• Experience leading and scaling engineering teams

Azure, Databricks, Python, PySpark, SQL, JavaScript, Node, Bash

You’ll own the technical vision and delivery of our core platforms:

• Architect cloud‑native data and AI systems that support analytics, ML workloads, and real‑time operations
• Create API‑first integration layers for internal teams and external partners
• Implement MLOps best practices for model deployment and lifecycle management

• Build, mentor, and scale high‑performing engineering teams
• Set standards for code quality, security, and performance
• Drive Dev Ops and CI/CD culture for fast, reliable delivery

• Translate business needs into technical solutions
• Partner with product, data, and operations leaders
• Own the engineering roadmap and align resources to the outcome

• Define and own the technical vision and roadmap for Closer Still’s core data, AI, and integration platforms
• Architect scalable, secure, and resilient cloud‑native solutions using Microsoft Azure
• Lead development of a unified data platform supporting business intelligence, analytics, AI/ML workloads, and real‑time operational use cases
• Design and evolve an API‑first integration platform enabling internal teams and external partners to build and integrate services efficiently

• Lead implementation and optimisation of data pipelines for data engineering, analytics, and machine learning
• Implement best practices for MLOps, including model deployment, monitoring, versioning, and lifecycle management
• Partner closely with data science and analytics teams to ensure platforms enable experimentation and production‑grade AI

• Build, lead, and mentor high‑performing engineering teams across data platform and integration domains
• Set engineering standards for code quality, security, reliability, and performance
• Champion Dev Ops and CI/CD practices to ensure fast, safe, and repeatable delivery
• Balance strategic architecture work with hands‑on technical leadership where required
• Define and own the engineering roadmap and align to resource needs
• Work with:
  Azure, Databricks, Bash, JavaScript, Node, Python, PySpark, SQL

• Own the strategy and delivery of integration services, including public and private APIs, event‑driven and asynchronous integrations, and authentication/authorisation models
• Enable third‑party vendors, partners, and developers to integrate seamlessly into Closer Still’s ecosystem
• Ensure strong governance, observability, and documentation across all integration services

• Work closely with senior stakeholders across technology, product, data, and operations to align engineering outcomes with business objectives
• Translate business needs into scalable technical solutions
• Contribute to broader technology strategy and investment…