Senior Cloud Engineer

Contract Type: Long-Term Contract (Inside IR35)

We are seeking an experienced Senior Cloud Engineer to join a strategic Finance AI Platform programme within a leading enterprise environment. This role will focus on building and scaling cloud-native applications, modernising platform capabilities, and supporting the integration of AI technologies into core business solutions.

You will work as part of an established engineering team delivering highly scalable, secure, and resilient solutions across cloud and AI platforms. The ideal candidate will be a strong hands‑on engineer with deep expertise in Java and/or Python, cloud technologies, distributed systems, and modern software engineering practices.

• Design, develop, and maintain cloud-native applications using Java and/or Python
  .
• Build and enhance microservices, APIs, and distributed systems.
• Develop event‑driven solutions using technologies such as Kafka, Event Hub, or RabbitMQ.
• Deploy and manage containerised workloads using Kubernetes and Docker.
• Implement and optimise CI/CD pipelines and Dev Ops processes.
• Collaborate with architects, product owners, and engineering teams to deliver scalable enterprise solutions.
• Support the integration of AI capabilities, including LLMs, RAG pipelines, and AI-enabled business workflows.
• Ensure solutions meet performance, security, reliability, and scalability requirements.
• Participate in technical design reviews, code reviews, and engineering best practices.

• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong hands‑on expertise in Java and/or Python development.
• Experience building cloud‑native applications on AWS, Azure, or GCP
  .
• Strong knowledge of:
  • Docker
  • REST APIs
  • Distributed Systems
  • Experience with event‑driven architecture and messaging platforms.
  • Strong understanding of CI/CD, Dev Ops, and Infrastructure‑as‑Code principles.
• Experience working within Agile delivery environments.
• Excellent problem‑solving and troubleshooting capabilities.
• Experience integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into enterprise applications.
• Knowledge of:
  • Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG)
  • Agentic AI frameworks
  • AI orchestration platforms
• Exposure to:
  • OpenAI APIs
  • Lang Chain
  • Lang Graph
  • Semantic Kernel
• Experience with in Banking or Financial Services environments.
• Understanding of cloud security and enterprise architecture best practices.

• Strong software engineering background with a passion for building scalable systems.
• Product‑focused mindset with a commitment to engineering quality.
• Comfortable working within established architecture and delivery frameworks.
• Collaborative and proactive team player.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Able to contribute ideas, challenge constructively, and drive technical excellence.

• Location: Sheffield (3 days onsite per week)
• IR35 Status: Inside IR35
• Start Date: ASAP
• Financial Services experience highly desirable