Lead Cloud Platform Engineer (3rd Party)

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Job Title: Lead Cloud Platform Engineer

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Lead Cloud Platform Engineer is responsible for designing, implementing and leading the evolution of secure, scalable and resilient cloud platforms that support the delivery and operation of enterprise-grade applications and solutions.

The role provides technical leadership across cloud architecture, platform engineering, infrastructure automation and DevOps practices, establishing standards and best practices to ensure secure, efficient and cost-effective cloud environments.

The successful candidate will drive cloud platform strategy and engineering excellence, providing architectural guidance, leading complex technical initiatives, and enabling development teams through automated, standardised and self-service platform capabilities.

As a technical leader within DVT, the role also involves mentoring engineers, collaborating with clients and stakeholders, and contributing to DVT's cloud engineering capabilities, intellectual property and technical thought leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, architecture, implementation and ongoing evolution of enterprise-grade cloud platforms across public and hybrid cloud environments.

• Define cloud platform engineering strategies, technical standards, reference architectures and best practices aligned with business and client requirements.

• Design, build and manage scalable, resilient and secure Kubernetes-based platforms and container orchestration solutions.

• Lead the development and implementation of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions using tools such as Terraform, ensuring infrastructure is consistent, repeatable and automated.

• Establish and continuously improve CI/CD pipelines and deployment methodologies to enable reliable, efficient and automated software delivery.

• Drive platform engineering practices, including the development of reusable platform components, automation frameworks and self-service capabilities for development teams.

• Define and implement cloud security, governance and compliance standards, including identity and access management, secrets management, network security and policy enforcement.

• Establish and promote best practices for cloud monitoring, observability, logging, alerting and performance management.

• Drive cloud infrastructure optimisation, including resource utilisation, scalability, availability and cost management (FinOps).

• Lead the implementation of platform reliability practices, including high availability, disaster recovery, backup strategies and business continuity.

• Provide technical leadership and guidance to engineering teams, supporting complex troubleshooting, architectural decisions and technical problem-solving.

• Collaborate with software engineering, architecture, security and delivery teams to ensure platform capabilities support application and business requirements.

• Evaluate emerging cloud technologies, tools and engineering practices, identifying opportunities to improve platform capabilities and delivery efficiency.

• Lead technical engagements with clients, translating business and technical requirements into practical cloud platform solutions.

• Mentor and develop engineers, promote knowledge sharing and establish a culture of engineering excellence and continuous improvement.

• Contribute to DVT's cloud engineering strategy, intellectual property, technical thought leadership and capability development.

Knowlegde & Skills

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Extensive knowledge of cloud platform architecture, engineering principles and cloud-native technologies.

• Strong experience with at least one major cloud platform, preferably Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

• Advanced understanding of Kubernetes, container orchestration and cloud-native application platforms.

• Strong expertise in Docker and containerisation technologies.

• Extensive experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC), particularly Terraform.

• Strong understanding of CI/CD methodologies, pipeline automation and modern software delivery practices.

• Experience designing and implementing cloud networking, identity and access management, security and governance solutions.

• Knowledge of platform engineering principles, including internal developer platforms, reusable infrastructure components and self-service capabilities.

• Experience implementing monitoring, observability, logging and alerting solutions.

• Understanding of cloud security, DevSecOps practices and regulatory or compliance requirements.

• Knowledge of cloud cost optimisation, resource management and FinOps principles.

• Experience with high availability, disaster recovery, resilience engineering and business continuity.

• Strong understanding of Agile delivery methodologies and modern software engineering practices.

• Ability to develop technical architectures, engineering standards and solution designs.

• Strong technical leadership, mentoring and stakeholder management capabilities.

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with technical teams, clients and senior stakeholders.

• Strong expertise in Docker and containerization technologies.

Attitudes

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Quality-focused: A commitment to delivering reliable, maintainable, and user-centred software.

• Analytical: The ability to investigate problems, identify patterns, and assess potential risks.

• Proactive: A willingness to identify gaps in test coverage and raise quality concerns early.

• Collaborative: The ability to work constructively with developers, business analysts, product owners, and other stakeholders.

• Accountable: Ownership of assigned testing activities, defect reporting, and agreed deliverables.

• Adaptable: The ability to respond to changing requirements, priorities, technologies, and delivery timelines.

• Continuous improvement: An interest in improving testing techniques, automation coverage, and team processes.

• Curious and innovative: A willingness to explore new tools, including AI-assisted testing solutions, where they provide practical value.

• Detail-oriented: Careful attention to requirements, test results, edge cases, and defect evidence.

• Effective communicator: The ability to communicate testing progress, technical findings, risks, and recommendations clearly.

• Responsible: A commitment to protecting sensitive information and following established security, privacy, and development practices.

Minimum requirements and skills

• Minimum of 5-7 years of professional experience in Cloud Engineering, DevOps, Infrastructure Engineering, Platform Engineering or a related technical discipline.

• Demonstrable experience leading the design, implementation and operation of enterprise-scale cloud infrastructure and platform solutions.

• Extensive hands-on experience with at least one major public cloud provider (Azure, AWS or GCP), including cloud architecture, infrastructure provisioning and platform management.

• Advanced practical experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration in production environments.

• Strong experience with Docker and containerisation technologies.

• Extensive hands-on experience with Terraform and Infrastructure as Code practices.

• Proven experience designing, implementing and managing CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment processes.

• Experience designing and implementing cloud networking, identity management, security controls and governance frameworks.

• Practical experience with cloud monitoring, observability, logging and alerting solutions.

• Experience implementing platform automation, reusable infrastructure components and developer self-service capabilities.

• Understanding of cloud security and DevSecOps principles, including vulnerability management, secrets management and security automation.

• Experience with cloud cost optimisation and resource management.

• Demonstrable experience providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers and guiding technical delivery across teams.

• Strong problem-solving, architectural design and technical decision-making capabilities.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to engage with clients and senior stakeholders.

• South African citizenship or a valid work permit permitting employment in South Africa.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Matric (Grade 12) certificate or equivalent.

• A bachelor's degree, diploma or recognised qualification in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Cloud Computing or a related discipline is advantageous. Equivalent practical experience may be considered.

• Relevant professional cloud certifications, such as:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Azure Administrator Associate.

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional or Associate.

• Google Professional Cloud Architect.

• Kubernetes certifications such as Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) are advantageous.

• Terraform Associate certification or equivalent Infrastructure as Code certification is beneficial.

• Additional certifications or training in cloud security, DevSecOps, platform engineering, FinOps or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) will be advantageous.