Senior Cloud Engineer - Systems

The Senior Cloud Engineer – Systems will lead, manage, and continuously enhance its regional private cloud platforms. This role is responsible for ensuring the availability, scalability, security, and performance of the ZainTECH Cloud.The Senior Cloud Engineer will oversee all cloud-related changes, lead critical infrastructure initiatives, and play a key role in capacity planning, automation, and platform modernization. Working closely with Security, Procurement, and Sales teams, the role combines deep technical expertise with strong stakeholder engagement, governance, and leadership responsibilities.This position also acts as a subject matter expert during audits, pre-sales engagements, and major incident escalations, while mentoring junior engineers and contributing to long-term cloud strategy.Responsibilities:Cloud Platform Leadership & GovernanceLead and oversee all changes to the ZainTECH Cloud platform, ensuring alignment with operational, security, and business requirements.Own and manage all IaaS-related changes across the regional cloud environment.Actively participate in the Change Management Committee and Technical Design Board, providing expert input on architecture, risk, and feasibility.Lead the deployment and execution of future cloud growth initiatives and platform expansion.Infrastructure & Platform ManagementLead all critical infrastructure projects related to the cloud platform, from design through implementation.Conduct regular performance testing and proactively monitor platform availability, performance, and integrity.Perform continuous reviews of end-of-life and end-of-support hardware and software, driving timely upgrades and remediation.Manage and execute backend IaaS software updates and key platform upgrades.Oversee backup environments, ensuring reliability, optimization, and continuous improvement.Ensure effective capacity planning to support current and future business demands.Automation, Documentation & StandardsDesign, implement, and maintain automation and configuration management solutions, continuously monitoring their effectiveness.Maintain comprehensive and up-to-date technical documentation covering architecture, processes, and operational procedures.Ensure infrastructure controls comply with regulatory and security standards, including NCA requirements.Security, Compliance & RiskWork closely with the Security team to ensure vulnerabilities are addressed and corrective actions are implemented in a timely manner.Act as the private cloud subject matter expert during audits and regulatory engagements, including interactions with the NCA.Ensure cloud platform controls, processes, and documentation meet audit and compliance expectations.Stakeholder Collaboration & Pre-SalesCollaborate with Procurement on infrastructure planning and part selection.Support Sales teams through technical input, solution design, and customer engagements.Provide pre-sales assistance, including architecture discussions, technical validation, and proposal support.Attend sales meetings and customer engagements as a cloud infrastructure expert.Operations & Incident ManagementHandle escalated infrastructure support issues related to the cloud platform, ensuring rapid resolution and root cause analysis.Provide operational coverage during counterpart absences to ensure service continuity.Leadership & People DevelopmentManage, mentor, and develop junior System Engineering staff.Delegate routine system maintenance and operational tasks while maintaining oversight and quality standards.Foster knowledge sharing, skill development, and adherence to best practices within the team.Innovation & Continuous ImprovementResearch, evaluate, and analyze emerging technologies and industry trends.Present recommendations for platform enhancements, upgrades, and optimizations to improve performance, resilience, and efficiency.QualificationsBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.8–12 years of hands‑on experience in cloud, systems, or infrastructure engineering, with at least 3–5 years in a senior or lead role managing enterprise or service‑provider environments.Proven experience designing, operating, and supporting private cloud and IaaS platforms at scale.Strong hands‑on expertise in the following technologies and platforms: Virtualization: VMware (vSphere, ESXi, vCenter). Storage: NetApp enterprise storage solutions. Backup & Recovery: Veeam Backup & Replication. Operating Systems: Linux (administration and troubleshooting), Windows Server (administration), Solaris (working knowledge). Monitoring & Management: SolarWinds or equivalent enterprise monitoring tools.Experience with capacity planning, performance optimization, system upgrades, and lifecycle management of infrastructure platforms.Practical experience with automation and configuration management tools and methodologies.Strong understanding of security controls, compliance requirements, and a