Cloud & DevOps Engineer (Contract)

Waracle is a world-class digital technology consultancy and home to a diverse, smart, curious and ambitious community of specialists in technology-driven transformation.

We work with ambitious clients to help them solve their biggest business and customer challenges. We help our clients to innovate and create intelligent digital products and services. We thrive on complex challenges and deliver business-critical IT transformation projects, moving seamlessly from strategy, design and delivery to operations.

 
Contract Overview

We're looking for an exceptional Cloud & DevOps Engineer to join our dynamic team on a contract basis. The contract would start in June and would last around 8 weeks on an Outside IR35 contract.

This pivotal role isn't just about managing infrastructure; it's about designing, building, and optimising cutting-edge AWS environments that power our innovative digital products for a specific project.

You'll be instrumental in handling a broad range of AWS challenges – from setting up essential serverless applications to tackling more unique, high-performance computing needs for machine learning. If you're a proactive problem-solver who loves diving deep into AWS, fluent in Python, and ready to make an immediate impact.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

As our Contract Lead Cloud & DevOps Engineer, you'll jump straight into our projects, taking on a few key responsibilities:

• Mastering Serverless & Core AWS Services: You'll be the expert in setting up and managing key AWS services like Cognito (for user management), Amplify (for fast app development), API Gateway (to connect services), Lambda (our go-to for serverless code), and S3 (for reliable storage). You'll handle these setups for both development and live production environments, ensuring everything runs smoothly. Your Python skills will be crucial for developing robust Lambda functions and automating tasks.

• Engineering High-Performance ML Infrastructure: This is where things get a bit unique! You'll be responsible for setting up specialised, high-speed computing environments, often involving containers and GPUs, specifically designed to support machine learning workloads. Just to be clear, you won't be doing the machine learning itself, but you will be building the powerful platform where it happens.

• Driving Automation & Best Practices: You'll play a key role in building and maintaining Infrastructure as Code (IaC) – think CloudFormation or Terraform – to make our deployments repeatable and reliable. You'll also champion efficient CI/CD pipelines, ensuring our development processes are slick and seamless.

• Providing Technical Leadership & Guidance: You'll help define our technical roadmaps and set top-notch standards for cloud development and operations within your project. You'll dive into complex technical puzzles, coming up with clever, impactful solutions that benefit everyone.

• Collaborating Effectively: You'll work closely with product owners, developers, and other teams, ensuring everyone is on the same page and projects run smoothly.

Requirements

• Deep AWS Expertise: You're not just experienced; you're an expert in a wide range of AWS services and comfortable setting technical direction.

• Strong Python Proficiency: Essential for scripting, automation, and developing AWS Lambda functions.

• Serverless Architecture Mastery: You have a thorough understanding of AWS Lambda, API Gateway, and the principles of building scalable, serverless applications.

• Containerisation & HPC Experience: You're comfortable with containers (Docker) and have experience setting up high-performance computing environments, including GPU-enabled instances for machine learning workloads.

• IaC & CI/CD Prowess: You have practical experience with Infrastructure as Code (e.g., CloudFormation, Terraform) and have worked with CI/CD pipelines.

• Proven Leadership: You've successfully led complex cloud projects and guided technical approaches.

• Effective Problem Solver: You enjoy a good challenge and can innovate solutions for intricate technical and project hurdles.

• Adaptable & Collaborative: You can roll with the punches in a fast-paced environment and work seamlessly with different teams.

• Digital Consultancy Experience: Previous experience within a digital consultancy environment would be a significant advantage.