Role: Associate Cloud Engineer

Team: Cloud Engineering

Location: Hybrid, UK

Tech: Azure, Azure DevOps, Infrastructure as Code (Bicep), Networking, Identity, Monitoring

As one of the largest insurance groups in the world and the fifth largest employee-owned business in the UK, we manage premiums on behalf of millions of clients across a wide range of product offerings and our development team work on solutions that innovate and put the users’ needs at the forefront.

Role

As an Associate Cloud Engineer at Howden, you will join the Cloud Engineering team, contributing directly to the build, operation, and improvement of our Azure cloud platform.

This role is suited to a junior cloud engineer who has foundational Azure experience and is ready to take responsibility for hands-on engineering work in a production environment. You will work on core platform components that support all cloud-hosted workloads, including subscriptions, identity, networking, monitoring, and deployment automation.

You will contribute to platform changes using Infrastructure as Code, follow established engineering and governance standards, and support the operation of live environments. As part of the team, you will help investigate incidents, perform root cause analysis, and implement preventative improvements.

You will work closely with senior cloud engineers and architects to deliver platform roadmap items, improve reliability and security, and enable delivery teams through well-defined, well-documented cloud services. Over time, your scope and autonomy will grow as your technical confidence and judgement develop.

This role requires someone who is comfortable taking ownership of tasks, working methodically, and contributing to shared systems that are relied upon across the organisation.

About you:

• Familiarity or practical experience working with Microsoft Azure

• A working understanding of core cloud services such as compute, storage, networking, and identity

• Experience (or strong interest) in Infrastructure as Code, ideally using Bicep

• Familiarity with using Azure DevOps or similar tools for source control and pipelines

• Understanding of why environments, subscriptions, and access controls are structured and governed

• Awareness of cloud security fundamentals such as identity, role-based access, and secure configuration

• Experience following engineering standards and change processes in shared environments

• Comfortable making controlled changes to production or pre-production systems

• Interest in monitoring, logging, and understanding how systems behave in real-world usage

• Ability to troubleshoot issues methodically and escalate appropriately when needed

• Willingness to document work clearly and keep platform documentation accurate

• A practical, detail-oriented mindset with care taken when working on shared infrastructure

• Good communication skills and the ability to work effectively within a team

• Comfortable participating in agile ceremonies and collaborative planning sessions, where required

• Motivated to develop deeper expertise in cloud and platform engineering over time

• GCSE (or equivalent)

  • Maths and English at Grade C, 4 or above

  • If you don't have this yet, you'll need to achieve this level through a function skills programme in your first year.

• Additional qualifications (one of the following):

  • 96 UCAS points from three A levels (we accept General Studies)

  • 112 UCAS points with at least 64 from two A levels or equivalent BTEC

  • Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level three and 15 credits at level two

  • A completed level three apprenticeship

Rewards

We believe that great work and dedication should be rewarded, that’s why we offer:

• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), pro-rated for part year service

• A set of core benefits, designed with your health and financial protection in mind:

  • Life Assurance up to 4x salary, protecting your loved ones in case the worst should happen

  • Income protection, guaranteeing an income for up to 5 years in the event of an illness or injury

  • Contributory pension scheme – 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution, rising to 5% & 5% in April 2025

  • Access to a Healthcare Cashplan, which gives you access to a variety of health related benefits

• Access to a host of lifestyle and financial benefits that you can choose from:

  • Discounts on gym membership across the UK

  • Salary sacrifice schemes – Travel Insurance, Cycle to Work, Car leasing, Technology purchase

  • Access to discounted personal health policies – Critical illness, private medical, dental plans

  • A range of insurance products available commission free, including home, motor, travel and specialist vehicles

  • Access to hundreds of high-street retailer discounts

  • Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support employees outside of work