LifeArc

Job Title: Cloud Infrastructure Architect Location: London Job Type: Permanent Agencies: We will only work with recruitment partners on our preferred supplier list and will not engage with speculative CVs submitted. Are you passionate about making life science life changing and delivering impact for patients? We want to hear from you. About the role Shape the Future of Cloud at LifeArc - Secure, Scalable, and Built for Science. LifeArc is building a secure, scalable, and modern cloud platform with Microsoft Azure at its core. As Cloud Infrastructure Architect, you will manage our cloud estate to ensure it is secure, compliant, high-performing, and cost-optimized, while providing transparent monitoring. This role is pivotal in supporting our growing Data Science team and enabling strategic impact through robust data platform capabilities. You'll bring deep expertise in Azure, Trusted Research Environments (TREs), and scientific compute, with experience in other cloud technologies to help shape a potential multi cloud ecosystem. Reporting to the Data Platform Lead, you will play a key role in driving the evolution and execution of LifeArc's Technology Strategy. The role responsibilities include: Design and implement Azure-first cloud infrastructure, including networking, identity management, storage, Kubernetes, and HPC solutions, leveraging AWS experience where beneficial. Architect and manage secure Trusted Research Environments (TREs) that comply with governance, data management plans, and safe data principles, ensuring seamless integration with LifeArc's Data Platform. Provide specialist compute solutions for bioinformatics, machine learning, and data intensive workloads, optimizing performance and cost for scientific teams. Drive automation and infrastructure engineering, building repeatable deployments using Terraform, Azure DevOps, and CI/CD pipelines for TREs and platform components. Ensure alignment with LifeArc's Data Platform strategy, embedding architectural principles and collaborating with data engineering and governance teams for seamless integration. Embed governance, security, and compliance standards (GDPR, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials+) across cloud and TRE environments, implementing encryption, access controls, and audit logging. Implement observability and operational excellence, applying SRE principles to monitor performance, resilience, and cost optimization using Azure Monitor and related tools. Collaborate with stakeholders and provide technical leadership, translating scientific requirements into secure, scalable architectures and mentoring engineering teams. Education & experience required (essential) At least a HND/HNC in a computer science related field, or equivalent Experience as 1st/2nd line IT support specialist and providing compute support with any kind of regulated environment containing confidential/highly sensitive data Practical data warehouse/data lake experience Experience working as an architect to design and deliver changes in IT infrastructure design Strong hands on experience with Microsoft Azure across networking, compute, security, storage and automation Understanding of modern data/ML platforms such as Databricks, Azure ML, Synapse MLflow, Airflow etc. Experience working as an architect to design and deliver changes in IT infrastructure design Experience as a Linux support analyst/system administrator Understanding of data security best practices and disaster recovery planning Experience in cloud architecting in a life sciences, medical research or health informatics organisation Familiarity with data science and AI/ML approaches that the data platform infrastructure and environments Experience contributing to data sharing agreements and Data Protection Impact Assessments Practical experience with Snowflake Proficient with Terraform or Bicep/ARM Qualified as Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), Azure Security Engineer (AZ-500), AWS Solutions Architect, Kubernetes certifications (CKA/CKS) CISSP, CCSP, ISO27001 certifications Skills & abilities Collaboration and matrix working - engages with multiple teams and stakeholders to align goals and manage interdependencies. Decision making and problem solving - analyses available information and makes data driven decisions independently in familiar situations. Cloud and infrastructure management - manages cloud based platforms, optimizing performance and security. Enterprise architecture and system integration - designs and maintains modular, scalable architectures Cybersecurity and compliance - implements security controls, risk assessments, and compliance audits. Learning agility and versatility, able to 'roll up sleeves' and operate independently to add value in a small team About us LifeArc is a not for profit life science organisation, leading the way for change in rare diseases in the UK and supporting promising initiatives in global health. We seek out research in areas of unmet need that has great potential, providing support to help it become breakthroughs that change lives. What we can offer you Focused on finding life changing solutions for underserved patients, our people thrive in an inclusive, and supportive environment that prioritises their health and wellbeing. Our multidisciplinary approach guarantees our people growth opportunities, while our culture of innovation and collaboration drives the impact we make delivering on our purpose of 'putting patients at the centre of everything we do'. We are dedicated to creating a diverse, flexible, equitable and happy work environment so our colleagues can thrive as their truest selves. We act with courage, curiosity, care & commitment to deliver quality & excellence for our patients and each other Join us, and you'll be given the scope to develop your professional skills and experience in a safe, supportive and challenging environment Salary will be determined by qualifications and experience along with other exceptional benefits. Because we understand everyone has different requirements, our flexible benefits allow you to choose those which are important to you. Our pension scheme offers employer contributions of up to 12%, private health insurance, and annual leave of 31 days PLUS bank holidays. Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people from minority ethnic backgrounds, for example, are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At LifeArc we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so whatever your background or lived experience, if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. Our top priority is finding the best candidate, and you may be just right for this or other roles. We all have potential. At LifeArc, you'll discover what you can really do with it. At LifeArc, we commit to advancing equal opportunities and building a diverse workforce by ensuring a fair, inclusive, and accessible recruitment experience for all. We employ individuals based on their suitability for the work to be performed and their potential for development, regardless of age, sex, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion, or belief. Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion includes creating a culture where everyone feels they belong, is valued for who they are and has the opportunity to translate their potential. We want every candidate to do their very best. If you require special assistance or reasonable adjustments, please be sure to let us know in advance what will be most useful for you and / or to discuss your needs. Please note we are actively recruiting, and the closing date may be brought forward if we find the right person for this role.