Average Infrastructure Specialist salary in the UK

Job Title: Cloud Infrastructure ArchitectLocation: Liverpool City Centre on a Hybrid working basisSalary: £65,000 - £75,000 per annum, Depending on experienceJob Type: Permanent, Full TimeWorking Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday 9.00am - 5.30pmAcorn Insurance are looking for a passionate Cloud Infrastructure Architect who will be responsible for designing, implementing, and optimising secure, scalable, and highly available cloud platforms. This role provides technical leadership across cloud strategy, architecture governance, infrastructure modernisation, and operational excellence. The architect partners closely with engineering, security, operations, and business teams to ensure the cloud environment supports organisational goals and meets enterprise standards.Key Role Responsibilities:Develop end-to-end cloud architectures that support enterprise workloads, including compute, storage, networking, identity, and automation.Develop a close working relationship with Head of Platform Engineering (HoPE) to ensure robust design and delivery across our cloud platformsCreate reference architectures, design patterns, and technical standards for cloud environments.Design hybrid and multi-cloud strategies leveraging platforms such as Azure, AWS, and GCP.Evaluate new cloud services, tools, and technologies to guide technical direction.Lead the design and implementation of core cloud infrastructure components: virtual networks, identity and access, monitoring, encryption, resilience, and backup strategies.Define infrastructure-as-code (IaC) patterns using tools such as Terraform, Bicep, or ARM.Support migration of workloads from on-premise to cloud platforms following best-practice frameworksEnsure cloud designs adhere to security standards, regulatory requirements, and architectural governance.Implement Zero Trust principles, network segmentation, encryption, key management, and secure access control models.Partner with Security Operations and SOC teams to ensure monitoring, logging, and incident response capabilities are embeddedDevelop automation and service optimisation strategies to improve performance, cost efficiency, and availability.Conduct capacity planning, resilience engineering, disaster recovery design, and performance tuning.Act as a subject-matter expert and trusted advisor for cloud strategy and infrastructure initiatives.Mentor engineers and contribute to capability uplift across cloud, DevOps, and infrastructure teams.Communicate technical concepts clearly to executives, project managers, and non-technical stakeholders. About you:Critical Competencies:A strong hands-on technical background with 3+ years across several disciplines; networking, infrastructure, cloud platform and system administrationExtensive experience designing and supporting cloud infrastructure on Azure, AWS, or GCPStrong understanding of networking (VNETs/VPCs, routing, DNS, load balancing, firewalls).Deep knowledge of infrastructure-as-code and automation tooling.Experience with container platforms (AKS, EKS, GKE, Kubernetes) and serverless architectures.Strong background in identity and access management (Azure AD, IAM, RBAC).Proven experience building scalable, resilient, and secure cloud architectures.Solid understanding of cloud cost optimisation and FinOps principlesGrow with AcornAt Acorn Insurance, we're proud of our Liverpool roots - and even prouder of how far we've come. As part of the Acorn Group, we bring over 40 years of specialist insurance expertise to the table. From humble beginnings, we've grown into a national leader, now employing 1,700+ people across the UK and reached a milestone £750 million in total value of insurance policies written in 2024.Benefits:A maximum of 35 days' holiday (including bank holidays) with additional buy/sell options24/7 mental health support & free counselling availableGrow with us: Through career fairs, leadership programs, and learning on the go!Flexible benefits, including early access to salary via our internal platformHybrid working options to support work-life balance and individual needsRecognition awards, social events & moreA Few Things to Know Before You ApplyChecks & ClearancesAll roles at Acorn are subject to DBS and financial checks. Any offer we make will be conditional until these are completed to a satisfactory standard.Visa RequirementsBecause our training is quite comprehensive, we can only consider applicants who have at least one year remaining on their Graduate or Post-Study Work visa. At the moment, we're not able to offer visa sponsorship.We're Here to Support YouWe're committed to creating an inclusive, supportive workplace where everyone can flourish. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process-or once you're part of the team-just let us know. Whether it's flexible hours, adapted equipment, or a bit of extra support, we'll work with you to make sure you can do your best work.Please click the APPLY button to submit your CV for this role.Candidates with experience or relevant job titles of; Cloud Infrastructure Administrator, IT Architect, Systems Developer, Software Architect may also be considered for this role.

Infrastructure EngineerContract till April£550 - £600/Day Inside IR35 Mainly Remote/ CardiffClearance: SC We are seeking a Infrastructure Engineer our Government client based in Cardiff. This role can be worked mainly remotely but will be expected to come to business every quarter.The Infrastructure Engineer role will be an initial contract until 02/04 paying between £550 - £600/Day Inside IR35.This role is inside IR35 - Due to the service of the role it will now be based on an Umbrella solution.Clearance: SCRole Profile: You will be responsible for delivering and maintaining secure, resilient infrastructure and platform servicesYou will champion security best practices, ensuring that systems are designed, configured, and operated to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organisational data and servicesTaking a user, service, and risk-focused approach, you will drive continuous improvement and automation to strengthen security, resilience, and operational effectivenessWorking as part of a team of infrastructure specialists and engineers, you will build, administer, support, and maintain secure and compliant solutions in line with departmental policies, security standards, and industry best practiceA significant proportion of the role will involve working with teams across the organisation to provide expert advice on secure environments, configuration management, identity and access management, infrastructure hardening, vulnerability management, monitoring, and incident responseYou will help ensure that critical services remain secure, available, and resilient against evolving cyber threatsLinux/Terraform/Docker/AWS/Security Principles/Bash/PythonIf you are interested in the above, hit the Apply now button!Infrastructure Engineer, Infrastructure Specialist, Linux, Infrastructure Engineer, Terraform, Infrastructure Engineer, Docker, Infrastructure Engineer, SC Cleared, SC ClearanceAs a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, Circle and our Client guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.Our client is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, they guarantee to interview all veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where they have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, they will interview the best candidates from within that group. If you qualify, please notify us on . We will be in touch to discuss your suitability and arrange your guaranteed interview.Should you require reasonable adjustments at any point during the recruitment process or if there is a better way for us to communicate, please do let us know.Circle Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy. Earn yourself a referral bonus if you refer somebody else who fills the role! We also offer an iPad if you refer a new client to us and we recruit for them. Follow us on Facebook - Circle Recruitment , Twitter - @Circle_Rec and LinkedIn - Circle Recruitment.

Your new companyThis is a highly successful and forward-thinking further education organisation with a reputation for excellence, innovation, and student achievement. Supporting thousands of learners across multiple campuses, the group continues to invest significantly in its people, technology, and facilities to ensure an outstanding experience for both staff and students. With ambitious plans for digital transformation and infrastructure modernisation, this is an exciting opportunity to join an organisation where technology is recognised as a key enabler of success and where your contribution will have a genuine impact across the business. This newly created role will report directly to the Head of IT and the successful candidate will be joining a well-established and experienced team of IT specialists where they will have the opportunity to further develop their own skills and experience.Your new roleAs Infrastructure Manager, you will take ownership of the college's core IT infrastructure, ensuring the stability, performance, security and future development of critical systems across the college. A key focus of the role will be the management, support and ongoing enhancement of the college's VMware environment, making proven VMware vSphere experience essential. You will lead on the administration of virtual machines, storage platforms, backup technologies and disaster recovery planning, while proactively monitoring performance, capacity and availability to ensure a resilient and highly available infrastructure. You will also play a central role in infrastructure life cycle management, delivering upgrades and improvements that support the college's long-term digital strategy.Alongside infrastructure responsibilities, you will help oversee the College's enterprise networking estate, including HPE/Aruba switching and Cisco Meraki wireless technologies, whilst ensuring robust security controls are maintained across both on-premises and cloud environments. You will be responsible for managing security updates, patching, identity and access management through Microsoft Entra ID and Azure AD, and responding to vulnerabilities and emerging threats. Looking ahead, you will support several strategic technology projects, including the migration from on-premises Exchange and file storage to Microsoft 365, helping to deliver a modern, secure and collaborative digital workplace. As a senior technical lead, you will act as an escalation point for complex issues, work closely with stakeholders and third-party partners, mentor junior engineers, and drive best practice across the IT function. Please note, this role is on site 5 days a week in the Stoke-on-Trent area, with 1 primary site and occasional travel required to others within the group, which are all local.What you'll need to succeedTo succeed in this role, you will need to have significant experience working in an IT infrastructure environment, supported by strong hands-on expertise in VMWare vSphere, ideally across versions 7,8 or 9. You should also have some experience of administering M365 and working with Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP and SCCM with experience working in networking being advantageous. You will be a proactive and forward-thinking infrastructure professional with a genuine passion for technology and a desire to stay ahead of emerging trends. With a commitment to continuous learning and professional development, you will be motivated by the opportunity to enhance your technical expertise while helping to shape and support a modern, resilient IT environment. As the role requires travel between multiple sites, a full UK driving licence and access to your own vehicle are essential.What you'll get in returnIn return, you will be joining a highly successful and ambitious organisation in a newly created role that offers genuine scope for growth and opportunity as the position evolves. You will become a valued member of an experienced and supportive IT team, working closely with colleagues across the organisation and benefiting from the guidance and support of the Head of IT. Working in the further education sector, you'll enjoy an excellent benefits package, including membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, 43 days' annual leave (including bank holidays), access to an Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, subsidised gym membership, and a range of additional employee benefits. The organisation is also committed to investing in its people, offering ongoing training and development opportunities, including financial support for professional qualifications and certifications that will help you grow both within your role and throughout your career.What you need to do nowIf you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk