Cloud Engineer
Also advertised as: Cloud Engineer, Cloud Support Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer, Platform Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer
Builds and runs infrastructure on cloud platforms so applications stay available and secure.
What the job involves
Cloud engineers automate infrastructure. You build environments as code, manage deployment pipelines, monitor cost and performance, and keep systems resilient. Most arrive from systems administration or development with AWS or Azure certifications.
Typical responsibilities
- Build and manage cloud infrastructure as code
- Maintain deployment pipelines
- Monitor availability, cost and performance
- Improve security and access controls
- Support incident recovery
Common employers
- Software companies
- Consultancies
- Banks
- Public sector digital teams
- Startups
Pay, hours and working environment
Typical pay
£32,000 – £40,000 a year
With experience
£55,000 – £80,000 a year
Typical hours
37.5 hours plus on-call rota
Working environment
Remote-first in most employers
Remote working
remote
Demand for this work
high
Pay ranges are indicative guidance drawn from advertised UK vacancies and published careers information. They are not an offer, and actual pay varies by employer, location and experience.
Skills and qualifications
Core skills
- AWS or Azure
- Infrastructure as code
- Scripting
- Containers
- Monitoring
Transferable skills you may already have
- Systems administration
- Scripting and automation
- Troubleshooting
Requirements employers ask for
- AWS or Azure
- Infrastructure as code
- Scripting
- Containers
- Monitoring
- No formal qualification required
Useful but not essential
- Systems administration
- Scripting and automation
- Troubleshooting
- AWS or Azure associate certifications
- Level 4 DevOps apprenticeship
Helpful qualifications
- AWS or Azure associate certifications
- Level 4 DevOps apprenticeship
Ways into this career
A degree is only one route. Where an apprenticeship, work-experience or qualification route exists, it is listed here alongside the academic option.
Apprenticeships and work-based routes
- DevOps Engineer (Level 4)
Degree and college routes
- Related subject: Computing
- Related subject: Software engineering
Where this career can lead
next
Senior Cloud Engineer
next
Platform Lead
next
Cloud Architect
The good parts and the hard parts
What people enjoy
- Among the best paid technology roles
- Strong remote culture
- Certification route from IT support
What people find hard
- On-call responsibility
- Rapidly changing platforms
Common questions
- Do you need a degree to become a cloud engineer?
- No. As well as degree routes, this career can be entered through an apprenticeship or by building experience and qualifications on the job. not_required
- How much does a cloud engineer earn in the UK?
- Typical advertised pay runs from £32,000 to £40,000 a year, rising towards £80,000 with experience. Figures are indicative guidance rather than an offer.
- What skills transfer into this career?
- Skills that transfer well include Systems administration, Scripting and automation, Troubleshooting.
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Where this information comes from
- National Careers Service
- Institute for Apprenticeships
Last reviewed 14 September 2026.
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