Job Description

Cloud Architect / Operations Leader

Company: Xionex

About Xionex

Xionex is building a GenAI-native platform for banking and insurance operations, helping financial institutions modernise complex processes through AI-driven automation. We combine cloud-native architecture, enterprise-grade security, and intelligent automation to deliver scalable, secure, and reliable solutions for regulated environments.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Cloud Architect / Operations Leader to design, build, and own the cloud infrastructure and operational capabilities that support our growing platform.

This is a hands-on leadership role covering three deployment models: multi-tenant SaaS, customer-managed on-premises installations, and dedicated hosted environments. You will establish our infrastructure, DevOps, security, and operational processes from the ground up while ensuring high availability, scalability, cost efficiency, and compliance.

You will also lead Xionex's SOC 2 readiness and ongoing compliance efforts, working closely with engineering and the founders to establish robust operational practices as the business scales.

This role is ideal for a technically strong, self-directed professional who combines cloud architecture expertise with practical operations leadership and thrives in a fast-paced startup environment.

Key ResponsibilitiesCloud Architecture & Infrastructure

Design, build, and maintain secure, scalable, and reliable cloud infrastructure for Xionex's SaaS platform.
Define and implement infrastructure architectures across AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
Establish and manage deployment models for on-premises and dedicated hosted customer environments, including packaging, installation, upgrades, and ongoing support.
Drive infrastructure automation, infrastructure as code, and standardised deployment practices.
Optimise infrastructure performance, availability, scalability, and cloud expenditure.

Operations & Site Reliability

Own day-to-day platform operations, including monitoring, alerting, incident response, on-call arrangements, backups, and disaster recovery.
Establish and continuously improve CI/CD pipelines, observability, configuration management, access controls, and change management processes.
Define operational standards, service reliability practices, and procedures for production incident management.
Manage system vulnerabilities, security patching, secrets, and infrastructure access across all deployment environments.
Develop technical documentation, operational runbooks, and recovery procedures to support consistent and reliable operations.

Security, Risk & Compliance

Lead SOC 2 readiness, implementation, and audit activities, including control design, evidence collection, policy development, and auditor coordination.
Establish and maintain security baselines across cloud, hosted, and customer-managed environments.
Work with engineering and other stakeholders to embed security and compliance requirements into infrastructure and deployment processes.
Support the development of a scalable security and compliance framework suitable for enterprise customers in regulated industries.

Technical Leadership & Collaboration

Collaborate with engineering teams on architecture decisions, deployment strategies, and production readiness.
Balance security, reliability, delivery speed, and cost when making technical decisions.
Establish operational processes and tooling from the ground up, adapting them as the company and customer base grow.
Take ownership of infrastructure and operations while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce operational risk.
Build and develop the operations function as business requirements evolve.

Requirements

At least 7 years of experience in cloud infrastructure, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or platform engineering, including responsibility for architecture and production environments.
Strong hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform: AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
Solid experience with Kubernetes, containerisation, and infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform.
Demonstrated experience deploying and supporting software in customer-managed environments, including on-premises or private cloud installations.
Proven ability to operate production systems, including monitoring, incident management, backup and recovery, and disaster recovery planning.
Practical experience implementing and maintaining SOC 2 or ISO 27001 controls, including participation in audits.
Experience establishing infrastructure, operational processes, and tooling from scratch, preferably in a startup or scale-up environment.
Strong understanding of cloud security, access management, vulnerability management, and secure deployment practices.
Ability to work independently, take ownership of a broad technical scope, and make sound engineering decisions.
Strong problem-solving, communication, and documentation skills.
Professional proficiency in English, both written and spoken.

Nice to Have

Experience with compliance automation platforms such as Vanta, Drata, or Secureframe.
Experience with multi-cloud architectures or air-gapped environments.
Background in security engineering or cloud security architecture.
Experience building, hiring, or leading a small DevOps, SRE, or operations team.
Experience supporting enterprise software deployments in highly regulated industries, particularly banking or insurance.

Why Join Xionex

Build from the ground up: Shape the cloud infrastructure, operational processes, and security practices of a growing technology company.
Own meaningful technical decisions: Work directly with the founders and engineering team on architecture and platform reliability.
Solve complex challenges: Support multiple deployment models for an AI-native platform serving regulated industries.
Make a lasting impact: Establish the foundations for secure, scalable, and reliable operations as Xionex grows.