Principal Specialist – Cloud Platforms at Cell C

Purpose of the Job:

• To provide enterprise-level technical leadership and accountability for the design, governance, security, reliability, and cost-optimized operation of Cell C’s multi-cloud platforms, ensuring resilient, scalable, and compliant cloud services that enable business continuity, technology modernization, and sustainable growth.
• The Principal Specialist plays a key role in driving platform modernization, automation, and optimization, embedding Infrastructure‑as‑Code, standardized provisioning, and observability practices to reduce operational risk, improve service reliability, and accelerate time‑to‑value.
• The role also ensures that cloud environments are governed effectively, with appropriate security controls, cost management disciplines, and lifecycle management practices in place.

Main Responsibilities:

Cloud Architecture & Platform Strategy

• Define and govern secure, scalable, and cost‑efficient cloud reference architectures across approved hyperscale’s
• Act as the technical design authority for cloud standards, patterns, and architectural guardrails
• Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture principles, security frameworks, and regulatory requirements

Platform Engineering & Automation

• Lead Infrastructure‑as‑Code, automation, and standardized provisioning practices
• Establish reusable modules, pipelines, and golden images to improve platform consistency and reliability

Security, Compliance & Governance

• Implement and oversee cloud security controls including IAM, encryption, secrets management, network segmentation, and policy‑as‑code
• Ensure audit readiness and compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements

Reliability, Observability & Incident Leadership

• Own platform availability, resilience, monitoring, and operational readiness.
• Provide senior technical leadership during major incidents and outages

Cost Management & FinOps

• Drive cloud cost transparency, optimisation, and financial governance in partnership with Finance and Architecture teams

Stakeholder Management

• Act as the senior technical authority in engagements with hyperscale’s, managed service providers, and internal stakeholders
• Mentor senior and lead specialists, contributing to capability uplift across the Technology Group

Minimum Qualification

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field
• Advanced coursework or certification in enterprise architecture or strategic IT management (e.g. TOGAF training) is highly desirable
• Cloud Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (strongly preferred)
• Additional cloud certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Google Cloud Certified Architect, and Huawei Cloud certifications (e.g., HCIP/HCIE-Cloud Solutions Architect) are an advantage

Experience

• 11-12 years extensive experience in enterprise cloud platforms and infrastructure engineering, including proven expertise in multi-cloud architecture, automation, security, and platform reliability within complex, large-scale environments
• Extensive Architecture Experience: 8–10+ years of experience in IT infrastructure and solution architecture, including a proven track record in cloud architecture and design for large-scale systems with at least 5 years focused on designing and implementing solutions on AWS in a production environment is expected
• Multi-Cloud & Hybrid Environments: Hands-on experience architecting solutions across multiple cloud platforms – primarily AWS, with exposure to Azure and GCP – and integrating these with on-premises or hybrid infrastructure. Experience with Huawei Cloud or other emerging cloud providers is an advantage, reflecting the ability to adapt in a multi-cloud, multi-vendor ecosystem
• Telecommunications Domain: Industry experience in telecom or similarly high-availability, large-scale industries is highly desired. Familiarity with telecommunication IT systems and standards, for example, understanding of OSS/BSS systems, network functions virtualization (NFV), and 5G network architecture – will enable designing solutions suited to a mobile operator’s needs
• Enterprise Projects & Strategy: Demonstrated experience leading complex architecture projects and cloud migration initiatives end-to-end. History of defining technology roadmaps or strategies that align with business objectives and delivering them in collaboration with cross-functional teams
• Governance & Compliance: Experience ensuring solutions comply with security and regulatory requirements. Familiarity with South African regulatory environment (e.g., POPIA data protection laws, ICASA regulations) and relevant industry standards for IT governance and security
• Financial Optimization: Practical experience with cloud cost management or FinOps practices, such as budgeting cloud spend, optimizing resource usage, and implementing cost-monitoring tools is important. This includes experience setting up tagging, monitoring cost reports, and making architecture decisions to optimize ROI on cloud investments

Special Requirements

• Operating as a deep specialist rather than a people manager, the role influences strategic technology decisions, provides expert guidance to senior stakeholders, mentors other specialists, and leads technical resolution during high‑impact incidents. Decisions taken within this role have a material impact on service availability, security posture, compliance, and cost efficiency, directly supporting Cell C’s technology strategy, business continuity, and long‑term growth objectives
• Cloud Architecture & Design
• Multi-Tenant Architecture
• Cloud Platforms & Tools
• Enterprise Integration & On-Premises
• Automation & DevOps
• Security & Compliance
• Frameworks & Best Practices
• Cloud Financial Management
• Telecom Technologies

Technical Competencies

• ITIL
• Cloud FinOps
• Cloud Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions
• Enterprise Architecture & ITSM: TOGAF
• Additional cloud Certifications: Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Google Cloud Certified Architect, and Huawei Cloud certifications (e.g., HCIP/HCIE-Cloud Solutions Architect) are an advantage