Job Description

Mission/ Core purpose of the Job
The Senior Specialist: Cloud Platform is responsible for building, operating, and continuously improving MTN’s internal cloud platform infrastructure that enables engineering teams across the organisation to provision, deploy, and manage systems reliably without needing to manage underlying infrastructure complexity. This role focuses on platform standardisation, cost efficiency (FinOps), and operational excellence. Unlike DevOps Engineers and Site Reliability Engineers, this role centers on platform ownership including hybrid cloud architecture, automation of self-service capabilities, and providing tooling and telemetry to enable digital service reliability and velocity.

Key Activities & Responsibilities
Cloud Platform Architecture & Engineering
Design, build, and evolve the internal hybrid cloud platform infrastructure to support scalable, resilient, and secure compute, storage, and networking services.
Develop platform-level services and components such as identity management, service discovery, logging, and metrics aggregation to unify and simplify cloud operations.
Architect and implement infrastructure-as-code (IaC) frameworks ensuring reproducible and automated platform environments aligned with enterprise standards.
Lead platform standardisation efforts, consolidating disparate environments across regions or business units to optimise efficiency and maintainability.

Automation & Self-Service Enablement
Build and maintain automation pipelines enabling engineering and operational teams to provision, deploy, and manage cloud resources without manual intervention.
Develop self-service portals and APIs that expose platform capabilities, empowering users with on-demand access to environments and tools while enforcing governance policies.
Integrate continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools with platform provisioning workflows to streamline application delivery.
Drive automation of recurring operational tasks including patching, scaling, backups, and incident management to improve platform reliability and reduce human error.

Monitoring, Telemetry & Reliability Engineering Support
Implement comprehensive monitoring and telemetry systems for platform health, usage, and performance to provide accurate, real-time insights for operational awareness.
Collaborate closely with Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) to incorporate reliability engineering practices, such as SLIs/SLOs, alerting thresholds, and automated remediation hooks.
Develop tooling and dashboards that enable rapid diagnosis of platform issues and foster proactive incident prevention.
Participate in post-incident reviews and contribute to continuous improvement of platform stability and defect reduction.

Cost Management & optimisation (FinOps)
Monitor cloud resource utilisation and spending, identifying inefficiencies and recommending cost optimisation strategies across the cloud platform estate.
Implement governance policies and tooling to enforce resource tagging, rightsizing, and consumption limits while balancing budgetary constraints and performance needs.
Collaborate with finance and procurement teams to align cloud consumption with business forecasts and contractual commitments.
Educate platform users and stakeholders on FinOps principles and best practices, fostering cost-consciousness throughout the organisation.

Security, Compliance & Governance
Embed security best practices into platform design and operations, including identity and access management, encryption, network segmentation, and vulnerability management.
Ensure platform adherence to relevant regulatory requirements and corporate policies concerning data protection, privacy, and operational controls.
Coordinate with security teams and auditors during assessments and remediation processes to maintain certification and compliance standards.
Maintain detailed documentation on platform architecture, access controls, incident response plans, and operational procedures.

Collaboration, Stakeholder Engagement & Continuous Improvement
Engage with internal teams—DevOps, SRE, ITSM, product, and development squads—as well as external cloud vendors to align platform capabilities with evolving business needs.
Provide technical leadership and mentoring within the platform engineering team to foster skills development and adoption of best practices.
Identify emerging cloud technologies and methodologies, evaluating their applicability to MTN’s platform landscape to drive innovation.
Lead and participate in cross-functional initiatives aiming to enhance platform scalability, agility, and operational excellence.

Education
Minimum of 3 year degree/diploma in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical discipline.

Experience
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in building, operating, or managing cloud platforms within medium to large enterprises.
Hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or hybrid cloud environments), automation tools (Terraform, Ansible, etc.), and container orchestration (Kubernetes).
Knowledge of platform cost management (FinOps) and cloud governance best practices.
Experience collaborating with DevOps, SRE, and ITSM teams in a platform engineering context.
Strong understanding of security and compliance requirements in cloud environments.

Skills
Advanced skills in cloud architecture design, infrastructure automation, and platform monitoring.
Ability to create and maintain self-service capabilities that reduce operational workload and accelerate deployment cycles.
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills to align multiple teams and vendors.
Analytical and problem-solving mindset focused on operational excellence and continuous improvement.

As part of MTN’s recruitment process, your personal information may be processed using secure Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to assist with the shortlisting of candidates. This is done in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). By applying for this position, you consent to the processing of your personal information for recruitment purposes. All data will be handled securely and used solely for evaluating suitability for the role.

We are a purpose and value-led organization.

At MTN, we believe that understanding our people’s needs and aspirations is key to creating experiences that delight you at work, everyday. We are committed to fostering an environment where every member of our Y’ello Family is heard, understood and empowered to live an inspired life.

Our values keep us grounded and moving in the right direction. Most importantly, they keep us honest. It is not something we claim to be. It is in our DNA.

As an organisation, we consider it our mission to create an exciting and rewarding place to work, where our people can be themselves, thrive in positivity and ignite their full potential. A workplace that boosts creativity and innovation, improves productivity, and ultimately drives meaningful results. A workplace that is built on relationships and achieving a purpose that is bigger than us. This is what we want you to experience with us!

Our commitments go beyond an organisational promise. It is in our leadership and managerial ethos to meaningfully partner with our employees, customers and stakeholders with a vision to realise our shared goals.

We are delighted that you are considering us as your career partner to make a mark in the world. We look forward to your application!