Alibaba Cloud-Operations Controls Expert-London, UK

We are the Alibaba Infrastructure Operations Team, dedicated to ensuring the stable, secure, and efficient operation of infrastructure across our global footprint. The Controls team specializes in infrastructure automation and monitoring systems, including BMS, EPMS, and EMS. Working closely with both global engineering and regional operations teams, we drive technical standards, system integration, and platform development to support highly reliable infrastructure operations. By combining expertise in infrastructure operations and software platforms, we continuously enhance our monitoring, automation, and operational capabilities to deliver greater efficiency and reliability at scale. Job Responsibilities:

1. 01

   Own regional technical standards for BMS/EPMS/EMS integration, defining monitoring specifications, protocol requirements, and data quality benchmarks to ensure standardized, reliable monitoring coverage across all regional infrastructure.

2. 02

   Lead EMS integration projects across regional colocation providers through structured program management. Coordinate cross-functional resources (internal engineering, colo provider teams, platform vendors) to ensure standardized telemetry access, data quality, and alarm management aligned with Alibaba global EMS standards.

3. 03

   Develop integration tools, data validation scripts, and platform components to automate monitoring deployment, configuration, and quality assurance. Apply cloud-native practices (IaC, CI/CD, observability frameworks) to build and maintain the regional integration toolchain, improving delivery efficiency and reducing manual errors.

4. 04

   Serve as regional technical escalation point for complex BMS/EPMS/EMS integration faults. Lead root cause analysis using structured methodologies (post-incident review, blameless retrospectives), develop permanent corrective actions, and establish knowledge base entries to prevent recurrence across the regional fleet.

5. 05

   Review and validate electrical and HVAC automation control logic implemented by colocation providers. Orchestrate technical experts and vendor resources to ensure control strategies meet reliability, efficiency, and safety standards before production deployment.

6. 06

   Conduct systematic technical risk assessment of regional automation infrastructure, including single points of failure analysis, redundancy validation, and mitigation roadmap development. Drive risk closure through structured follow-up with colo providers and internal stakeholders.

7. 07

   Establish regional technical training programs for controls deployment engineers and local FM/FE teams. Transfer integration methodologies, debugging techniques, and operational best practices to build sustainable regional technical capability.

8. 08

   Collaborate with global headquarters on platform roadmap, standards evolution, and tool development. Represent regional perspectives in global architecture reviews and ensure global policies are adapted to local infrastructure contexts.

1. 01

   Bachelor's degree or higher in a technical discipline (EE, ME, Automation, CS, or related). Over 8 years of experience in infrastructure operations with demonstrated technical leadership. Acceptable backgrounds include infrastructure automation/BMS, cloud computing engineering, cloud service delivery, SRE, or infrastructure platform engineering.

2. 02

   For candidates from infra/facilities backgrounds: Deep understanding of BMS/EPMS architectures and industrial protocols including Modbus (TCP/RTU), BACnet (IP/MSTP), SNMP, and MQTT. Hands-on experience with monitoring point configuration, data mapping, and protocol troubleshooting across multi-vendor environments.

3. 03

   For candidates from cloud/infrastructure backgrounds: Solid experience in cloud service delivery, infrastructure automation, or reliability engineering — including observability stack (metrics, logging, alerting), deployment automation (CI/CD, config management), and incident response frameworks. Demonstrated ability to adapt practices to new domains and learn domain-specific requirements quickly.

4. 04

   Proficient in at least one programming language (Python, Go, or Java) with proven ability to develop production-grade tools for system integration, data validation, or platform development. Experience building APIs, data pipelines, or config management tools is highly valued.

5. 05

   Demonstrated experience in technical standards development or governance across multi-site environments. Ability to translate abstract reliability requirements into concrete technical specifications, integration procedures, and acceptance criteria.

6. 06

   Strong analytical and debugging skills for complex integration issues spanning network infrastructure, communication protocols, and software platforms. Ability to systematically isolate faults across multi-layer system boundaries.

7. 07

   Proven ability to lead technical projects across cross-functional and cross-cultural teams. Experience coordinating with colo providers, equipment vendors, and internal engineering teams to deliver complex integration initiatives on schedule.

8. 08

   Excellent communication and technical documentation skills, with ability to convey complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences across diverse cultural contexts. Mandarin proficiency is a plus. Willingness to travel internationally (up to 30% of time).