Edge Enablement SME

Edge Enablement SME - Edge Hosting & Service Transformation

480-500 per day | Inside IR35 | Predominantly Remote | 6-Month Rolling Contract

We're looking for an experienced Edge Enablement Subject Matter Expert (SME) to help establish and operationalise an enterprise Edge Hosting service as part of a major Edge as a Service programme.

This is a senior, hands-on consultancy role focused on turning edge technology and architecture into a fully governed, repeatable and consumable business service. You'll define how the service operates, how factories access and onboard onto it, how it is supported, and how ownership transitions into permanent product and service teams.

The emphasis is on service design, operating model development, governance and operational enablement rather than purely technical architecture.

You'll work across technology, architecture, security, engineering, operations and business stakeholders to build a sustainable service that can scale across multiple factory sites and business domains.

Contract details

• Day rate: 480-500 per day, Inside IR35
• Duration: Initial 6 months, rolling contract with potential for extension
• Location: UK-based, predominantly remote with customer-site attendance as required
• Programme: Edge as a Service
• Seniority: Principal / Lead Consultant

The role

As Edge Enablement SME, you'll lead the transition from an emerging edge infrastructure capability to a mature, business-ready service.

You'll define the service proposition, operating model, governance, processes and commercial consumption model needed to support ongoing demand. This includes establishing how new factory requirements are assessed, how deployments are delivered and accepted, how capacity and lifecycle are managed, and how the service is supported once live.

A key part of the role will be embedding knowledge, accountability and decision-making into permanent teams. The objective is to establish a service that can operate and evolve independently, without continued reliance on dedicated enablement consultancy.

Key responsibilities

• Define the end-to-end Edge Hosting service, including scope, service boundaries, customer proposition, service catalogue and consumption model.
• Develop the target operating model, roles and responsibilities (RACI), governance forums, decision rights and escalation processes.
• Establish a repeatable factory onboarding and deployment lifecycle, covering demand intake, site readiness, design assurance, build, transition and service acceptance.
• Define service management processes for capacity planning, patching, lifecycle management, resilience, backup, incident and problem management, and operational support.
• Work with architecture and engineering teams to translate technical designs into standardised service offerings for different edge deployment requirements.
• Establish governance, operational controls, service KPIs, SLAs and reporting to monitor performance and service maturity.
• Shape the commercial and consumption model so factories and business units can access and consume edge services consistently.
• Align Technology Foundation, product domains, architecture, cyber security and operations around a common service model.
• Identify gaps in service ownership, operational readiness and delivery processes, developing practical plans to address them.
• Lead knowledge transfer, capability development and transition into permanent product and service teams.
• Develop a clear capability roadmap to improve service maturity, scalability and long-term sustainability.

Essential experience

• Significant experience establishing or transforming enterprise infrastructure, hybrid-cloud, platform or edge services within complex organisations.
• Strong expertise in service design, target operating models, governance frameworks, service ownership and operational readiness.
• Experience implementing IT service management disciplines, including service transition, incident and problem management, lifecycle management and service acceptance.
• Broad understanding of modern infrastructure technologies, including virtualisation/HCI, Kubernetes, networking, cyber security, observability and distributed infrastructure.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving architecture, engineering, operations, security and business stakeholders.
• Experience developing service catalogues, consumption models and standardised infrastructure service offerings.
• Strong commercial awareness, with the ability to align service design to funding, demand, capacity and delivery requirements.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation, documentation and executive communication skills.
• A pragmatic, outcome-focused approach, with the ability to move from strategy and design through to implementation and transition.

Desirable experience

• Manufacturing, factory infrastructure or IT/OT environments.
• Experience with Azure Local, Dell Distributed Private Cloud, Dell NativeEdge, VMware alternatives or similar distributed infrastructure platforms.
• Familiarity with SIAM and multi-supplier service operating models.
• Experience integrating service management processes with ServiceNow.
• Experience scaling infrastructure or edge services across multiple sites, countries or business units.
• Previous experience establishing a new service capability and transitioning it into business-as-usual operations.

Key deliverables

You'll be responsible for creating the service foundations required to make Edge Hosting a scalable and sustainable enterprise capability, including:

• Edge Hosting Service Definition and Service Catalogue.
• Target Operating Model, governance framework and RACI.
• Standard factory demand, onboarding, deployment and service-acceptance processes.
• Capacity, lifecycle, resilience and operational support model.
• Service KPI/SLA framework and governance reporting.
• Service maturity and capability development roadmap.
• Knowledge-transfer and transition plan for permanent service and product teams.

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