Sr. Lead Engineer - Cloud Ops (Contract)

Duties and Responsibilities

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Cloud Infrastructure Design and Management:
• Architect and manage highly available, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructure across multi-cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Design and implement cloud-based solutions that align with best practices for performance, security, and cost-efficiency.
• Manage cloud resources, including virtual machines, containers, databases, networking, and storage, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.
Automation and DevOps Practices:
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or Ansible to automate the provisioning and management of cloud resources.
• Implement and manage CI/CD pipelines to streamline the deployment process, ensuring fast and reliable application releases.
• Automate routine operational tasks, such as monitoring, scaling, and backups, to improve efficiency and reduce manual intervention.
Monitoring, Incident Management, and Troubleshooting:
• Set up comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting systems to proactively identify and resolve potential issues before they impact users.
• Lead incident response efforts, including root cause analysis and remediation, to minimize downtime and ensure a stable environment.
• Continuously optimize cloud infrastructure for cost-effectiveness and performance, identifying and eliminating bottlenecks.
Security and Compliance:
• Implement and enforce cloud security best practices, including identity and access management (IAM), encryption, and network security.
• Ensure the cloud environment complies with industry standards and regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) through the implementation of security controls and audits.
• Regularly perform security assessments and vulnerability scans to maintain a secure cloud environment.
Collaboration and Leadership:
• Work closely with software engineering, DevOps, and security teams to ensure seamless integration of cloud infrastructure with applications and services.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers, sharing best practices and guiding them in their professional development.
• Collaborate with product management and other stakeholders to understand business requirements and translate them into scalable cloud solutions.
Continuous Improvement and Innovation:
• Stay up to date with the latest cloud technologies and trends and evaluate their applicability to our environment.
• Lead initiatives to improve cloud infrastructure, adopting new tools and processes to enhance efficiency, reliability, and scalability.
• Contribute to the development and documentation of cloud operations policies, procedures, and best practices.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in cloud operations, cloud engineering, or a similar role, with a focus on managing large-scale, production cloud environments.
• Proven experience with multi-cloud environments, particularly AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Expertise in cloud infrastructure management and automation tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, Chef).
• Strong knowledge of containerization and orchestration technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and related tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI).
• Proficiency in scripting and programming languages such as Python, Bash, or Go.
• Deep understanding of networking concepts, cloud security practices, and identity management (IAM).
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to troubleshoot complex cloud infrastructure issues.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of conveying technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Leadership abilities with a track record of mentoring and guiding engineering teams.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Experience with serverless architecture and microservices.
• Knowledge of observability and monitoring tools/frameworks (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack. OpenTelemetry).
• Familiarity with cloud cost management and optimization strategies.
• Experience with disaster recovery and business continuity planning in cloud environments.