Staff Cloud Engineer

## Staff Cloud Engineer**Scottsdale,AZ85260**Posted: 08/14/2026Employment Type:ContractCategory: IT - Infrastructure - Storage/CLoudJob Number: 250905Work Location: Hybrid## Job DescriptionStaff Cloud Engineer (Contract-to-Hire) **Location:** Scottsdale, AZ (preferred) | San Francisco, CA | Chicago, IL **Work Model:** Hybrid (3 days onsite) * Contract Length: 12 months (strong conversion potential)* Compensation: $90–$95/hour* Work Authorization: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. (no sponsorship available)---About the Role Join a leading organization at the center of the U.S. financial ecosystem, powering secure, real-time payments used by hundreds of millions of consumers and businesses every day. As a Staff Cloud Engineer, you’ll help modernize and scale cloud infrastructure supporting critical payment platforms. You’ll work at the intersection of cloud architecture, platform engineering, and security/compliance, driving solutions that operate at national scale and high reliability. This is a 12-month contract with strong potential to convert full-time. ---What You’ll DoLead Cloud Architecture* Design and implement scalable, secure, and highly available AWS-based systems* Define architecture patterns and standards used across multiple engineering teams* Solve complex, open-ended technical challenges at scaleDrive Cloud Modernization* Support migration of large-scale systems from on-prem environments to AWS* Build resilient systems with strong fault tolerance, observability, and performanceStrengthen Security & Compliance* Partner with audit teams to address findings and implement improvements* Design systems aligned with security, risk, and compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC 2)* Ensure systems meet strict requirements for reliability, auditability, and data protectionBuild Internal Platforms & Tooling* Lead Infrastructure as Code (IaC) initiatives using Terraform and similar tools* Create reusable infrastructure components, APIs, and deployment pipelines* Improve the developer experience by simplifying and standardizing cloud infrastructureCollaborate & Influence* Work cross-functionally with engineering, product, and security teams* Drive alignment on technical decisions across multiple teams* Act as a key contributor to long-term cloud strategyOperate at Scale* Troubleshoot complex distributed system issues in production* Improve monitoring, alerting, and system reliability* Continuously elevate engineering practices and standards---What You BringCore Experience* 8+ years of experience in cloud engineering, distributed systems, or platform engineering* Strong expertise in AWS (compute, networking, storage, security, observability)* Experience designing highly scalable, resilient systemsTechnical Skills* Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, or similar)* Kubernetes (EKS or equivalent) and containerized environments* CI/CD pipeline design and automation* Strong understanding of networking, DNS, TLS, and load balancingArchitecture & Leadership* Experience owning and driving technical architecture across teams* Ability to influence decisions without direct authority* Proven track record building systems used by multiple engineering teamsDevelopment Background* Strong foundation in backend development (Java/Spring or similar)* Ability to debug and support application-layer issues when neededPreferred Experience* Work in regulated or high-security environments* Exposure to audit processes or SOC 2 controls* Experience with event-driven systems (Kafka, messaging frameworks)* FinTech or payments systems experience* Cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, or similar)---What Success Looks Like* Deliver secure, scalable cloud solutions supporting critical financial systems* Improve system reliability, performance, and compliance posture* Enable engineering teams through better infrastructure, tooling, and standards* Influence cloud strategy and make a measurable impact across the organization---Why Join* Work on high-impact systems that power real-time financial transactions nationwide* Help shape the future of a modern cloud platform at scale* Operate at a staff engineering level, influencing architecture and direction* Collaborate with talented teams focused on innovation, security, and reliability #J-18808-Ljbffr