Principal Cloud Architect

Principal Cloud Architect

Lead the design, maintenance, enhancement, communication, and governance for Cloud architectures. Responsible for developing and reviewing key cloud architecture deliverables, technical roadmaps, preliminary and high-level architecture models for cloud solutions. Develop and review architecture deliverables. Manage adherence to architecture standards. Provide cloud architecture leadership and expose and communicate enterprise opportunities across multiple corporate initiatives. Provide leadership to the broader architecture community and to vendors. Communicate at all levels of the organization and be a trusted advisor for the senior leadership levels of the company.

A Principal Cloud Architect is expected to perform the following duties:

• Serve as the lead architect on cloud initiatives. This involves planning developing, maintaining, and reviewing cloud architecture throughout the project.
• Collaborate with project teams (business stakeholders, peer architecture disciplines, development/delivery teams, vendors, test/QA).
• Lead the cloud migration efforts
• Develop and maintain Cloud Architecture models, specifications, and other documentation (key written project deliverable) and/or oversee and approve such architecture documentation.
• Lead Proofs Of Concepts (POCs) leading to deployment of applications and infrastructures in the cloud.
• Depending on the specific role, design infrastructure solutions involving cloud infrastructure.
• Ensure solution deliveries are accurately and thoroughly reviewed as per applicable standards.
• Participate in and/or lead cross-functional IT Architecture groups that review designs from an enterprise perspective.
• Drive adherence to existing and evolving security requirements to ensure a robust and secure cloud environment.
• Drive adherence to application and technology standards and patterns, application portfolio strategy, and service level agreements.
• Partner with other project leaderships to identify and mitigate technical risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies related to cloud architecture
• Influence and drive improvements to cloud architecture processes, strategies, and standards.
• Support pre-project efforts in terms of working with the user, IT delivery, and vendor teams, crafting conceptual solutions, and assisting with delivery time estimates.
• Provide technical expertise/coaching for others.
• Monitor architecture related to other areas of IT, business communities, and vendors to ensure the relevance of architecture to meet business needs.
• Provide cloud architectural leadership that supports insightful decision making, drives efficiencies in the development process, and maximizes the quality of technical deliverables.
• Create or review IT plans that manage clear and realistic expectations of what technology can offer in terms of products, services, and delivery mechanisms.
• Establish, maintain, and review enterprise models of the cloud architecture to enable applications development and decision-supporting activities, consistent with IT plans.
• Provide technical expertise/coaching for others. Support and mentor less experienced staff.

Hiring Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree and 10 years of progressive experience in a combination of development, design in areas of cloud computing
• If no degree, 12 years of progressive experience as stated above
• Must have served for at least 5 years as a thought leader in cloud practice in Cloud Service Providers like AWS (preferred) and/or other cloud providers
• Must have 5 years of experience in leading migration to the cloud, cloud practice, and cloud native architectures in AWS (preferred) and/or other cloud providers
• Must have a solid understanding of Continuous Development and Deployment in AWS (preferred) and/or other cloud providers
• Must have at least 7 years of direct infrastructure, system, application and cloud architecture experience driving comprehensive end-to-end solutions involving AWS (preferred) and/or other cloud providers
• Must have certifications in popular cloud providers like AWS
• Must be proficient in designing and maintaining cloud-based infrastructures in AWS or Azure to deliver the required performance, security, and availability requirements
• At least 5-7 years’ experience in AWS or Azure Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Must haven solid hands-on experience in technologies like EC2, Lambda, S3, RDS, VPC, IAM, Cloud Watch
• Must have certifications in popular cloud providers like AWS and/or Azure

Hiring Preferences

• Experience in multiple architecture disciplines is preferred.
• Some experience formally leading technical teams is preferred.
• Prefer candidates with knowledge and understanding of: Regulatory and legislative impact on health plans, specifically security requirements driven by HIPAA; Health insurance and plan administration.
• Experience in middleware technologies like Kafka, JBOSS and WebSphere
• Experience and knowledge of cloud native architectures such as Kubernetes, OpenShift, and DevSecOps.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills, including team leadership and work organization/coordination.
• Excellent influencing and consultative skills; and the ability to proactively identify and resolve issues and opportunities.
• Experience working closely with the business, IT personnel and other architectural areas to provide research and development around application trends, integration patterns, vendor direction and development methodologies.
• Understand business behavior patterns and patterns of information and technology and how they work together to enable the business to achieve their strategic and tactical goals.
• Prefer a certification in at least one facet of IT architecture.