Sr. Cloud Architect

Job Description

Who We Are

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is the leading entertainment and sports agency, with global expertise in filmed and live entertainment, digital media, publishing, sponsorship sales and endorsements, media finance, consumer investing, fashion, trademark licensing, and philanthropy. Distinguished by its culture of collaboration and exceptional client service, CAA’s diverse workforce identifies, innovates, and amplifies opportunities for the people and organizations that shape culture and inspire the world. The trailblazer of the agency business, CAA was the first to build a sports business, create an investment bank, launch a venture fund, found technology start-up companies, establish a philanthropic arm, build a business in China, and form a brand marketing services division, among other innovations. Named Most Valuable Sports Agency by Forbes for eight consecutive years, CAA represents more than 2,000 of the world’s top athletes in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, in addition to coaches, on‑air broadcasters, and sports personalities and works in the areas of broadcast rights, corporate marketing initiatives, social impact, and sports properties for sales and sponsorship opportunities.Founded in 1975, CAA is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has offices in New York, Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Miami, London, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Shanghai, and Beijing, among other locations globally.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Cloud Architect to define and own the vision, strategy, and design of the cloud infrastructure that powers CAA's global platforms and applications. This is a Microsoft Azure–first role, with secondary responsibility for Amazon Web Services (AWS), where you will own cloud reference architectures, establish infrastructure-as-code standards with Terraform, shape CI/CD and automation strategy, and set the standard for cloud reliability, security, and cost efficiency. As a technical leader across the organization, you will guide engineering teams, mentor engineers, and advance FinOps practices by governing cloud spend and driving cost‑savings initiatives across our cloud estate. This is a role for an experienced architect who enjoys solving complex problems and shaping technical direction in a fast-moving, high‑visibility environment.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the cloud architecture and reference designs across Microsoft Azure (primary) and AWS (secondary) that support CAA's global platforms.
• Establish infrastructure-as-code standards with Terraform, defining reusable modules and governing team adoption.
• Set CI/CD strategy and design patterns to automate provisioning, testing, and deployment of cloud workloads.
• Define cloud security architecture and best practices, including identity and access management, network segmentation, least privilege, encryption, and zero‑trust principles.
• Establish observability and capacity‑planning standards, and guide root‑cause analysis and remediation of incidents.
• Lead FinOps practices—govern cloud spend and drive cost‑savings opportunities across the cloud estate including AI token consumption and cost‑per‑inference tracking
• Develop and maintain architecture diagrams, standards, runbooks, and technical documentation.
• Automate recurring operational tasks and configuration management using Terraform, PowerShell, Python, or similar tooling.
• Comfortable using GenAI tools like Claude to do code reviews, documentation validations, automated testing, etc
• Deploy, manage, and scale containerized workloads on Kubernetes (AKS), including cluster provisioning, upgrades, and workload orchestration.
• Partner with engineering, security, and application teams as a technical authority, providing architecture guidance and escalation as needed.
• Mentor junior and mid‑level engineers, lead technical design reviews, and set architecture and coding standards for the team.
• Lead and participate in an on‑call rotation and respond to critical cloud outages outside of business hours as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of cloud engineering experience, including 4+ years in a cloud architecture or design role, with deep expertise in Microsoft Azure and solid working knowledge of AWS.
• Advanced experience with infrastructure‑as‑code using Terraform, including modular, version‑controlled, and reusable designs.
• Proven experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI).
• Deep understanding of cloud security, identity and access management, and networking within Azure and AWS.
• Familiarity with FinOps or cloud cost optimization, including tagging, rightsizing, and reserved/savings‑plan concepts.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate across technical and business teams and to mentor junior engineers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Azure certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ‑305) or Azure Administrator (AZ‑104); AWS certifications a plus.
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes/AKS) and scripting in PowerShell or Python.
• Familiarity with media and entertainment workflows or high‑bandwidth production environments.
• Experience supporting global, multi‑site organizations with 24x7 availability requirements.

Location

This role is hybrid, based in our Nashville office.

Compensation

The annual base salary range for this position is as follows:

Nashville, TN - $203,000 - $226,000

This position is also eligible for benefits and a discretionary bonus. Ultimately, wages may vary based upon factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, time in role, business sector, and geographic location, among other criteria.

Benefits

At CAA, we offer a competitive compensation and benefits* package for all regular full‑time employees:

• Medical
• Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
• Telemedicine
• Employee assistance and mental health counseling in person, virtually or through text
• Paid Vacation / Holidays
• Paid Sick Time
• Paid Parental Leave and Other Paid Leaves of Absence
• NICU leave
• Bereavement resources
• Adoption Benefits
• Educational Assistance
• Mental Health Resources
• Employee Assistance Plan

Employees may also elect to participate in voluntary benefits:

• Dental, Vision Insurance
• 401K Plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Health Care and Dependent Care)
• Health Savings Account
• Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance

Employee Perks:

• Commuter Benefits

Benefits offered also include other statutory mandated benefits

Creative Artists Agency, LLC (the “Company”) is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate on the basis of race (inclusive of traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, creed, gender or sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, family and medical care leave status, military or veteran status, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, political affiliation, an employee’s or their dependent’s reproductive health decision making (e.g., the decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service), or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.The absence of a permanent address is not a bar to employment. The Company does not discriminate against individuals based on housing status, including the absence of a fixed address.The Company also complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local laws with regard to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities.CAA does not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters unless they were contractually engaged by CAA to provide candidates for a specified opening. Any such employment agency, person or entity that submits an unsolicited resume does so with the acknowledgement and agreement that CAA will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person or entity.