Principal Solutions Architect

Principal Solutions ArchitectAFS is seeking an Principal Solutions Architect to lead the design, build, and automation of our cutting-edge cloud infrastructure in a DevSecOps environment. The ideal candidate is passionate about building secure, scalable, and highly available platforms to meet business needs.As a subject-matter expert in AWS, your deep knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Amazon EKS for container orchestration, and advanced CI/CD pipelines will be instrumental in enabling our development teams to leverage a powerful, secure, and scalable self-service cloud platform.While our primary focus is AWS, experience in a hybrid environment and private cloud platforms such as VMware or Openshift will make you stand out.Responsibilities:AWS Infrastructure & Architecture:Design, build, and maintain scalable, resilient, and secure environments primarily within AWS using frameworks such as the Well-Architected framework.Implement and manage core AWS services, including networking (VPC, Transit Gateway, Route53), Kubernetes (EKS), compute (EC2, Lambda), storage (S3, EBS), and databases (RDS).Architect and operate containerized workloads using Amazon EKS, including cluster management, scaling, and security.Implement AWS IAM, creating and managing roles, policies, and permissions based on the principle of least privilege.Design immutable infrastructureDevSecOps & Automation:Champion and implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools such as Terraform to automate cloud resource provisioning and management.Develop, manage, and optimize robust CI/CD pipelines to enable rapid and reliable software delivery, integrate security best practices directly into the platform and pipelines.Develop custom automation scripts and tooling (e.g., using Python, Go, or Bash) to streamline operations and eliminate manual processes, heavily focusing on the usage of API's.Team Enablement & Collaboration:Act as a cloud subject matter expert, providing guidance and support to development teams to optimize their use of the platform.Collaborate with stakeholders to evaluate new cloud-native technologies and recommend solutions that enhance efficiency and capability.Champion foundational best practices, including Git workflows and the proficient use of AI tools to accelerate development and problem-solving.Divide big projects into manageable tasks for junior staff.Required Skills & Experience:10 years of experience with any of the following technologies:Expert-level proficiency with Infrastructure as Code (IaC), with strong hands-on experience in Terraform or other languages, to include advanced usage such as targeted applies, imports and more.Deep experience with container orchestration, specifically designing and managing Amazon EKSStrong command of AWS IAM roles, policies, and security best practices.Proven experience designing, building, and maintaining automated CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, AWSCodePipeline).Solid understanding of cloud networking, Linux/Unix administration, and security principles.Proficiency with Git and modern GitOpsMust possess and maintain required DoD 8140 certifications.Preferred Qualifications:Experience with VMware vSphere in a hybrid cloud context.Experience with configuration management tools like Ansible.Familiarity with other public clouds (Azure, GCP).Proficiency in one or more programming languages (Python, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript).Understanding of common authentication mechanisms, OIDC, OAuth2, LDAP, SAML.Experience contributing to open-source projects.One or more of the following certifications:AWS Solutions Architect - ProfessionalAWS Certified DevOps EngineerCertified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate/ProfessionalClearance:An active TS/SCI federal security clearance is required