Principal, Senior Cloud Architect

Slalom Build; Canberra; On-site; AUD 190,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Slalom is seeking a Principal, Senior Cloud Architect in Australia to lead the design and delivery of modern cloud platforms for clients, with a strong focus on AWS and/or Azure. This senior role combines architecture leadership with hands-on guidance, shaping strategy into practical, scalable outcomes.

You will mentor teams, oversee IaC, CI/CD, and platform engineering, and work with stakeholders to define roadmaps while ensuring security, resilience, and efficient operations.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in cloud/solution architecture or engineering roles leading complex transformations.
• Deep experience with AWS and/or Azure in enterprise environments.
• Strong knowledge of cloud migration, modernisation, and platform engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise-scale cloud architecture across AWS and/or Azure, including infrastructure, platforms, integration, security, and operations.
• Define cloud strategy, target architectures, and roadmaps grounded in business priorities.
• Design secure, scalable cloud environments with landing zones, networking, identity, governance, observability, and controls.
• Lead cloud migration and modernisation initiatives (rehosting, replatforming, refactoring) to boost agility and cost efficiency.
• Provide technical oversight, review designs and code, unblock teams, and guide IaC, CI/CD, automation, and platform engineering practices.
• Establish cloud-native patterns and ways of working across containers, serverless, managed services, DevOps, and reliability engineering.
• Drive architecture governance to meet security, compliance, resilience, and operations requirements.
• Facilitate workshops and architecture reviews with stakeholders to align direction and trade-offs.
• Mentor architects, consultants, and engineers to raise capability across the practice.
• Support business development through solution shaping and trusted client advisory on cloud transformation opportunities.

Skills

Cloud architecture

AWS/Azure

Delivery leadership

Infrastructure as Code

DevOps practices

Security & governance

Cloud migration

CI/CD

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Job description

Slalom is a fiercely human business and technology consulting company that leads with outcomes to bring more value, in all ways, always. From strategy through delivery, our agile teams across 52 offices in 12 countries partner with clients to co-create powerful customer experiences, modern ways of working, and meaningful impact.

What sets us apart? We believe work should be challenging and fulfilling, not perfect, but possible. That’s why we prioritize purpose, flexibility, connection, and recognition, so our people can thrive and love what they do, most days.

Principal, Senior Cloud Architect

Slalom’s Cloud team works with clients to design and deliver cloud solutions that are secure, scalable, and fit for purpose. Our work spans cloud architecture, migration, modernisation, and platform engineering, with a strong focus on translating strategy into delivery.

As a Principal, Senior Cloud Architect, you will lead the design and delivery of modern cloud platforms and solutions for our clients, with a particular focus on AWS and/or Azure. This is a senior leadership role, but one that remains close to the work: shaping architecture, guiding engineering teams, making key technical decisions, and working directly with clients to turn strategy into practical, scalable outcomes. You will help clients modernise legacy environments, build secure and resilient cloud foundations, and accelerate delivery through automation, platform engineering, and cloud‑native practices.

What will you do

• Lead the architecture and hands‑on shaping of enterprise‑scale cloud solutions across AWS and/or Azure, covering infrastructure, application platforms, integration, security, and operations.
• Work closely with client stakeholders, engineers, and delivery teams to define cloud strategy, target architectures, and implementation roadmaps that are grounded in business priorities and delivery realities.
• Design secure, scalable, and resilient cloud environments, including landing zones, networking, identity, governance, observability, and operational controls.
• Lead cloud migration and modernisation initiatives, including rehosting, replatforming, and refactoring workloads to improve agility, performance, and cost efficiency.
• Stay close to delivery by providing technical oversight, reviewing designs and code, unblocking teams, and guiding implementation of Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD, automation, and platform engineering practices.
• Partner with engineering teams to establish cloud‑native patterns and ways of working across containers, serverless, managed services, DevOps, and reliability engineering.
• Drive architecture governance and ensure solutions meet security, compliance, resilience, and operational support requirements.
• Facilitate workshops, architecture reviews, and client discussions to align stakeholders around solution direction, trade‑offs, and delivery approach.
• Mentor architects, consultants, and engineers, raising capability across the practice and helping teams deliver with quality and confidence.
• Support business development through solution shaping, proposal input, and trusted client advisory conversations on cloud transformation opportunities.

What You Will Bring

• 7+ years of experience in cloud, solution architecture, or engineering roles, with a strong track record of leading and delivering complex technology transformations.
• Deep experience with AWS and/or Azure, including architecture, implementation, and operational considerations in enterprise environments.
• Strong practical knowledge of cloud migration, infrastructure modernisation, platform engineering, and cloud‑native architecture patterns.
• Hands‑on experience with Infrastructure as Code and automation tooling such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar.
• Experience with DevOps practices and tooling, including CI/CD pipelines, release automation, and engineering lifecycle improvements.
• Strong understanding of cloud security, networking, identity, governance, resilience, and cost optimisation.
• Ability to balance strategic architecture thinking with practical delivery leadership, and credibility working with both senior stakeholders and engineering teams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage, influence, and build trust at all levels of an organisation.
• Certifications such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or similar are highly desirable.

Please note that this role requires Australian Citizenship and a Baseline security clearance.

Our Values

Our culture and values reflect each individual Slalomer. We are dedicated to encouraging workplace diversity and ensuring all our people, from any background can contribute to their full potential. We wish to build a team that echoes the diversity of the communities we serve, and our values are an active part of our every‑day guiding our decisions.

What keeps us here

When we moved to Australia in 2020, we had no idea just how important our work/life balance would need to be. We’ve asked our consultants what makes Slalom a great place to work and the most common answer – “the freedom to be ourselves when life gets in the way”. We make a big effort to bring everyone together and allow space when space is needed. We believe in helping each other thrive in work and life and are proud to invest in benefits that include holistic wellbeing, meaningful allowances, and investment in our team’s professional, technical, and personal growth.

Slalom is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Slalom does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion, or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis as protected by applicable law.