AWS Cloud Architect

UNAVAILABLE; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Steampunk is seeking an experienced AWS Cloud Architect to design and deliver cloud solutions in a fast‑paced, collaborative environment. The role will own enterprise AWS environments and drive secure, scalable architectures for mission‑critical workloads in regulated settings.

You will lead migrations, automation, and IaC initiatives within our DevSecOps practice, mentor junior engineers, and partner with developers, security, and operations teams to ensure compliant, resilient deployments

Qualifications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Public Trust Security Clearance.
• 10 years of total professional experience, with 8+ years in cloud architecture.
• 8 years of hands-on AWS experience and Agile development background.
• 5 years implementing POC/MVP solutions and sprint demos.
• Experience in database architecture, ETL, BI, big data, ML, analytics.
• Experience with Git SCM, IaC, and DevSecOps tooling.

Responsibilities

• Identify and implement optimal AWS‑based solutions for customers.
• Design AWS cloud environments for production, staging, QA, and development.
• Architect multi‑account environments with controlled guardrails and SCPs/RCPs.
• Design hybrid connectivity with Direct Connect and Transit Gateway.
• Design DNS and hybrid DNS resolution using Route 53.
• Implement and oversee cloud strategies including migrations and optimization.
• Establish development tools and infrastructure to support automation.
• Automate development, testing, deployment, and release processes with AWS services.

Skills

AWS Architecture

DevSecOps

Terraform

Python scripting

Security & Compliance

CI/CD

Networking

Education

Bachelor's degree

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional

Master's Degree

Tools

Terraform

Terragrunt

GitHub

AWS CloudFormation

Ansible

Kubernetes

Docker

Job description

Overview

Steampunk is seeking an AWS Cloud Architect who is excited about designing and delivering cloud solutions in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. The ideal future Punk will work within our growing DevSecOps practice to support cloud migration, optimization, and deployment on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The Cloud Architect will be responsible for the design, standards, and architectural direction of AWS environments supporting mission-critical, regulated workloads. This role will provide hands‑on architectural ownership of enterprise AWS environments while partnering with stakeholders, developers, engineers, and other technical team members to implement secure, scalable, and highly available cloud solutions.

Responsibilities

• Identify and implement optimal AWS-based solutions for customers
• Design AWS cloud environments and provide technical architectural expertise for production, staging, QA, and development infrastructures operating in 24×7 environments
• Architect and own multi-account AWS environments using AWS Control Tower, AWS Landing Zones, Service Control Policies (SCPs), and Resource Control Policies (RCPs), incorporating established guardrails and standards
• Design hybrid connectivity architecture, including AWS Direct Connect and Transit Gateway
• Design DNS architecture, including Amazon Route 53 and hybrid DNS resolution
• Design VPC‑level networking architecture and standards, including Network Access Control Lists (NACLs) and Security Groups
• Implement and oversee cloud strategies, including migrations and optimization
• Establish development tools and infrastructure to support automation
• Understand stakeholder needs and effectively communicate requirements to developers and engineers
• Automate and improve development, testing, deployment, and release processes using AWS CodeCommit, AWS CodePipeline, AWS Lambda, and infrastructure as code
• Test and examine code written by others and analyze results
• Perform root cause analysis on complex business processes and technical components
• Ensure systems are secure against cybersecurity threats by leveraging AWS Security Hub and NIST 800-53, FedRAMP, and FISMA control frameworks
• Identify technical problems, perform root cause analysis, and develop software updates and fixes
• Partner with software developers and engineers to ensure development follows established processes and works as intended
• Support enterprise cloud applications and infrastructure through infrastructure as code, including automated server and network configurations, large‑scale software deployments, monitoring, testing, and CI/CD
• Document the as‑is state of environments, perform gap analyses, and produce artifacts that articulate options and recommendations
• Leverage virtualization and containerization to optimize and modernize software systems
• Serve as an individual contributor while mentoring junior team members, including Senior Cloud Engineers and Cloud Engineers
• Engineer and implement solutions and provide recommendations for continuous improvement of services
• Present regular status updates and provide cross‑training to team members

Qualifications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Public Trust Security Clearance
• Bachelor's degree and 10 years of total professional experience
• 8 years of experience architecting, designing, developing, and implementing cloud solutions
• 8 years of hands‑on Cloud Architect experience with expertise in AWS
• 8 years of experience with systems development in an Agile environment
• 5 years of experience implementing proof of concept (POC) or minimum viable product (MVP) solutions and participating in sprint demonstrations
• 5 years of experience in several of the following areas:
  • Database architecture
  • ETL
  • Business intelligence
  • Big data
  • Machine learning
  • Advanced analytics
• 8 years of experience with Git source control management (SCM) providers such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket
• 8 years of experience implementing infrastructure as code and orchestration
• 8 years of experience integrating deployments with industry‑standard DevSecOps tooling and orchestration
• Hands‑on experience with AWS technologies and related tools, including:
  • AWS Control Tower and multi-account management
  • Service Control Policies (SCPs) and Resource Control Policies (RCPs)
  • AWS Landing Zones
  • AWS Direct Connect, Transit Gateway, Amazon Route 53, and hybrid DNS
  • AWS Lambda
  • Terraform and Terragrunt
  • GitHub
  • AWS CloudFormation
  • AWS Commercial and AWS GovCloud environments
  • AWS Identity Center
  • Python scripting
  • Amazon S3
  • Networking, including IPv6
  • AWS CodeCommit
  • AWS CodePipeline
  • AWS Security Hub
  • Amazon CloudWatch for monitoring and logging
• Experience implementing or operating within environments requiring NIST 800-53, FedRAMP, and FISMA standards
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional certification

Preferred

• Master's Degree
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills
• Experience documenting the as‑is state of an environment, performing gap analysis, and producing artifacts that articulate options and recommendations
• Experience scripting with Bash, PowerShell, Python, Groovy, or Ruby
• Experience implementing Docker containers and utilizing container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes
• Experience with automation tools, including Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, or Ansible