AWS Cloud Architect — AI-Driven VMware Migration Lead

Cognizant; Concord (NH); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays + PTO

401(k) plan

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant in the United States is seeking a Senior AWS Cloud Architect to lead VMware-to-AWS migrations and define scalable cloud architectures. You will steer AI-enabled migration efforts, establish governance, and mentor teams across cloud, network, and security domains.

Responsibilities include developing migration roadmaps, sizing, cost models, and implementing IaC with Terraform while ensuring security and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Experience leading end-to-end VMware-to-AWS migrations.
• Proven ability to define landing zones and migration roadmaps.
• Strong knowledge of IaC and automation with Terraform.

Responsibilities

• Lead infrastructure and application discovery using Matilda, AWS Discovery, Device42, or similar platforms.
• Assess servers, applications, databases, storage, and network dependencies for AWS migration readiness.
• Analyze infrastructure inventory, utilization, business criticality, risks, and remediation requirements.
• Perform migration strategy assessment using the AWS 6R framework (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Re-Architect, Retire, Retain).
• Define target AWS landing zone architecture aligned with enterprise security, networking, and governance standards.
• Develop migration roadmaps, migration waves, sizing recommendations, and cost models.
• Design AWS infrastructure solutions leveraging services such as EC2, ECS/EKS, FSx, EFS, Route 53, Transit Gateway, PrivateLink, API Gateway, and Lambda.
• Ensure architecture decisions support scalability, resiliency, security, and operational excellence.
• Lead migration execution using Agentic AI platforms powered by Claude and AWS AI services.
• Design and implement AI agents, skills, workflows, and automation tools to accelerate migration activities.
• Utilize AI-driven dependency analysis and business prioritization to optimize migration wave planning.
• Drive automated migration validation, testing, cutover, and post-migration verification activities.
• Provide technical leadership for VMware workload migration using AWS MGN and related migration services.
• Lead modernization initiatives including containerization and migration to ECS or EKS where appropriate.
• Oversee Windows and Linux upgrades, security hardening, patching, and compliance remediation for migrated workloads.
• Resolve complex migration challenges and ensure successful workload transition to AWS.
• Define and enforce Infrastructure as Code (IaC) standards using Terraform.
• Establish cloud architecture patterns, reusable modules, migration standards, and deployment best practices.
• Integrate CI/CD, automation, and configuration management tools to support cloud operations.
• Act as trusted advisor to client executives, technical leadership, and Architecture Review Boards.
• Lead architecture governance, technical reviews, risk management, and migration decision-making.
• Collaborate with application, infrastructure, network, security, and business stakeholders.
• Mentor architects and engineering teams across cloud, network, security, and platform domains.

Skills

Cloud Architecture

AWS Enterprise Architecture

Migration Tools

AI-driven Migration

Governance & Leadership

Tools

Matilda

AWS Discovery

Device42

Terraform

Draw.io

MS Visio

AWS MGN

AWS Transform

Claude API

Claude LLM

Claude Code

AWS Bedrock

Route 53

Job description

Cognizant in the United States is seeking a Senior AWS Cloud Architect to lead VMware-to-AWS migrations and define scalable cloud architectures. You will steer AI-enabled migration efforts, establish governance, and mentor teams across cloud, network, and security domains.

Responsibilities include developing migration roadmaps, sizing, cost models, and implementing IaC with Terraform while ensuring security and operational excellence.