Cloud Architect

Guidehouse; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 216,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) Plan

Parental Leave

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Guidehouse is seeking a Senior Cloud Architect to lead the modernization and migration of mission-critical applications from AWS to Google Cloud for a federal enterprise. You will provide architectural leadership across cloud platforms, data modernization, security, DevSecOps, and enterprise systems engineering.

The role requires Federal SDLC/SELC compliance, observability, and operational excellence, with collaboration across Agile teams and federal stakeholders to deliver secure, scalable

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in CS/IS/EE or related field.
• Ten+ years in cloud architecture and enterprise modernization.
• Experience migrating complex systems from AWS to Google Cloud at scale.
• Deep expertise in GCP: Compute, GKE, VPC, IAM, BigQuery, Cloud SQL/AlloyDB.
• Strong knowledge of federal SDLC/SELC.

Responsibilities

• Lead cloud modernization and migration strategy end-to-end.
• Architect secure, scalable Google Cloud environments and govern usage.
• Oversee AWS to Google Cloud migration, containerization, data migration.
• Advance CI/CD, DevSecOps, and IaC with Terraform.
• Ensure SDLC/SELC compliance and documentation.

Skills

Cloud architecture

AWS to Google Cloud migration

Terraform

CI/CD

GKE

Security engineering

DevSecOps

Federal SDLC/SELC

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/IS/EE

Tools

Terraform

GKE

Vertex AI

Dialogflow

Job description

Job Family: IT Architecture/Cloud Travel Required: Up to 10% Clearance Required: Ability to Obtain Public Trust

What You Will Do: Role Summary

Guidehouse is seeking a Senior Cloud Architect to lead the modernization and migration of large, mission-critical applications from AWS to Google Cloud. This role provides architectural leadership across cloud platforms, data modernization, security, DevSecOps, and enterprise systems engineering. The Architect will support a high‑visibility federal system, ensuring secure, reliable, and scalable cloud operations aligned with federal SDLC/SELC methodologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Cloud Architecture & Modernization: Lead the end-to-end strategy, design, and implementation of cloud modernization initiatives for a complex federal enterprise system. Architect secure, scalable environments in Google Cloud and drive migration from AWS using industry-standard patterns (rehost, re-platform, refactor). Establish cloud governance, resource hierarchy, network architecture, IAM policies, and resiliency strategies. Support teams in deploying managed Google Cloud AI products (e.g., Vertex AI endpoints, Gemini-based developer tools, Dialogflow agents) as part of broader cloud modernization efforts.
• Migration Leadership (AWS → Google Cloud): Assess existing architectures and develop migration roadmaps, sequencing, and cutover plans. Map AWS services to Google Cloud equivalents and ensure platform readiness for production workloads. Oversee containerization, orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes/GKE), data migration, and modernization of legacy components.
• DevSecOps, CI/CD, and Infrastructure Automation: Define and implement Terraform-based IaC, GitOps workflows, automated deployments, security gates, and policy-as-code. Mature CI/CD pipelines to support release-on-demand, automated testing, and compliance validation.
• SDLC / SELC Compliance (Federal Environment): Ensure all architecture deliverables, design artifacts, security documentation, readiness reviews, and testing approaches comply with federal SDLC/SELC standards, including traceability, documentation, verification/validation, and audit readiness. Partner with program management, engineering teams, and federal stakeholders to meet lifecycle governance requirements.
• Operational Excellence & Reliability: Implement observability across logging, monitoring, tracing, performance tuning, and resilience testing. Maintain high availability and continuity-of-operations (COOP) expectations required for critical federal systems.
• Technical Leadership & Collaboration: Advise senior leadership and technical teams; guide architectural decisions and modernization direction. Mentor engineering teams across multiple Agile squads and support PI planning, backlog refinement, and architectural reviews. Represent the cloud architecture discipline in stakeholder engagements, technical forums, and enterprise planning sessions.
• AI-Enablement: Demonstrates expertise in designing, implementing, and governing AI-enabled cloud solutions. Applies knowledge of generative AI, machine learning, and large language model (LLM) technologies to architect scalable, secure, and cost-effective enterprise solutions. Develops Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures, vector search solutions, and AI-driven automation workflows that integrate enterprise data sources while adhering to security, privacy, and regulatory requirements.

What You Will Need

• Required Qualifications: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• TEN (10+) years of progressive experience in cloud architecture and enterprise modernization.
• Demonstrated experience migrating complex systems from AWS to Google Cloud at scale.
• Deep expertise across GCP services: Compute, GKE, VPC networking, IAM, Cloud SQL/AlloyDB, BigQuery, KMS, logging/monitoring.
• Strong understanding of federal SDLC/SELC or similar structured lifecycle methodologies.
• Expert-level proficiency with Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, DevSecOps, and security engineering principles.
• Experience leading large cloud engineering teams in Agile environments.
• Google Professional Cloud Architect certification (or obtained within first 6 months).

What Would Be Nice To Have

• Experience modernizing large federal systems or other regulated enterprise environments.
• Hands‑on experience with data modernization, analytics platforms, and cloud-native data pipelines.
• Experience developing cloud governance frameworks, COE structures, FinOps practices, and cost‑optimization strategies.
• Experience deploying or integrating cloud-based AI/ML services—such as Google Cloud Vertex AI, Gemini, or Dialogflow—into enterprise applications.

Salary

The annual salary range for this position is $130,000.00-$216,000.00.

What We Offer

• Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
• Parental Leave
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Group Term Life and Travel Assistance
• Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance
• Health Savings Account, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Transit and Parking Commuter Benefits
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development, Certifications & Learning Opportunities
• Employee Referral Program
• Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach Care.com annual membership
• Employee Assistance Program
• Supplemental Benefits via Corestream (Critical Care, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Assistance and ID theft protection, etc.)
• Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus

Guidehouse Equal Opportunity Statement

Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer–Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.

Background Check and Fair Chance Policy

Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Accommodations and Privacy

If you have visited our website for information about employment opportunities, or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or via email at [e-mail]. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodation. All communication regarding recruitment for a Guidehouse position will be sent from Guidehouse email domains including @guidehouse.com or [e-mail]. Correspondence received by an applicant from any other domain should be considered unauthorized and will not be honored by Guidehouse.

Additional Info

Guidehouse is not responsible for losses incurred (monetary or otherwise) from an applicant’s dealings with unauthorized third parties. Guidehouse does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Guidehouse and Guidehouse will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is a global AI‑led professional services firm delivering advisory, technology, and managed services to the commercial and government sectors. With an integrated business technology approach, Guidehouse drives efficiency and resilience in the healthcare, financial services, energy, infrastructure, and national security markets. Built to help clients across industries outwit complexity, the firm brings together approximately 18,000 professionals to achieve lasting impact and shape a meaningful future.

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