Cloud Architect

Softthink Solutions; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Softthink Solutions seeks an experienced Cloud Architect to lead design and optimization of AWS GovCloud environments, ensuring secure, compliant cloud operations for federal workloads.

The role focuses on advanced cloud architecture, security governance, cost optimization, and IaC leadership, with strong mentoring of DevOps teams and collaboration with COR/CO for approvals and reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, cybersecurity, or related field.
• Master’s degree preferred for federal cloud architecture roles.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional.
• AWS Certified Security – Specialty.
• HashiCorp Terraform Associate.
• CISSP or CCSP (preferred due to SECRET‑level security environment).

Responsibilities

• AWS Architecture Design — Provide expert guidance on cloud design, scalability, resiliency, and secure‑by‑default patterns.
• Security & Compliance Oversight — Ensure all cloud operations meet FedRAMP Moderate, USITC CISO directives, and NISPOM security requirements.
• Cost Optimization & Efficiency — Advise on cost‑saving strategies, resource right‑sizing, and operational efficiency improvements.
• Infrastructure‑as‑Code Leadership — Provide Terraform architectural guidance; design reproducible, scalable IaC blueprints.
• DevOps & Engineering Mentorship — Mentor USITC engineering teams on IaC principles, DevOps workflows, and secure cloud operations.
• Cloud Management Support — Support monitoring, networking, storage, compute provisioning, and cloud resource governance.
• Incident & Access Security Compliance — Prevent unauthorized access, comply with no‑split‑tunneling rules, and report breaches within 1 hour.
• Collaboration with COR/CO — Coordinate with USITC COR/CO for approvals, reporting, and compliance actions.

Skills

Cloud architecture

Security compliance

DevOps mentoring

Cost optimization

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, or related field

Master’s degree preferred for federal cloud architecture roles

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional

AWS Certified Security – Specialty

HashiCorp Terraform Associate

CISSP or CCSP (preferred due to SECRET‑level security environment)

Tools

Terraform

AWS GovCloud

Job description

Work Authorization: US Citizen

Obtain and maintain SECRET clearance eligibility.

Cloud Architect

Location: Washington, DC

Work Authorization: US Citizen

Obtain and maintain SECRET clearance eligibility.

Role Summary

The Cloud Architect serves as the primary technical lead responsible for designing, advising, and optimizing AWS GovCloud environment. The role provides on‑demand and scheduled consulting on cloud architecture, security, efficiency, cost optimization, and Infrastructure‑as‑Code (IaC) best practices, ensuring continuous, secure, and compliant cloud operations.

Roles And Responsibilities

• AWS Architecture Design — Provide expert guidance on cloud design, scalability, resiliency, and secure‑by‑default patterns.
• Security & Compliance Oversight — Ensure all cloud operations meet FedRAMP Moderate, USITC CISO directives, and NISPOM security requirements.
• Cost Optimization & Efficiency — Advise on cost‑saving strategies, resource right‑sizing, and operational efficiency improvements.
• Infrastructure‑as‑Code Leadership — Provide Terraform architectural guidance; design reproducible, scalable IaC blueprints.
• DevOps & Engineering Mentorship — Mentor USITC engineering teams on IaC principles, DevOps workflows, and secure cloud operations.
• Cloud Management Support — Support monitoring, networking, storage, compute provisioning, and cloud resource governance.
• Incident & Access Security Compliance — Prevent unauthorized access, comply with no‑split‑tunneling rules, and report breaches within 1 hour.
• Collaboration with COR/CO — Coordinate with USITC COR/CO for approvals, reporting, and compliance actions.

Educational Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, or related field.
• Master’s degree preferred for federal cloud architecture roles.
• Relevant technical certifications strongly preferred:
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
• AWS Certified Security – Specialty
• HashiCorp Terraform Associate
• CISSP or CCSP (preferred due to SECRET‑level security environment)

Professional Experience Requirements

• Minimum 10+ years experience designing and managing AWS cloud environments.
• Demonstrated experience supporting FedRAMP Moderate or other regulated federal cloud environments.
• Proven expertise in:
• VPC design, networking, load balancing, security groups
• Compute, storage, container services
• Monitoring, logging, and cloud security operations
• Minimum 10+ years hands‑on experience with Terraform and IaC blueprint development.
• Experience mentoring DevOps/engineering teams in secure cloud design.
• Must meet all personnel vetting, onboarding, and continuous vetting requirements under NISPOM and Trusted Workforce 2.0.