Cloud Engineer

Skyward IT Solutions, LLC; Rockville (MD); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

15 days paid leave

7 days sick leave

401K with 4% employer contribution

$5,000 per year for professional development

$600 per year for technical supplies

Job summary

Skyward IT Solutions, LLC in Rockville, MD is seeking a Cloud Engineer to design and operate secure AWS environments. Candidates should have 3–5 years of real AWS experience, with strong skills in cloud-native security, automation tools like Python and Terraform, and cost optimization strategies.

We offer excellent benefits including full medical insurance, generous paid leave, a 401K with employer contribution, and opportunities for professional development. Join our team and contribute to modernizing government services with innovative technology.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of hands-on AWS experience.
• Comfort with AWS services: compute, networking (VPC), IAM, storage, databases.
• Familiarity with cloud-native security and compliance tooling.
• Strong automation instincts with Python and Bash.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and operate secure AWS environments.
• Implement high availability and disaster recovery.
• Manage costs and optimize cloud usage.
• Ensure AWS security compliance.

Skills

AWS experience

Core AWS services

Cloud-native security

Python

Bash

Infrastructure as Code

Cost optimization

Curiosity

Calm demeanor

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Job description

We need a Cloud Engineer.

What you’ll do:

• Build the cloud where the magic lives. Design, deploy, and operate secure, scalable AWS environments (EC2, VPC, IAM, S3, Aurora, and Neptune) that keep our systems fast and our data exactly where it belongs, supporting CMS as it merges systems into one AI‑driven platform.
• Respect the pillars. Build to the AWS Well‑Architected Framework, balancing performance, reliability, security, and cost.
• Give AI a home. Stand up the cloud environment for AI, hosting open‑source LLMs and ML workloads (SageMaker, Glue, DataBrew) entirely within CMS’s AWS account.
• Keep the lights on. Implement high availability, disaster recovery, and COOP continuity so we hit our SLAs even on a bad day.
• Make security non‑negotiable. Wire up AWS Security Hub, Config, and Audit Manager to keep us continuously compliant inside a FISMA Moderate boundary aligned to RMF, ARS, and IS2P2.
• Run a tidy multi‑tenant house. Build isolated, segregated, quota‑managed spaces where different teams can experiment with AI without elbowing each other.
• Be the bouncer. Design least‑privilege IAM and role‑based access controls, then keep them honest with regular access reviews and audits.
• Make it observable. Set baselines, configure monitoring and alerting, and turn system health into something the whole team can actually see, ideally before a user files a ticket.
• Chase the waste. Model cloud costs, hunt down savings with tools like AWS Trusted Advisor, and help keep our AI workspace financially sane.

What we’d like you to have:

• 3–5 years of hands‑on AWS experience; built and run real environments.
• Solid comfort with core AWS services: compute, networking (VPC), IAM, storage, and managed databases.
• Security‑first reflex and familiarity with cloud‑native security and compliance tooling (Security Hub, Config, Audit Manager, or similar).
• Automation instincts. Python, Bash, and a genuine fondness for Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible).
• Cost‑optimization mindset. Know the cheapest architecture and the best architecture are usually close.
• Curiosity. Understand why something broke before restarting it.
• Sense of humor and calm demeanor for late‑night incidents.

What would blow us away:

• Experience hosting AI/ML or LLM workloads in the cloud – SageMaker, GPU instances, or self‑hosted open‑source models.
• AWS certifications (Solutions Architect, SysOps, Security Specialty).
• Federal or civic‑tech experience, especially operating inside a FISMA boundary, navigating an ATO or cATO.

What we offer you:

• Medical, dental, vision insurance (fully paid for employees).
• 15 days of paid leave.
• 7 days of sick leave.
• 2 days bereavement leave.
• 11 paid Federal holidays.
• Up to 40 hours for jury duty.
• 401K with 4% employer contribution (no vesting period).
• Up to 4 weeks of paid paternity and maternity leave.
• Company‑provided laptop.
• $5,000 per year for professional development.
• $600 per year for technical supplies and equipment.
• $2,000 referral bonus.
• Life and disability insurance.
• HSA and FSA.
• Legal Shield and ID Shield voluntary benefits.
• Opportunity to work in a collaborative, motivated team focused on modernizing government services with cutting‑edge technology and innovative solutions.

115,000–145,000 a year

At Skyward, we support flexible working hours and remote opportunities to help maintain a healthy work‑life balance for all employees.

Offers of employment with Skyward are contingent upon acceptable results of a background investigation.

Applicants must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance due to the nature of our work as a government contractor.