Lead Cloud Engineer - GCP

ZipRecruiter; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Lead Cloud Engineer, where you'll play a crucial role in architecting and managing secure cloud infrastructure on Google Cloud Platform for high-impact federal programs. In this leadership position, you'll drive automation, security, and compliance initiatives while collaborating with cross-functional teams in a mission-critical environment. If you're passionate about cloud technologies and want to make a meaningful impact, this is the perfect opportunity for you to thrive and grow in your career.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in cloud engineering with a focus on GCP.
• Expertise in Terraform, Jenkins, and GitHub for automation.

Responsibilities

• Architect and manage scalable GCP environments for enterprise applications.
• Lead CI/CD integration and automate deployment processes.

Skills

Cloud Engineering

GCP (Google Cloud Platform)

Terraform

Jenkins

GitHub

DevOps Practices

Scripting (PowerShell, Bash, Python)

IAM Best Practices

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Google Cloud Operations Suite (Stackdriver)

Azure DevOps

Kubernetes (GKE)

Job description

Job Description

LightFeather is seeking a Lead Cloud Engineer – GCP to take a pivotal role in architecting, automating, and managing secure cloud infrastructure within Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for high-impact federal programs. This is a leadership position focused on driving infrastructure automation, security, compliance, and cloud optimization across enterprise applications. As a hands-on technical leader, you will define the strategy for scalable GCP implementations, lead DevOps and automation initiatives, and work closely with cross-functional teams in a high-security, mission-critical environment.

Position Details

• Location: In-Person (5 days/week) in Washington, DC
• Job Type: Full Time
• Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship Required
• Clearance Requirement: Active Secret/Top Secret Security Clearance Required

Responsibilities

1. Cloud Infrastructure Architecture & Management:
   • Architect, deploy, and maintain scalable and secure GCP environments to support mission-critical enterprise applications.
   • Lead the design and implementation of resilient cloud architectures that meet high-availability and disaster recovery requirements.
2. Infrastructure as Code & Automation:
   • Develop and maintain automation scripts and templates using Terraform, Packer, Jenkins, and GitHub workflows.
   • Champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices to streamline provisioning, configuration, and deployment.
3. Security & Compliance:
   • Enforce federal cloud security requirements by implementing IAM best practices, encryption, and monitoring tools such as GCP Security Command Center.
   • Ensure full compliance with frameworks such as FedRAMP, FISMA, and NIST 800-53.
4. Networking & Hybrid Connectivity:
   • Configure and manage VPCs, subnets, load balancers, Cloud Interconnect, and VPNs to support secure and high-performance connectivity.
   • Design and troubleshoot hybrid and multi-cloud network architectures.
5. DevOps & CI/CD Pipeline Development:
   • Lead CI/CD integration using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Terraform, and Azure DevOps to support continuous delivery and infrastructure lifecycle management.
   • Monitor infrastructure performance, automate deployments, and improve release velocity.
6. Cloud Optimization & Cost Management:
   • Utilize tools like Harness Cloud Costs, Google Cloud Operations Suite (Stackdriver), and cost analytics to track usage and optimize cloud spend.
7. Incident Response & Troubleshooting:
   • Serve as the SME for incident response, system recovery, and root cause analysis across GCP infrastructure and applications.
8. Collaboration & Technical Leadership:
   • Partner with development, operations, and security teams to align cloud capabilities with business and mission goals.
   • Mentor junior engineers, fostering growth in GCP tools, DevOps practices, and automation strategies.

Minimum Qualifications and Skills

• U.S. Citizenship.
• Active Secret or Top Secret Security Clearance.
• 7+ years of experience in cloud engineering, systems administration, or DevOps with a strong focus on GCP.
• Expertise in Terraform, Jenkins, GitHub, and Azure DevOps.
• Advanced knowledge of GCP IAM, encryption, monitoring, and compliance standards.
• Strong experience configuring GCP VPCs, Cloud Load Balancing, Cloud Interconnect, and hybrid network solutions.
• Proficiency in scripting including PowerShell, Bash, Python, and working with JSON/YAML.
• Experience with cross-cloud integrations involving AWS and Azure.

Preferred Qualifications

• GCP Certifications such as Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure.
• Experience with Kubernetes (GKE), Cloud Functions, App Engine, or Anthos.
• Knowledge of serverless computing and container orchestration frameworks.
• Familiarity with disaster recovery strategies and high-availability cloud architectures.

Why Join LightFeather?

You'll be part of a team dedicated to meaningful impact, working on solutions that address mission-critical needs. Experience variety, fulfillment, and the opportunity to work with some of the best in the industry. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone is valued and respected.

Equal Opportunity Employer

LightFeather is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or other protected status.

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