R&D Cloud Engineering Scientist

University of Texas; United States; On-site; USD 104,000 - 174,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Retirement contributions

Vacation and sick leave

Paid holidays

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin invites applications for an R&D Cloud Engineering Scientist at the Applied Research Laboratories. The role centers on designing, deploying, and maintaining distributed cloud systems to support science, research, and engineering applications.

Candidates should have a Bachelor's degree and at least three years in cloud engineering, with IaC, containerization, and security proficiency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer or information science, or other applied sciences.
• Three years of experience in cloud engineering.
• Experience with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Proficiency with Infrastructure as Code methodologies.
• Experience with containerization and container orchestration.
• Knowledge of networking concepts.
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools and practices.
• Understanding of distributed systems principles.
• Experience designing for scalability, high availability, security, and fault tolerance.
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD 8140 compliant security certification within six months of employment.
• Applicant must be highly organized, have excellent attention to detail, and possess sound scientific judgment.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to cloud architecture solutions for applications across multiple environments.
• Design scalable, highly available, secure, and fault-tolerant distributed systems.
• Define networking, compute, storage, and security requirements and patterns.
• Make architectural tradeoffs to manage cloud costs.
• Evaluate and recommend cloud services.
• Create and maintain architecture diagrams and design documentation.
• Implement infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code.
• Deploy and configure cloud resources including compute, storage, networking, and databases.
• Set up multi-region and multi-availability zone deployments.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure changes.
• Monitor infrastructure health, performance, and cost.
• Implement robust monitoring, alerting, and logging solutions.
• Contribute to disaster recovery and business continuity plans.
• Support management of lifecycle of cloud costs.
• Optimize resource utilization and cloud costs.
• Support efforts to implement identity and access management best practices.
• Define network security configuration.
• Ensure data encryption at rest and in transit, compliance audits, and conduct periodic security reviews.
• Partner with development teams to support application requirements.
• Create and maintain runbooks, documentation, and operational procedures.
• Provide guidance and mentorship on cloud best practices.

Skills

Cloud engineering

Distributed systems

Networking concepts

CI/CD practices

Security best practices

DoD 8140 eligibility

Troubleshooting

Technical communication

Time management

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Kubernetes

AWS/Azure/GCP

GitLab CI

Jenkins

CloudWatch

Job description

R&D Cloud Engineering Scientist

Job Information

• Hiring Department: Applied Research Laboratories
• Position Open To: All Applicants
• Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40
• FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA
• Earliest Start Date: Immediately
• Position Duration: Expected to Continue
• Location: PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

Purpose

The position will design, implement, deploy, and maintain distributed systems and cloud infrastructure which includes contributing to cloud architecture definition and performing design and implementation within established architecture patterns. This position leverages cloud-native services and best practices to build scalable, highly available, secure, and fault-tolerant infrastructure that supports science, research, and engineering applications.

Responsibilities

Infrastructure Design & Architecture

• Contribute to cloud architecture solutions for applications across multiple environments.
• Design scalable, highly available, secure, and fault-tolerant distributed systems.
• Define networking, compute, storage, and security requirements and patterns.
• Make architectural tradeoffs to manage cloud costs.
• Evaluate and recommend cloud services.
• Create and maintain architecture diagrams and design documentation.

Implementation & Deployment

• Implement infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code.
• Deploy and configure cloud resources including compute, storage, networking, and databases.
• Set up multi-region and multi-availability zone deployments.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure changes.

Operations & Reliability

• Monitor infrastructure health, performance, and cost.
• Implement robust monitoring, alerting, and logging solutions.
• Contribute to disaster recovery and business continuity plans.
• Support management of lifecycle of cloud costs.
• Optimize resource utilization and cloud costs.

Security & Compliance

• Support efforts to implement identity and access management best practices.
• Define network security configuration.
• Ensure data encryption at rest and in transit, compliance audits, and conduct periodic security reviews.

Collaboration & Documentation

• Partner with development teams to support application requirements.
• Create and maintain runbooks, documentation, and operational procedures.
• Provide guidance and mentorship on cloud best practices.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer or information science, or other applied sciences.
• Three years of experience in cloud engineering.
• Experience with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Proficiency with Infrastructure as Code methodologies.
• Experience with containerization and container orchestration.
• Knowledge of networking concepts.
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools and practices.
• Understanding of distributed systems principles.
• Experience designing for scalability, high availability, security, and fault tolerance.
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD 8140 compliant security certification within six months of employment.
• Applicant must be highly organized, have excellent attention to detail, and possess sound scientific judgment.
• The position will require effective management of their own time with the ability to plan, coordinate, and execute multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Regular and punctual attendance in the workplace is required.
• US Citizen.
• Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information at the level appropriate to the project requirements of the position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in designing, building, deploying, and maintaining applications in AWS.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Experience with container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes, EKS, or ECS.
• Experience with CI/CD tools such as GitLab CI, or Jenkins.
• AWS certifications such as Solutions Architect, SysOps Administrator, or Developer.
• Knowledge of monitoring solutions such as CloudWatch, Datadog, or Prometheus.
• Experience with database services such as RDS, Aurora, or DynamoDB.
• Familiarity with serverless architectures.
• DoD 8140 compliant security certification (e.g., Security+).

General Notes

An agency designated by the federal government handles the investigation as to the requirement for eligibility for access to classified information. Factors considered during this investigation include but are not limited to allegiance to the United States, foreign influence, foreign preference, criminal conduct, security violations, drug involvement, the likelihood of continuation of such conduct, etc.

Benefits

• 100% employer-paid basic medical coverage
• Retirement contributions
• Paid vacation and sick time
• Paid holidays

Salary

Salary Range $104,000-$174,000+/negotiable depending on qualifications.

Working Conditions

• Standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity
• Some weekend, evening and holiday work
• Possible interstate/intrastate travel

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest
• Unofficial college transcripts

Employment Eligibility

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following: E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF] Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF] Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsibilities are outlined in HOP-3031. The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701

About Us

Start Here, Change the World At The University of Texas at Austin, tradition meets innovation in the heart of a city that frequents lists of the best places to live and work. Named by Forbes as one of America's Best Large Employers for the sixth year in a row in 2025, UT offers both a dynamic work environment and a gateway to vibrant local culture. Whether you're at the forefront of the student experience, conducting world-changing research or supporting the engine that drives Texas’ flagship university, working at UT means making a lasting impact on our city, our state and our world. Our more than 20,000 faculty and staff empower 55,000+ students to challenge ideas, pursue passions and shape their futures. Joining UT, you’ll become part of a community dedicated to making a meaningful impact on campus and throughout the world. Looking for a student job? Please see our Student Employment site.

Contact Information

Comments and Inquiries: Email comments to [e-mail]. For questions or concerns regarding equal opportunity only, contact Equal Opportunity Services. Additional information for applicants can be found on the Human Resources web page: Applying for Employment. For more job information, call the Human Resource Service Center at [phone], or toll-free at [phone]. UT Austin is a Tobacco-free Campus