Senior Cloud Architect

Northmark Ltd; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

NorthMark Strategies is seeking a Senior Cloud Architect to own the technical direction of public cloud platforms across AWS and Azure. You will set architecture standards, govern multi-account environments, and guide engineering teams to production-grade platforms.

The role covers architecture lifecycle from discovery to enablement, involving managed Kubernetes, cloud networking, security, data platform architecture, and AI tooling integration.

Qualifications

• Progression from hands-on infra or cloud engineering into principal cloud architect.
• Depth in AWS and Azure with landing zones and multi-account/subscription governance.
• Managed Kubernetes at scale (AKS/EKS) including cluster lifecycle and scheduling.
• Cloud networking with hub‑and‑spoke topologies and private endpoints.
• Experience integrating AI tooling and inference gateways in platforms.
• Strong leadership, mentoring and architecture reviews.
• Ability to produce architecture documentation and runbooks.

Skills

Cloud architecture

AWS & Azure

Kubernetes (AKS/EKS)

Infrastructure as Code

Security architecture

DevSecOps

Policy-as-code

Platform leadership

Tools

Terraform

AWS

Azure

AKS

EKS

Job description

The Company

NorthMark Strategies is a leading investment firm, combining capital, innovation, and engineering to drive long-term value. From operating complex businesses to backing breakthrough technologies, our mission is to build enduring businesses. Our team combines intelligent risk-taking, operational excellence, exceptional talent, and world‑class computing capacity to create shareholder value.

Our company offers a dynamic environment where individuals have the freedom to lead companies toward bold achievements by embracing innovation, leveraging technology, and fostering differentiated business strategies. Our values are Integrity, Ability, and Energy, and the company aims to hire individuals who possess those qualities.

At NorthMark Strategies, we believe the future isn't something to hope for, it's something to build. We don't just invest, we create. Bringing together strategic insight and technical horsepower to deliver outcomes that endure.

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Cloud Architect to own the technical direction of our public cloud platforms. Reporting to the Director of Cloud Platform, you will be the senior technical authority across AWS and Azure. You will set architecture standards, design governance controls, and guide engineering teams in turning them into production‑grade platforms.

The role spans the full architecture lifecycle. That covers discovery and design, implementation guidance, platform operationalization, and the documentation and enablement that let platforms scale beyond the people who built them. You will work across managed Kubernetes, cloud networking, security, and data platform architecture. You will also shape how AI tooling is embedded in engineering: not as a productivity add‑on, but as a quality gate in the delivery pipeline.

Requirements

Architecture Standards & Governance

• Define cloud architecture standards, reference architecture, and design principles across AWS and Azure
• Design and enforce technical guardrails across multi‑account AWS and multi‑subscription Azure environments, using policy‑as‑code and compliance controls (e.g., AWS SCPs/RCPs, Azure Policy)
• Translate industry frameworks (e.g., CAF, Well‑Architected) into concrete technical controls and patterns
• Design the tagging and cost‑attribution architecture that underpins FinOps reporting
• Present architecture direction, trade‑offs, and technical risk to senior leadership alongside the Director

Platform Architecture

• Architect multi‑cloud landing zones and hub‑and‑spoke network topologies across AWS and Azure
• Design Kubernetes platforms at scale on managed services (e.g., AKS, EKS), including cluster lifecycle, multi‑tenancy, and workload scheduling
• Lead cloud network architecture: inter‑region and cross‑cloud routing, private DNS, private endpoints, and connectivity to corporate networks (e.g., ExpressRoute, Direct Connect)
• Integrate batch and workflow orchestration on Kubernetes with cloud‑native service networking and modern workload identity patterns

Data Platform Architecture

• Design cloud data platforms using layered (e.g., medallion) architecture across ingestion, transformation, and consumption
• Enable distributed querying across curated data sources for engineering and analytical users
• Define data access control, governance, and observability patterns

AI & Emerging Capabilities

• Architect AI inference gateway infrastructure that provides centralized model routing, security controls, cost attribution, and observability
• Design self‑hosted, open‑weight model inference on cloud GPU capacity, so AI workloads can run against sensitive data without exposure to third‑party model providers
• Design agentic AI workflows for engineering (deployment review, IaC PR validation, platform operations) that act as quality gates in the delivery pipeline

Technical Leadership & Enablement

• Serve as the technical escalation point for the hardest platform problems
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, pairing, and architecture guidance
• Run technical workshops on new architecture patterns, tools, and practical AI workflows
• Contribute to technical interviews and set the technical bar for platform roles

Technical Delivery

• Own Infrastructure as Code standards (Terraform), including bringing existing cloud resources under version‑controlled IaC and enforcing repeatable deployment patterns
• Define DevSecOps pipeline patterns and identity and security architecture
• Produce architecture documentation (high‑level and low‑level designs) and runbooks that let others operate and extend the platforms

What You'll Bring

Essential

• Career progression from hands‑on infrastructure or cloud engineering into principal‑level cloud architecture
• Production depth across AWS and Azure: landing zones, multi‑account/subscription governance, managed services, and security architecture
• Managed Kubernetes at scale (AKS, EKS), including cluster lifecycle management and workload scheduling
• Cloud networking: hub‑and‑spoke topologies, peeri