Senior Cloud Engineer / Contract

Kelly Services; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 96,000 - 123,000; Part time

Job summary

Motion Recruitment Partners seeks a Senior Cloud Engineer/DevOps Engineer to architect, deploy, and optimize scalable cloud solutions in AWS. The role focuses on migrating on-prem workloads to a cloud-first model and delivering secure, cost-efficient infrastructure.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, implement CI/CD pipelines, and enhance observability with Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, and Splunk. The position is a 6-month contract with potential for hire, hybrid in Downtown Chicago.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in Cloud Engineering, DevOps, SRE, or Platform Engineering.
• AWS core services including EC2, EKS, Lambda, RDS, S3, IAM with Terraform.
• Advanced Docker proficiency and hands-on Kubernetes experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and optimize AWS cloud-native solutions with focus on scalability and cost efficiency.
• Build secure, compliant cloud infrastructure aligned with regulatory requirements.
• Develop disaster recovery and observability solutions for high-volume systems.
• Lead cloud initiatives and collaborate with Security and Compliance teams to meet PCI-DSS, SOC 2, FFIEC.

Skills

AWS

Kubernetes

Docker

Terraform

CI/CD

Observability

Security & Compliance

Scrum/Agile

Automation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IS

Tools

AppDynamics

Twistlock

Aqua Security

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK

Splunk

Job description

$70 - $89

Senior Cloud Engineer / DevOps Engineer

An established fintech institution is seeking a Senior Cloud Engineer/DevOps Engineer to help create actionable intelligence to help organizations fight fraud, manage risk, remain compliant and better serve their customers. This 6-month contract position with possibility for hire is hybrid, with 3 days in-office in Downtown Chicago and 2 days remote.

As a critical member of the cloud engineering team, the Senior Cloud Engineer is responsible for architecting, deploying, and optimizing scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud solutions. Working in partnership with cross-functional stakeholders and engineering teams, this role drives the successful migration of mission-critical applications and data from on-premises platforms to AWS, enabling the organization's cloud-first strategy.

Contract Duration:

6-month contract with possibility for hire

Required Skills & Experience

• 7+ years of experience within Cloud Engineering, DevOps, SRE, or Platform Engineering

• Command of AWS core services such as EC2, EKS, Lambda, RDS, S3, IAM with up-to-date certifications, specifically in a Terraform landscape

• Advanced proficiency working in Docker

• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes

• Knowledge of implementing security & compliance controls within frameworks such as PCI-DSS, SOC 2, or FFIEC

• Demonstrated expertise in modern engineering and DevOps practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, secure coding, and software development frameworks such as Scrum, LEAN, and Agile

• Experience designing and implementing scalable observability solutions for complex, high-volume transactional systems

• Strong track record of exceptional customer focus, documentation and communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to effectively prioritize tasks and navigate ambiguous situations

• Subject to background check and drug testing

Desired Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or similar discipline

• Working knowledge of or experience within financial institutions and other highly regulated industries

• Proficient in additional programming languages, including C#, Ruby, and Python

• Strong understanding of ACH/EFT processing and real-time payment networks such as RTP and FedNow

• Familiarity with monitoring and alerting systems such as AppDynamics

• Familiarity with container security solutions such as Twistlock or Aqua Security

What You Will Be Doing

Tech Breakdown

• 60% Building Kubernetes clusters from scratch

• 20% Terraform

• 20% CI/CD Pipelines

Daily Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and optimize AWS cloud-native solutions (EC2, Lambda, S3, RDS, EKS) with a focus on scalability and cost efficiency

• Build secure, compliant cloud infrastructure aligned with regulatory and risk requirements

• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues, perform root cause analysis, and participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation

• Partner with Security and Compliance teams to meet PCI-DSS, SOC 2, and FFIEC requirements and support audit activities

• Develop disaster recovery solutions to ensure high availability, resilience, and rapid recovery

• Implement cloud security best practices, including IAM, VPC architecture, encryption, and AWS KMS

• Automate infrastructure using Terraform and CI/CD pipelines to improve consistency and efficiency

• Support vulnerability management, patching, and configuration compliance to meet SLAs

• Maintain clear technical documentation for cloud architecture, standards, and operational procedures

• Enhance observability through monitoring, logging, and alerting tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, and Splunk

• Provide technical leadership in planning, designing, and delivering cloud solutions to production

• Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems and data while supporting enterprise risk management

Motion Recruitment Partners (MRP) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants must be currently authorized to work on a full-time basis in the country for which they are applying, and no sponsorship is currently available. Employment is subject to the successful completion of a pre-employment screening. Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process as required under MRP’s Employment Accommodation policy. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.