Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

ZipStaff Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) + 401(k) matching

Paid time off

Referral Program

Job summary

ZipStaff is seeking a Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to lead the design, deployment, and operation of enterprise cloud platforms in AWS with Azure support. This on-site Washington, DC contract role requires hands-on leadership and deep technical expertise across large-scale environments.

You will drive migrations, implement IaC, define security governance, and mentor junior engineers while partnering with DevOps, Security, Networking, and Application teams to deliver robust business

Qualifications

• 7+ years in systems architecture and infrastructure management with hybrid networking.
• 5+ years hands-on in enterprise cloud design, deployment and management.
• Deep AWS knowledge: EC2, VPC, Route 53, S3, IAM, RDS, Lambda, ECS/EKS.
• Azure familiarity: VMs, VNets, Storage, IAM, Azure Backup.
• Strong automation using PowerShell, Python or Bash; Git-based CI/CD experience.
• Solid cloud security, networking, DNS, VPNs and compliance controls.
• Containerization experience: Docker and Kubernetes; strong problem-solving under SLAs.
• Excellent communication; able to work independently or in teams on-site in DC.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, deployment, and operations of scalable AWS cloud infrastructure with Azure support.
• Drive IaC adoption using Terraform or CloudFormation for provisioning and patching.
• Architect and execute enterprise cloud migrations and modernization efforts.
• Create standardized templates and enterprise landing zones to accelerate onboarding.
• Establish cloud security standards, IAM best practices, and governance workflows.
• Design backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity across cloud workloads.
• Resolve complex networking and integration issues; perform root-cause analysis with urgency.
• Mentor junior engineers and collaborate with DevOps, Security, Networking, and Apps teams.

Skills

AWS

Azure

IaC

Linux/Unix

Python scripting

CI/CD pipelines

Networking

Security/compliance

Leadership/Mentoring

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Docker

Kubernetes

Git

CloudWatch

Job description

Job Title: Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Location: Washington, DC (On-site)

Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff - No C2C or 1099)

About the Opportunity: ZipStaff is seeking a highly skilled Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to serve as a key technical lead for a major transportation organization.

In this role, you will design, deploy, automate, and maintain highly scalable, secure, enterprise-grade cloud environments - primarily within AWS, with secondary support for Azure. You will drive major cloud migrations, establish cloud governance policies, and optimize multi-cloud operations while mentoring junior engineers and delivering robust business continuity solutions.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead the end-to-end design, implementation, and operational management of scalable, resilient, and highly available AWS cloud infrastructure, with secondary support for Azure environments.
• Drive Infrastructure as Code (IaC) adoption using tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation to automate cloud provisioning, configuration management, patching, and deployments.
• Architect and execute enterprise cloud migration, application modernization, and continuous platform optimization strategies.
• Design and maintain standardized, reusable cloud platform templates and enterprise landing zones to accelerate secure team onboarding.
• Establish enterprise cloud security standards, IAM best practices, compliance controls, governance policies, and operational workflows.
• Design and implement comprehensive backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions across cloud workloads.
• Resolve complex cloud networking, infrastructure, and application integration issues; perform root‑cause analysis with a high sense of urgency and ownership.
• Mentor junior cloud engineers, provide technical guidance across projects, and partner closely with DevOps, Security, Networking, and Application teams.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of broad IT background spanning systems architecture, infrastructure management, operating systems, databases, enterprise applications, and hybrid networking.
• 5+ years of dedicated, hands‑on experience designing, deploying, and managing enterprise cloud infrastructure and applications.
• Deep knowledge of core AWS services, including EC2, VPC, Route 53, ALB/NLB, S3, IAM, CloudWatch, SSM, RDS, Lambda, and container services (ECS/EKS).
• Practical working knowledge of Azure services, including Virtual Machines, VNETs, Azure Storage, IAM, and Azure Backup.
• Strong automation capabilities using PowerShell, Python, or Bash, along with experience managing Git-based source control and CI/CD pipelines.
• Solid understanding of DNS, TCP/IP, VPNs, firewalls, hybrid cloud connectivity, secrets management, and cloud security compliance controls.
• Hands‑on experience with containerization technologies and platforms, including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, a self‑motivated drive to work independently or in an integrated team environment, and strong problem‑solving skills under tight SLAs.
• Ability to work on‑site in Washington, DC.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience leading cloud migrations or platform modernization initiatives in a large enterprise or transportation environment.
• Background establishing cloud governance, landing zones, and reusable platform templates.
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and collaborating across DevOps, Security, and Application teams.
• Additional depth with multi-cloud operations or advanced AWS/Azure services.

Benefits:

• Health Insurance.
• Dental Insurance.
• Vision Insurance.
• 401(k) + 401(k) matching.
• Paid time off.
• Referral Program.

About ZipStaff: ZipStaff partners with leading organizations to connect skilled technology professionals with high-impact contract opportunities. We focus on quality matches, clear communication, and long‑term success for candidates and clients.