Sr. Solutions Architect – AWS

Gravity IT Resources; Cincinnati (OH); Remote; USD 96,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Gravity IT Resources is seeking a hands-on Sr. AWS Solutions Architect for a contract role in Cincinnati, OH (remote).

You will architect, deploy, and support production AWS infrastructure with strong emphasis on EKS, IaC, and automation. The ideal candidate has deep experience implementing AWS solutions end-to-end, including Kubernetes/EKS, Terraform/CloudFormation, and IAM governance, and can explain architectural decisions in detail.

Qualifications

• Hands-on AWS architect with production experience.
• Experience building and operating EKS clusters and Kubernetes networking.
• Proficient in Terraform and CloudFormation for automated deployments.
• Strong IAM skills including Roles and Policies and VPC security.
• Experience leading migrations and modernization initiatives in AWS.
• Familiarity with AWS AI services (Bedrock) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Hands-on build and manage EKS clusters with 3 worker nodes.
• Configure IAM roles and permissions for workloads.
• Develop and maintain IaC pipelines using Terraform/CloudFormation.
• Troubleshoot EKS networking and IAM issues in production.
• Lead migration from on-prem or other clouds to AWS.

Skills

AWS EC2

VPC

Route Tables

Security Groups

NACLs

Route 53

Load Balancers

Auto Scaling

Transit Gateway

Direct Connect

VPN

IAM

IAM Roles

IAM Policies

EKS

Kubernetes

Terraform

CloudFormation

Automated deployments

Lambda

EventBridge

Step Functions

SSM

MGN

DMS

CloudEndure

Bedrock

RAG

Q

OpenSearch

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Kubernetes

IRSA

SSM

Bedrock

OpenSearch

Job description

Job Title: Sr. Solutions Architect – AWS
Job Type: Contract | Contract to hire
Job Location: Cincinnati, OH – REMOTE
Job Eligibility: US Citizen

We are seeking a hands-on AWS Architect on behalf of our fortune 500 client. This individual will havedeep experience building, configuring, troubleshooting, and supporting AWS infrastructure in production environments.
This is not a strategy-only or governance-focused architect role. The ideal candidate has personally implemented AWS solutions, worked extensively with Kubernetes/EKS, and can explain architecture decisions and technical configurations in step-by-step detail.

Required Technical Skills

• AWS EC2
• VPC, Route Tables, Security Groups, NACLs
• Route 53, Load Balancers, Auto Scaling
• Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, VPN
• IAM, IAM Roles, IAM Policies

Kubernetes / Amazon EKS (Critical)

• Built and administered EKS clusters
• Configured Nodes, Pods, Deployments, Services
• Kubernetes networking and troubleshooting
• IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA)
• Kubernetes RBAC and permissions
• Production support and incident resolution

Infrastructure as Code

• Terraform
• CloudFormation
• Automated infrastructure deployments

Automation & Serverless

• Lambda
• EventBridge
• Step Functions
• Systems Manager (SSM)

Migration & Modernization

• AWS Migrations (MGN, DMS, CloudEndure preferred)
• Discovery, planning, execution, cutover, and support
• Must have led implementation, not just assessment activities

AI (Preferred)

• Amazon Bedrock
• RAG architectures
• Amazon Q
• OpenSearch / Vector Databases

What the Hiring Team Will Test

• How to build an EKS cluster with 3 worker nodes
• How Pods are configured
• How permissions are assigned in AWS and EKS
• How IAM authorization works
• How to troubleshoot EKS and networking issues
• How to resolve overlapping VPC/CIDR problems
• How they personally implemented AWS solutions
• Real production incidents they have resolved

Ideal Backgrounds

Best Fit Titles

• Senior AWS Platform Engineer
• Lead AWS Engineer
• Principal Cloud Engineer
• Kubernetes Engineer
• Senior Platform Engineer
• AWS Infrastructure Architect
• Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
• Cloud Platform Architect
• DevOps Architect

Less Ideal

• Enterprise Architect
• Pre-Sales Architect
• Cloud Strategy Architect
• Governance Architect
• Consulting Architect (unless recently hands-on)

Key Hiring Criteria

The ideal candidate should be able to say:

• ? “I built the EKS cluster.”
• ? “I configured the IAM roles and permissions.”
• ? “I wrote the Terraform.”
• ? “I deployed and managed the pods.”
• ? “I troubleshot the networking issue.”
• ? “I led the migration through implementation and cutover.”

Not:

• ? “I designed the architecture.”
• ? “I led discovery workshops.”
• ? “I aligned stakeholders.”
• ? “I built the roadmap.”

The strongest candidates will be engineers who became architects, not architects who have moved away from hands-on technical work.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Gravity IT Resources is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.