Tier 2 Cloud Support

ARA; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

ARA is hiring a Tier 2 Cloud Support Specialist to diagnose and resolve access and authentication issues across virtualized environments, while provisioning secure cloud infrastructure and managing access policies. The role emphasizes documentation, collaboration, and adherence to escalation protocols in a fast-paced setting.

Candidates must hold US citizenship with an active Secret clearance and be willing to work on-site in Raleigh, NC or San Antonio, TX, with DoD 8570 IAT II Certification

Qualifications

• US citizenship and active Secret clearance
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in IT, CS, or related field with 2–4 years of work experience OR MS with 0–2 years of work experience
• Willing to participate in On Call and weekend work as needed
• Minimum 2 years of experience supporting virtual environments
• Minimum 2 years of experience supporting Windows Server or Linux-based systems
• Must successfully acquire and maintain SAP access
• Must obtain DoD 8570 IAT Level II Certification within 60 days of hire
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excel as a team player and strive to maximize team and department performance
• Willing to work on-site, daily, at Raleigh, NC or San Antonio, TX location
• National security risk assessment per SEAD-3 requirements

Responsibilities

• Diagnose and resolve access, connectivity, and authentication issues across VMs and shared resources
• Provision, configure, and secure VMs and cloud infrastructure with best practices
• Manage user and system access for cloud and on-premise environments
• Monitor system health and user activity to detect security incidents and assist containment
• Maintain accurate documentation in ticketing systems (e.g., Jira, ServiceNow)
• Collaborate with end users to validate system changes and escalate with clear analysis and logs
• Balance fast ticket resolution with long-term supportability via docs, scripting, and escalation protocols

Skills

Communication skills

Team player

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in IT/CS

MS degree (0-2 years)

Tools

PowerShell

Bash

Python

Terraform

Job description

At ARA, we strive to hire valuable colleagues with not only the right skills, but who also demonstrate our core values of passion, freedom, service and growth.

If you are looking for a career as a Tier 2 Cloud Support agent and you are interested in designing, developing, and rapidly deploying solutions to problems of national importance, then our Raleigh, NC division of ARA has an exciting opportunity worth considering. Not only will you solve challenging core problems, you’ll also be able to grow your career in an exciting environment that promotes teamwork and cross-training in a wide range of related disciplines.

The Successful Applicant Will

• Diagnose and resolve access, connectivity, and authentication issues across virtual machines and shared resources using standard troubleshooting tools and methods.
• Provision, configure, and secure virtual machines and cloud infrastructure, applying best practices in patching, firewall configurations, encryption, logging, and automation.
• Manage user and system access for cloud and on-premise environments, including identity, group policies, and secure file system permissions.
• Monitor system health and user activity to detect potential security incidents; elevate and assist in containment as needed.
• Maintain accurate and detailed documentation within ticketing systems (e.g., Jira, ServiceNow), ensuring traceability and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate with end users to validate system changes, while escalating complex or unresolved issues with clear analysis and logs.
• Balance fast-paced ticket resolution with long-term supportability through documentation, scripting, and adherence to escalation protocols.

Tier 2 Cloud Support Position Requirements

• Must be a US Citizen (No exceptions; green card holders are not eligible)
• Must currently have an active Secret clearance. Strong factors for disqualification include dual citizenship, living with or having relationship with foreign nationals and attendance at foreign universities and colleges
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in IT, CS, or other closely related field with 2-4 years of work experience OR MS with 0-2 years of work experience
• Must be willing to participate in On Call and weekend work as needed
• Minimum 2 years of experience supporting virtual environments
• Minimum 2 years of experience supporting Windows Server or Linux-based systems
• Successfully acquire and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) access
• Successfully obtain DoD 8570 IAT Level II Certification (Security+, CCNA-Security, etc.) within 60 days of hire.
• Good oral & written communication skills
• Excel as a team player and strive to maximize team & department performance
• Willing to work on-site, daily, at our Raleigh, NC or San Antonio, TX location
• Qualified candidates who accept an offer of employment will be subject to completing a national security risk assessment based on SEAD-3 reporting requirements. All offers of employment will be contingent upon a favorable national security risk assessment based on SEAD-3 reporting requirements

Tier 2 Cloud Support Position Preferences

• 3+ years supporting hybrid cloud environments (e.g., Azure Government, AWS GovCloud, OpenStack).
• Experience with scripting or automation tools (PowerShell, Bash, Python, Terraform).
• Prior experience working in a classified or Special Access Program (SAP) environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead ticket resolution efforts and mentor Tier 1 staff.
• Interest in advancing to Tier 3 Help Desk role supporting systems engineering and networking operations.

Who is ARA?

Do you want to work for a purpose? Applied Research Associates, Inc. (aka ARA) is an employee-owned international research and engineering company. We have been providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences since 1979. ARA has over 2,200 employee-owners and continues to grow rapidly. Together, our offices throughout the U.S. and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense, civil, and health technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement.

ARA also prides itself, on having a challenging culture where innovation & experimentation are the norm. The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience. Employee ownership ensures you have a voice in what happens in the company.

To find out more about what the Software Enterprise Division has to offer, visit our website at: https://www.ara.com/benefits/