Principal AWS Cloud Architect

NTT Limited; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

NTT DATA is seeking a highly experienced Principal Cloud Architect (AWS) to lead architecture, governance, and delivery of enterprise-scale AWS solutions across South Africa and the Middle East & Africa. You will partner with sales, consulting, and delivery teams to drive transformation roadmaps, migration, and modernization initiatives.

The role requires 10+ years in IT infrastructure or cloud architecture with at least 5 years focused on AWS, and an AWS Architect Professional certification is

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, cloud architecture, or platform engineering, with at least 5 years focused on AWS.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (required or strongly preferred).

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, and governance of enterprise-scale AWS solutions.
• Partner with sales and client stakeholders to develop cloud strategies, solution architectures, and transformation roadmaps.
• Design highly available, secure, and scalable cloud platforms using AWS best practices and Well-Architected Framework.

Skills

AWS expertise

Enterprise architecture

Cloud migration

Pre-sales support

IaC (Terraform)

CI/CD

Security governance

Stakeholder mgmt

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT/Engineering

Tools

Terraform

AWS CloudFormation

AWS CDK

Docker

Kubernetes

Datadog

Git

Job description

Make an impact with NTT DATA Join a company that is pushing the boundaries of what is possible. We are renowned for our technical excellence and leading innovations, and for making a difference to our clients and society. Our workplace embraces diversity and inclusion – it’s a place where you can grow, belong and thrive.

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Cloud Architect (AWS) to partner with enterprise sales, consulting, and delivery teams in designing and positioning scalable, secure, resilient, and cost-optimized cloud solutions for clients across South Africa and the Middle East & Africa. This role serves as the senior technical authority for AWS architecture engagements, providing strategic guidance, solution leadership, and architectural governance across the full cloud lifecycle. The successful candidate will be a trusted advisor to clients and internal stakeholders, translating business objectives into enterprise-grade cloud architectures while supporting pre-sales activities, solution design, migration strategies, modernization initiatives, and cloud transformation programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and technical governance of enterprise-scale AWS solutions.
• Partner with sales and client stakeholders to develop compelling cloud strategies, solution architectures, and transformation roadmaps.
• Design highly available, resilient, secure, and scalable cloud platforms using AWS best practices and Well-Architected Framework principles.
• Define target-state architectures covering networking, security, identity, observability, automation, disaster recovery, and operational excellence.
• Develop and promote Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, and AWS CDK.
• Provide architectural leadership for cloud migration, application modernization, containerization, and serverless initiatives.
• Collaborate with engineering, DevOps, security, and application teams to implement CI/CD and platform automation strategies.
• Drive cloud security, compliance, governance, and FinOps best practices.
• Perform architecture reviews and provide technical oversight throughout solution delivery.
• Act as a trusted advisor to clients, presenting technical solutions to executive, business, and technical audiences.
• Mentor architects and engineers while contributing to cloud capability development and thought leadership.
• Stay current with emerging AWS services, industry trends, and cloud-native technologies.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, cloud architecture, or platform engineering, with at least 5 years focused on AWS.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (required or strongly preferred).
• Additional AWS Specialty certifications are advantageous.
• Deep expertise across AWS services including VPC, Transit Gateway, EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, DynamoDB, IAM, Organizations, CloudWatch, Route 53, and AWS Backup.
• Strong experience designing enterprise networking, identity, security, and governance architectures within AWS.
• Hands-on expertise with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, and/or AWS CDK.
• Strong understanding of DevOps and platform engineering practices, including Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker, Kubernetes, and automation frameworks.
• Experience implementing cloud security controls, compliance frameworks, and operational monitoring solutions.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, solution presentation, and documentation skills.

Preferred Experience

• Experience leading large-scale cloud migration and modernization programs.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Azure and/or Google Cloud Platform in hybrid or multi-cloud environments.
• Experience with serverless architectures, event-driven systems, and cloud-native application patterns.
• Experience with observability and monitoring platforms such as Datadog, Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/OpenSearch, or Splunk.
• Background in software development or scripting using Python, Bash, PowerShell, or similar languages.
• Experience with cloud financial management (FinOps), cost optimization, and cloud governance frameworks.
• Experience supporting pre-sales, solution consulting, RFP responses, and executive-level client engagements.
• Experience supporting complex sales pursuits, RFP/RFI responses, solution workshops, and executive-level client presentations.

Workplace type: Hybrid Working

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA is a $30+ billion business and technology services leader, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We are committed to accelerating client success and positively impacting society through responsible innovation. We are one of the world’s leading AI and digital infrastructure providers, with unmatched capabilities in enterprise-scale AI, cloud, security, connectivity, data centers and application services. Our consulting and industry solutions help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. As a Global Top Employer, we have experts in more than 50 countries. We also offer clients access to a robust ecosystem of innovation centers as well as established and start-up partners. NTT DATA is part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion each year in R&D.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Equal Opportunity Employer NTT DATA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer with a global culture that embraces diversity. We are committed to providing an environment free of unfair discrimination and harassment. We do not discriminate based on age, race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, disability, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected category.

Is innovation part of your DNA?

Do you want to enable a connected future for people, organizations, and society? Join our growing global NTT family and you’ll be part of the world’s largest ICT company (by revenue). We’ve combined the capabilities of 28 remarkable companies to become one, leading technology services provider. Together, we help our people, clients, and communities do great things with technology to create a more secure and connected future. We employ 40,000 people across 57 countries. By bringing together the world’s best technology companies and emerging innovators, we work together to deliver sustainable outcomes to businesses and the world. Innovation is part of our DNA. We believe it’s key to what makes us different. So, we strive to move forward, challenge the status quo, and drive excellence through the technologies we integrate and the services we deliver around the world. The result is connected cities, connected factories, connected healthcare, connected agriculture, connected conservation, connected mobility, and connected sport. Together we enable the connected future. You’ll be joining a global employer that is committed to attracting, growing and keeping the best talent. A place where you will be at the heart of our success!