Senior Cloud engineer

iDbase Software; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 300 000 - 400 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading software company in South Africa is seeking a Cloud Engineer to architect, build, and maintain secure cloud platforms. You will drive excellence in cloud infrastructure and DevOps practices while mentoring junior engineers. This role requires strong experience with cloud services, Linux systems, and containerization. The ideal candidate thrives in a collaborative environment and has a passion for technical growth. Options for Johannesburg, Cape Town, and remote work are available.

Qualifications

• 5+ years hands-on cloud/platform engineering experience.
• Strong experience with Linux systems (RHEL, Ubuntu, CentOS).
• Proficient in Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation).

Responsibilities

• Design and build distributed cloud systems across AWS and Azure.
• Implement Infrastructure-as-Code to automate provisioning.
• Monitor system health and lead disaster recovery strategies.

Skills

Cloud architecture experience

Linux systems expertise

Containerization skills

Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible)

Monitoring and observability tools

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS

Azure

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for a Cloud engineer to architect, build, and maintain secure, scalable, and resilient cloud platforms while driving excellence in cloud infrastructure, DevOps practices, and platform reliability. You will design innovative cloud solutions, implement Infrastructure-as-Code, and provide hands‑on support across both production and development environments. In this role, you will mentor and lead junior and intermediate engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration and technical growth, while effectively communicating with both technical teams and business stakeholders to deliver impactful solutions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Cloud Architecture & Engineering

• Design and build distributed cloud systems across AWS, Azure, and hybrid environments
• Architect resilient, scalable, highly available cloud‑native platforms
• Implement and manage container platforms (Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift, EKS, AKS, GKE, ODF)
• Work with Operator Framework to develop and manage Kubernetes/OpenShift operators
• Support provisioning, orchestration, automation, and infrastructure scaling
• Integrate Linux systems with authentication and directory services
• Configure and manage enterprise storage systems across cloud and on‑prem environments

1. Infrastructure Automation & DevOps

• Design and maintain Infrastructure‑as‑Code (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, ARM, Pulumi)
• Develop automation scripts for provisioning, configuration, and deployment
• Implement CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins
• Maintain software repositories and automate software update processes
• Build and deploy serverless architectures and containerised workloads

1. Reliability, Monitoring & Security

• Implement observability using Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch, X‑Ray, ELK/EFK, or Datadog
• Monitor system health through automated and manual processes
• Lead disaster recovery, backup, and replication strategies
• Ensure compliance with NIST, CIS benchmarks, and Zero Trust principles
• Troubleshoot OS‑level and application‑level issues across Linux and container platforms
• Apply cloud security best practices including IAM governance, network security, and encryption

1. Collaboration, Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with customers and internal teams to understand requirements and deliver solutions
• Set clear expectations and communicate effectively with stakeholders
• Mentor junior and intermediate engineers
• Drive improvements, promote DevOps culture, and support change management
• Represent the infrastructure team in cross‑functional initiatives and escalations

Your Expertise

Core Technical Skills

• 5+ years hands‑on cloud/platform engineering experience
• Strong experience with Linux systems (RHEL, Ubuntu, CentOS)
• Expertise in containerisation (Docker, Podman, Containerd, CRI‑O)
• Expertise in container orchestration (Kubernetes, OpenShift, EKS, AKS, GKE)
• Experience with cloud provider services (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Strong background in monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, CloudWatch, X‑Ray, Datadog)
• Skilled in Infrastructure‑as‑Code (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Pulumi)
• Ability to troubleshoot Linux performance, networking, SELinux, permissions, and storage issues
• Proficient in backup, replication, and disaster recovery strategy implementation

Highly Desirable & In‑Demand Skills

• Experience with service meshes (Istio, Linkerd)
• Knowledge of SRE principles (SLAs, SLOs, error budgets)
• Understanding of Zero Trust security and cloud security posture management (CSPM)
• Familiarity with API gateways and ingress controllers (NGINX, Kong, Traefik)
• GitOps experience (ArgoCD, Flux)
• Multi‑cloud or hybrid cloud architecture experience
• Storage technologies (block, object, distributed storage)
• Programming/automation in Python, Go, or Bash
• Exposure to event‑driven architectures and message brokers (Kafka, RabbitMQ)

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree, diploma, or higher certificate in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field
• OR equivalent hands‑on cloud engineering experience

Preferred Certifications (Beneficial but not compulsory):

• Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
• Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift Administration
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect / AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
• Azure Administrator Associate / Solutions Architect
• CKA, CKAD, CKS (Kubernetes certifications)

Additional Information

• Contract Duration: 12 Months (with possibility of renewal)
• Salary: Negotiable
• Location Options: Johannesburg / Cape Town / Remote
• Must be located in South Africa or have a valid work permit for South Africa