Job DescriptionJob Title: Cloud ArchitectLocation: Herndon, VA (Onsite)Security Clearance: Active Top SecretWe are seeking an experienced Cloud Architect to support our Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) managed service provider contract. This senior-level role requires a highly autonomous, top-secret security-cleared professional to serve as the ultimate escalation point for complex cloud engineering and incident ticket management. The ideal candidate will excel in hybrid and multi-cloud environments (primarily AWS GovCloud, with supporting Azure infrastructure), taking ownership of critical INC tickets and effectively troubleshooting deep systemic problems ranging from advanced routing and resource pointing errors to OS-level and platform integration issues. This role requires significant independent interaction with customers and application teams to resolve cloud dependencies and design robust solutions. Please note: This position requires working 30% to 50% of the time within a secure SIPR SCIF environment.
Requirements:- Active Top Secret clearance (required)
- Must be eligible for DCSA Personnel Assurance Program enrollment
- CompTIA Security+ (DoD 8570 IAT Level II minimum)
- Bachelor's Degree
- 8+ years of relative experience (Senior/Architect level)
- Highly Autonomous Operation: Demonstrated capability to operate fully independently as a senior escalation point, interacting directly with end customers, stakeholders, and application development teams to troubleshoot complex issues, architect technical solutions, and provide strategic guidance.
- Willingness and ability to work on-site in a SIPR/SCIF environment for 30% to 50% of the work schedule.
- Advanced hands-on experience supporting, architecting, and troubleshooting enterprise workloads in an AWS GovCloud environment.
- Expert-level Linux system administration and troubleshooting capabilities (e.g., RHEL, Amazon Linux) to assist application teams with deep-level server access, environment configurations, and log analysis.
- Experience managing high-priority incident (INC) ticket queues, leading major incident response, and resolving complex service requests within established SLAs.
- Demonstrated ability to diagnose complex cloud networking and access issues, including advanced routing topologies, security groups, subnets, and DNS/resource pointing.
- Familiarity with GitLab for troubleshooting build runner connectivity, repository access, and pipeline deployment failures.
- Proficiency with ticketing and collaboration platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira).
- Containers & Orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS EKS): Expert troubleshooting and resolution of application issues tied to container crashes, ingress routing, or cluster resource limits.
- Identity & PKI / CAC Authentication: Proficiency in environments enforcing strict CAC/PKI authentication; handling complex issues involving certificate rotation, SSO/SAML integration, or role/IAM policy misconfigurations.
- Core Network Services (Route 53 / DNS, Load Balancers, VPNs): Expertise in diagnosing and resolving complex routing and resource-pointing issues at an architectural level.
Nice to Have:- Working knowledge of Microsoft Azure / Azure Government environments and hybrid cloud connectivity.
- Experience administering Microsoft server products and directory services (e.g., Windows Server, Active Directory / Microsoft Entra ID).
- Professional-level AWS or Azure certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional).
- Prior experience serving as a technical lead or architect in a DoD or DCSA environment.
Our team is always hungry for more - more knowledge, more problem solving, more growth, more innovation, and, ultimately, customer success. This hunger and hustle fuel our determination to excel in everything we do. It's not just about meeting established goals; it's about exceeding them. We take immense pride in applying our expertise in cutting-edge technologies and our ability to adapt to emerging trends directly to the users in the field, as our nation's protectors deserve nothing less.
Payband: $200,000 - $233,000
