Senior Cloud Engineer

Sr. Cloud Engineer & Cloud Engineer

Client Budget: $120-175K base salary

Location: 1 Day per week in Seattle, WA required

Top Required Skillsets

• IaC (Infrastructure as Code) with Terraform in an AWS environment
• Automating AWS cloud infrastructure
• AWS Certifications: Cloud Practitioner Certification required. Expect this person to have an AWS Solutions Architect Associate Cert as well but not 100% mandatory
• Need to be strong with Terraform
  
  

The Cloud Engineer and Sr. Cloud Systems Engineer plays a key role within the IT Engineering team, responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the company’s cloud-based infrastructure. This position requires a proactive, detail-oriented engineer with expertise in Windows Server, Active Directory, and security hardening, combined with a strong focus on automation and observability. The Cloud Systems Engineer will drive technical projects, ensure secure and reliable day-to-day operations, and provide mentorship to junior colleagues on cloud technologies, best practices, and documentation standards.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following (Other duties may be assigned):

• Design, deploy, and manage cloud-native infrastructure (primarily AWS) using HCP Terraform to ensure scalability, availability, and security.
• Administer and optimize Windows Server and Active Directory in the cloud, including the configuration of Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
• Implement and enforce hardening standards for cloud-based Windows servers, Active Directory, and AWS services to minimize security risks.
• Build and maintain identity and access management (IAM) policies, SSO integrations, and least-privilege role assignments.
• Automate provisioning, configuration, and operational workflows exclusively through Terraform and supporting scripting (PowerShell, Python).
• Develop and maintain observability practices, including logging, monitoring, and alerting (e.g., CloudWatch, Splunk), to ensure performance, security, and compliance.
• Continuously monitor systems for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, and partner with the security team to remediate findings.
• Collaborate with compliance teams to ensure systems meet SOX, PCI, and other regulatory frameworks.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers, focusing on cloud operations, automation, and security best practices.
• Document architectures, configurations, and operational procedures to ensure audit readiness and consistent practices.
• Stay current with cloud security hardening, automation techniques, and emerging observability tools.
  
  

Job Evaluation Factors

Education/Skills/Training:

• Associate/Bachelor’s degree preferred, but not required.
• AWS Cloud Practitioner Certified (or higher) a bonus.
• Ability to work independently and exercise independent judgment and decision making.
• Strong documentation skills and ability to work in fast paced environments.
• Ability to assist internal and external customers in a personable and professional manner.
  
  

Experience Requirements

• 3 years of experience as a Cloud Engineer or in a similar cloud-native role.
• 2 years of experience as a Systems Engineer or a similar role.
• Strong experience with Windows Server administration in cloud environments, including Active Directory and GPOs.
• Hands-on expertise with AWS services (EC2, RDS, IAM, VPC, CloudWatch, etc.); Azure exposure is a plus.
• Proven proficiency with HCP Terraform for all infrastructure deployments (Highly Desirable).
• Strong scripting skills (PowerShell; Python or Bash desirable).
• Demonstrated experience implementing hardening standards for cloud servers, AD, IAM, and AWS services.
• Strong knowledge of cloud security best practices, including IAM, encryption, patching, and vulnerability management.
• Experience with observability tools (e.g., CloudWatch, Splunk, ELK) and integrating monitoring/alerting into daily operations.
• Solid understanding of networking fundamentals (DNS, DHCP, LDAP, VPNs, routing, security groups).
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks such as SOX, PCI, or OCC.
• Excellent documentation skills and ability to convey technical detail to a non-technical audience.
• Track record of mentoring colleagues and contributing to the development of team-wide standards and security practices.
  
  

Physical Conditions

• Light intermittent physical effort; must be able to sit for long periods of time; able to lift approximately 40 lbs.
• Be able to report to the nearest office location once a week, or more as directed by the company.
  
  

Working Conditions

• Typical office conditions. May require overnight or extended travel if necessary.
  
  

Supervisory Relationships

CONTACTS AND RELATIONSHIPS:

• Reports to Manager, Systems Engineering
  
  

Internal Relationships

• Works closely with the other group members of the Information Systems department to accomplish department and Bank goals.
• Work directly with various Bank personnel outside of the IT department.
  
  

External Relationships

• Contact with technical partners, vendors, and service providers
• OTHER DUTIES SPECIFIC TO THE DEPARTMENT/LOCATION: