Cloud Architect

Cloud Architect Role

Onsite Seattle WA                                                       

Cloud Architecture & Platform Design

• Design and own the end‑to‑end cloud architecture across Azure, ensuring scalability, reliability, cost efficiency, and security.
• Build cloud reference architectures including:

• • Landing zones(connected/restricted cloud services environment).
  • Networking & security patterns
  • Identity and access management
  • Data and compute resource design
  • High‑availability & disaster recovery architectures

Platform Engineering & Administration

• Lead the architecture for cloud‑native data and compute platforms such as:

• • Azure Databricks
  • Azure Data Factory
  • Azure Functions
  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
  • Azure Storage, Key Vault, App Services

• Establish standards for automation, deployment, governance, and monitoring across cloud environments.

Orchestration & Automation

• Define orchestration patterns using Airflow, ADF, and Databricks Workflows.
• Architect automation for:

• • Infrastructure provisioning (Terraform)
  • Platform administration
  • Environment management and CI/CD

Cloud Governance & Security

• Drive governance practices including:

• • Databricks Unity Catalog administration (Must)
  • Role-based access controls (RBAC)
  • Policy enforcement and compliance frameworks
  • Integration with tools like Collibra and Privacera (nice to have)

• Ensure cloud environments meet enterprise security, audit, and regulatory standards.

Engineering Guidance

• Partner with engineering teams to guide implementation and enforce architectural best practices.

AI & Innovation Responsibilities

AI‑Powered Cloud Solution Expertise

• Bring hands‑on experience in implementing AI/ML-powered features within Azure, leveraging services such as:

·       Azure AI foundry

·       Azure OpenAI

·       Azure Machine Learning

·       Cognitive Services

·       Vector databases & search

·       Databricks AI/BI Genie, Agent-bricks

• Provide architectural leadership to integrate AI solutions securely and responsibly into customer environments.

Innovation & Rapid Prototyping

• Independently ideate, design, and build quick POCs in non-Starbucks environment using AI capabilities, especially in retail use cases such as:

·       Customer personalization

·       Demand forecasting

·       Store operations optimization

·       AI agents for customer service

·       Intelligent search and product recommendations

Demonstrate the POC’s feasibility, business value, and technical scalability to customer stakeholders.

Thought Leadership

• Bring forward new ideas, emerging patterns, and innovative cloud‑AI concepts proactively.
• Partner with product, engineering, and business teams to turn POC concepts into production‑ready architectures.

Soft Skills & Leadership

• Strong communicator with the ability to explain cloud architecture concepts to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• High EQ, collaborative mindset, and ability to influence cross‑functional teams.
• Skilled in documenting architecture, standards, and solution design.
• Proven ability to work with product owners, engineering, security, and operations teams.
• Ability to translate business goals into scalable cloud solutions and architectural roadmaps.

Operational & Delivery Expectations

• Participate in architectural reviews, sprint ceremonies, and cloud governance forums.
• Provide guidance during build, deployment, migration, and modernization phases.
• Support platform‑related operations, including elevated triage during critical issues.
• Offshore coordination

Enable continuity of ongoing cloud activities within offshore counterpart if there is any support needed in wrapping up the Architecture work.