AWS Subject Matter Expert (AWS SME)

AWS SME Opportunity | Cloud Architecture & Enterprise AWS Leadership - Jackson, MS(Onsite)

Job Title: AWS Subject Matter Expert (AWS SME)

Job Type: Contract

Duration: 12 Months (Potential Extension)

Work Arrangement: Hybrid

Schedule: Monday - Friday, 40 Hours per Week

On-Call: Required, as needed for cloud environment support and troubleshooting

Education: Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience preferred

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled AWS Subject Matter Expert (SME) to support the management, optimization, and governance of a complex enterprise AWS cloud environment. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise across AWS services, cloud architecture, security, networking, automation, and operational best practices.

This role will serve as a senior technical advisor, providing cloud strategy guidance, troubleshooting support, architecture reviews, and mentorship to internal teams. The AWS SME will play a critical role in ensuring the stability, scalability, security, and long-term success of cloud initiatives while fostering cloud adoption and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

AWS Environment Management

• Administer and maintain enterprise AWS environments.
• Ensure adherence to AWS best practices, governance standards, and operational policies.
• Monitor cloud resources and recommend optimization opportunities.

Cloud Architecture & Design

• Design, review, and implement scalable, secure, and high-performing AWS solutions.
• Provide architectural guidance for cloud-native and hybrid-cloud deployments.
• Conduct architecture reviews and recommend improvements.

Troubleshooting & Support

• Act as the escalation point for complex AWS infrastructure and networking issues.
• Investigate and resolve cloud-related incidents involving compute, storage, networking, and security services.
• Collaborate with technical teams to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.

Security & Governance

• Implement and maintain cloud security best practices.
• Support identity and access management, encryption, network segmentation, and governance controls.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory and security requirements.

Automation & DevOps

• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions.
• Support CI/CD pipeline implementation and automation initiatives.
• Promote DevOps best practices across cloud operations.

Vendor & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Partner with cloud vendors and third-party technology providers.
• Provide technical leadership and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Mentorship & Knowledge Transfer

• Mentor cloud engineers and technical staff.
• Develop technical documentation, standards, operational procedures, and best practices.
• Lead training sessions and cloud knowledge-sharing initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Strong expertise in AWS services including:
  • EC2
  • S3
  • RDS
  • VPC
  • IAM
  • Lambda
  • CloudFormation
• Experience leading cloud migrations and large-scale AWS implementations.
• Strong understanding of multi-account AWS environments.
• Advanced networking and connectivity troubleshooting skills.
• Experience with AWS Landing Zone implementations and AWS Landing Zone Accelerator.
• Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code tools such as:
  • CloudFormation
  • Terraform
  • AWS CDK
• Experience implementing cloud security controls and governance frameworks.
• Familiarity with:
  • Docker
  • Amazon ECS
  • Amazon EKS
  • Serverless architectures
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Experience mentoring and guiding technical teams.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities effectively.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS Professional-Level Certifications, such as:
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional
  • AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional
• Experience working within highly regulated environments.
• Knowledge of:
  • ITIL
  • Agile methodologies
  • Project Management practices
  • Enterprise IT Governance frameworks
• Experience with hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud environments.
• Working knowledge of scripting languages including:
  • Python
  • Bash
  • PowerShell.