Cloud Architect

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Google Cloud Platform Engineer / Cloud Architect to design, implement, and manage a secure, scalable, and compliant Google Cloud Platform infrastructure for a large government client.

The ideal candidate will possess deep hands-on expertise in Google Cloud Platform (Google Cloud Platform), strong architecture and troubleshooting capabilities, and proven experience in building enterprise-grade cloud environments aligned with security, governance, and compliance standards.

Key Responsibilities

1. Google Cloud Platform Architecture

• Design and implement enterprise-grade Google Cloud Platform infrastructure architecture
• Define organization hierarchy (Organization, Folders, Projects) aligned with business units
• Establish multi-project and multi-environment strategies (Dev/UAT/Prod)
• Design and implement network topologies (Hub-Spoke models)
• Ensure alignment with security, compliance, and governance standards

2. Cloud Governance & Security

• Design and enforce IAM strategies (RBAC, least privilege access)
• Implement Organization Policies, constraints, and governance guardrails
• Configure Security Command Center (SCC), Cloud Armor, and VPC Service Controls
• Enable audit logging, monitoring, and compliance frameworks
• Ensure compliance with government standards (NIST, CIS, FedRAMP-like frameworks)

3. Networking Expertise

• Architect and implement:
• Shared VPC, VPC Peering, Private Service Connect
• Cloud NAT, Cloud DNS, Load Balancers
• Hybrid connectivity (VPN, Interconnect)
• Troubleshoot complex issues related to routing, DNS, latency, and connectivity

4. Compute, Storage & Database

• Design and deploy:
• Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Run
• Cloud Storage, Filestore
• Cloud SQL, BigQuery, Spanner, Firestore
• Optimize for performance, scalability, and cost efficiency
• Implement high availability and disaster recovery strategies

5. Automation & Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

• Implement Terraform-based infrastructure provisioning
• Develop reusable modules and templates
• Integrate infrastructure with CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions)
• Automate policy enforcement and environment provisioning

6. Monitoring, Logging & Observability

• Configure:
• Cloud Monitoring, Logging, and Error Reporting
• Alerting mechanisms and dashboards
• Integrate logs with SIEM tools (e.g., Microsoft Sentinel)
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA) and proactive issue detection

7. Troubleshooting & Support

• Diagnose and resolve complex cloud infrastructure issues
• Perform deep troubleshooting across:
• Networking
• IAM
• Compute workloads
• Security configurations
• Support L2 and L3 incident management and RCA processes

8. Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with:
• Security teams
• DevOps teams
• Application teams
• Client stakeholders
• Provide technical solutions and architectural guidance
• Present architecture designs, recommendations, and best practices

Required Skills & Qualifications

Core Google Cloud Platform Expertise

• Strong hands-on experience with:
• IAM, Organization Policies
• VPC, Shared VPC, Firewall rules
• Compute Engine, GKE
• Cloud Storage, BigQuery
• Deep understanding of:
• Google Cloud Platform Landing Zone design patterns
• Enterprise cloud governance frameworks

Security & Compliance

• Experience with:
• Security Command Center (SCC)
• VPC Service Controls
• Cloud Armor
• Knowledge of:
• CIS Benchmarks
• NIST and government compliance frameworks

DevOps & Automation

• Strong experience in:
• Terraform (mandatory)
• CI/CD tools (GitHub Actions preferred)
• Experience with:
• Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes / GKE)

Troubleshooting & Problem Solving

• Proven ability to:
• Debug complex cloud environments
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA)
• Optimize system performance and reliability

Preferred Qualifications

• Google Cloud Platform Professional Cloud Architect Certification (Highly Preferred)
• Experience working in government or regulated environments
• Experience integrating Google Cloud Platform with SIEM tools (e.g., Microsoft Sentinel)

Soft Skills

• Strong communication and documentation skills
• Ability to work effectively in client-facing roles
• Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset