Cloud Application Architect

Software Guidance & Assistance, Inc. (SGA) is searching for a Cloud Application Architect for a Direct Placement assignment with one of our premier financial services clients in mid-town New York City. Hybrid schedule, 2-3 days onsite/week.

The firm seeks a hands-on and innovative Cloud Application Architect to design, build, and guide development of cloud-native applications that drive key business capabilities. The ideal candidate will bring strong experience in AWS Cloud, Python/Django, and microservices/serverless architectures, while providing technical leadership, hands-on coding, and mentorship to engineering teams. This role blends strategic design with day-to-day engineering excellence to ensure that applications are scalable, secure, and aligned with enterprise cloud best practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and architecture guidance for cloud-based application development projects.
• Design, document, and maintain reference architectures, design patterns, and technical specifications for cloud applications.
• Architect and implement cloud-native solutions leveraging AWS services, serverless components, and containerized workloads.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to translate functional requirements into scalable technical designs.
• Evaluate and recommend new cloud tools, frameworks, and technologies that improve application performance and developer productivity.
• Ensure application designs follow cloud best practices for reliability, security, and performance.
• Contribute hands-on to solution development, including Python/Django code and cloud integration components.
• Work closely with DevOps, QA, and AppSecOps teams to integrate security, CI/CD, and deployment automation into application pipelines.
• Mentor developers and promote modern software engineering standards and agile practices.
• Support continuous improvement through documentation, process standardization, and collaboration across teams.

Work Allocation (Approximate)

• 50 % - Hands-on application development and implementation
• 25 % - Architecture design, mentoring, and technical leadership
• 15 % - Requirements gathering and stakeholder collaboration
• 10 % - Team leadership and process improvement

Required Skills

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in cloud-native application design, architecture, or development.
• Strong expertise in AWS Cloud technologies and cloud-native design principles.
• Deep experience with microservices, serverless architectures, and containerization (Docker, ECS, Kubernetes).
• Proficiency in Python/Django for backend development and integration.
• Solid understanding of Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience developing data- and analytics-intensive applications (Pandas, NumPy, SQL).
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related discipline (or equivalent experience).

Preferred Skills

• Prior experience in financial services, asset management, or capital-markets environments.
• Familiarity with Redis, Kafka, Elastic Search, and other modern data frameworks.
• Exposure to CFA or FRM concepts or certification (a plus).
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving mindset with focus on scalability and resilience.

Initial Success Criteria (First 6 Months)
The successful candidate will demonstrate immediate value by:

• Delivering key components of a cloud-native application architecture in AWS.
• Establishing reference architectures and reusable design patterns for new projects.
• Partnering with Platform Engineering and DevOps to integrate CI/CD and observability best practices.
• Mentoring development teams to adopt modern cloud and coding standards.
• Driving measurable improvement in application reliability, performance, and developer velocity.

SGA is a technology and resource solutions provider driven to stand out. We are a women-owned business. Our mission: to solve big IT problems with a more personal, boutique approach. Each year, we match consultants like you to more than 1,000 engagements. When we say let's work better together, we mean it. You'll join a diverse team built on these core values: customer service, employee development, and quality and integrity in everything we do. Be yourself, love what you do and find your passion at work. Please find us at .

SGA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of Race, Color, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Religion, National Origin, Disability, Veteran Status, Age, Marital Status, Pregnancy, Genetic Information, or Other Legally Protected Status. We are committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, and our services, programs, and activities. Please visit our company to request an accommodation or assistance regarding our policy.