Cloud Architect

Hiring !!!!

Greetings from Modern Agile Technologies.

Job Title: Cloud Architect
Job Location: Frankfort, KY Remote

Job Type: 12-month Contract            

Preferred State Experience

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Cloud Architect with deep expertise in FedRAMP, FISMA, RMF, and ATO-driven cloud architecture for federal or highly regulated environments. This role requires a hands-on architecture leader who has personally owned and led authorization architecture efforts, including defining authorization boundaries, control inheritance models, shared responsibility frameworks, evidence strategies, and continuous monitoring approaches across multiple organizations and stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will have direct experience leading cloud architecture initiatives where agency controls, cloud provider responsibilities, implementation vendor responsibilities, and shared-service provider controls intersect. This individual will serve as the primary architecture authority for the agency-side ATO position and will lead cross-organizational governance discussions involving stakeholders such as OAG, COT, IBM, Microsoft, and other participating entities.

Design and govern the Azure landing zone and cloud architecture for KASES III so it is secure, resilient, observable, and ready for migration and cutover. Collaborate with development, DevOps, platform delivery, and enterprise architecture to modernize applications and interfaces on Azure.

Key Responsibilities

·        Lead and own enterprise cloud architecture initiatives supporting FedRAMP, FISMA, RMF, and ATO-regulated environments.

·        Define and drive authorization boundary architecture, including inherited, shared, and system-specific control models.

·        Establish and defend control ownership models across agency teams, implementation vendors, cloud providers, and shared-service organizations.

·        Lead architecture governance discussions related to SSP development, control mapping, POA&M implications, evidence strategy, and continuous monitoring requirements.

·        Architect secure Azure cloud landing zones aligned with federal compliance, audit defensibility, and regulated data handling requirements.

·        Drive end-to-end ATO-ready architecture efforts, including security control implementation strategy, audit logging requirements, evidence collection frameworks, and compliance documentation support.

·        Partner with security, compliance, infrastructure, engineering, and executive stakeholders to align architecture decisions with regulatory obligations and operational objectives.

·        Lead cross-functional discussions involving Microsoft Azure, IBM, agency leadership, and central IT organizations regarding shared responsibility and authorization governance.

·        Develop and maintain cloud governance frameworks supporting audit readiness, control traceability, and regulatory compliance.

·        Provide technical leadership for cloud security architecture, boundary definition, inherited services analysis, and risk remediation strategies.

·        Support POA&M development and remediation planning through architecture-level risk analysis and control gap identification.

·        Ensure cloud architecture solutions align with NIST 800-53, FedRAMP, RMF, and agency-specific compliance standards.

Required Qualifications

·        12+ years of experience in cloud architecture, cybersecurity architecture, or enterprise infrastructure leadership.

·        Direct experience supporting FedRAMP, FISMA, RMF, or ATO-regulated environments.

·        Proven experience personally leading authorization architecture efforts in federal or highly regulated cloud environments.

·        Strong hands-on expertise with Azure cloud architecture, including secure landing zones, governance, identity, logging, and compliance controls.

·        Demonstrated experience defining authorization boundaries and ownership models for inherited, shared, and system-specific controls.

·        Deep understanding of SSP development, control inheritance strategies, evidence collection methodologies, POA&M processes, and continuous monitoring frameworks.

·        Experience leading architecture governance discussions across multiple organizations, vendors, and cloud providers.

·        Strong knowledge of NIST RMF, NIST 800-53, FedRAMP Moderate/High, FISMA, and federal compliance frameworks.

·        Experience producing architecture documentation and compliance evidence supporting ATO reviews and audits.

·        Excellent leadership, stakeholder management, and executive communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

·        Experience working directly with federal agencies, state government agencies, or highly regulated public-sector environments.

·        Prior experience coordinating with organizations such as Microsoft, IBM, shared-service providers, and central IT governance bodies.

·        Azure certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Security Engineer Associate, or equivalent.

·        CISSP, CCSP, CAP, or similar security/compliance certifications.

·        Experience supporting enterprise-scale cloud modernization and governance initiatives.