About Charles River AssociatesFor over 50 years, Charles River Associates has been a premier consulting firm that offers employees a place to learn from a diverse group of consultants, industry experts, and academics. At CRA you will be exposed to leading minds who use economic, financial, and business analysis to solve complex world problems for an impressive roster of clients, including major law firms, Fortune 100 companies, and government agencies. Through a collegial environment, formal and informal training opportunities, and a broad array of professional development resources, your experience at CRA will open doors for you throughout your career.
The Information Technology (ITS) department at Charles River Associates is currently a team of more than 40 professionals dedicated to enhancing, maintaining, and developing the firm's technology infrastructure and security. The team is comprised of four functions:
- Service Delivery & Telecom
- Enterprise Application Solutions
- Infrastructure, Networking and Cloud Solutions
- Information Security
Information Technology staff are based in the Boston, Chicago, London, Munich, New York, Oakland, San Francisco, College Station and Washington, DC offices.
Mainly a Microsoft house, CRA is looking to maximize the performance of our on-premise systems and hybrid infrastructure, meaning experience with cloud technologies is essential for this role.
Position OverviewThe Hybrid Cloud Architect will enable CRA's transition to a hybrid cloud environment by assessing workload migration readiness, running proof-of-concept projects, and building frameworks for cloud governance and automation. This role is central to preparing on-premises infrastructure for cloud integration and supporting the organization's modernization goals.
Key Responsibilities- Cloud Migration Assessment: Evaluate existing workloads and infrastructure for cloud migration readiness. Identify opportunities and challenges for moving workloads to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
- On-Premises Infrastructure Optimization: Assess and improve on-premises compute, storage, and virtualization platforms (VMware vSphere), including capacity planning, performance tuning, and lifecycle/patch management for VMware and supporting Everpure infrastructure to enable reliable hybrid integration.
- Identity, DNS/DHCP & Core Services: Partner with domain/identity owners to ensure Active Directory/Azure AD integration, group policy strategy, DNS/DHCP health, certificate services, and time synchronization are configured for secure, resilient hybrid operations.
- Hybrid Connectivity & Network Readiness: Validate on-prem network segmentation, routing, firewalls, and load balancing to enable secure connectivity to cloud environments (e.g., VPN/ExpressRoute/Direct Connect), including latency/bandwidth requirements for target workloads.
- Backup, DR & Resilience: Review and enhance on-premises backup and disaster recovery practices using Rubrik (policies, retention, immutability, restore testing), and define hybrid DR patterns and recovery objectives (RPO/RTO) as workloads transition to or integrate with cloud platforms.
- Proof-of-Concept Leadership: Lead hybrid cloud proof-of-concept initiatives (e.g., analytics sandboxes, VDI burst capacity), collaborating with infrastructure and modernization teams to validate solutions and prepare for future migrations.
- Cloud Governance & FinOps: Develop and implement cloud governance frameworks, including security, compliance, and cost management (FinOps) practices.
- Automation & Integration: Support the adoption of automation tools (e.g., Ansible, Terraform) for cloud provisioning, configuration, and management. Work with the Automation Engineer to standardize hybrid workflows.
- Collaboration: Partner with on-premises and cloud teams to share expertise, standardize practices, and support hybrid initiatives.
- Documentation & Enablement: Document cloud migration processes, governance standards, and lessons learned. Contribute to training and enablement efforts for broader team upskilling.
Relevant Skills & Experience- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform) and hybrid cloud architectures
- Experience with Broadcom vSphere / VCF, Dell compute, and modern backup (Rubrik preferred)
- Strong understanding of workload migration, cloud governance, and automation tools
- Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform, Ansible)
- Ability to lead proof-of-concept projects and collaborate across teams
- Effective communicator with experience in documentation and knowledge sharing
- Background in security, compliance, and cost management in cloud environments is a plus
Career Growth and Benefits - CRA's robust skills development programs, including a commitment to offering 100 hours of training annually through formal and informal programs, encourage you to thrive as an individual and team member. Beginning with research and analysis skill building, training continues with technical training, presentation skills, internal seminars, and career mentoring and performance coaching from an assigned senior colleague. Additional leadership and collaboration opportunities exist through internal firm development activities.
- We offer a comprehensive total rewards program including a superior benefits package, wellness programming to support physical, mental, emotional and financial well-being, and in-house immigration support for foreign nationals and international business travelers.
Work Location FlexibilityCRA creates a work environment that enables our colleagues to benefit from being together in the office to best deliver on our promise of career growth, mentorship and inclusivity. At the same time, we recognize that individuals realize a range of benefits when working from home periodically. We currently expect that individuals spend at least 3 to 4 days a week working in the office (which may include traveling to another CRA office or to client meetings), with specific days determined in coordination with your practice or team.
Our Commitment to Equal Employment OpportunityCharles River Associates is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
Salary and other compensationA good-faith estimate of the annual base salary range for this position is $130,000 - $140,000. Starting pay within this range may vary based on factors such as education level, experience, skills, geographic location, market conditions, and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position may be eligible for additional bonus incentive compensation.
CRA offers a comprehensive benefits package, subject to eligibility requirements, which may include: medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) retirement plan with employer match; life and disability insurance; paid time off (vacation, sick leave, holidays); paid parental leave; wellness programs and employee assistance resources; and commuter benefits.
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