Cloud Computing Engineer Principal

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG)•Blacksburg, VA

23h•$109,623 - $126,790•Remote

About The Position

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking a Cloud Computing Engineer Principal to support Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare systems in the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) Azure GovCloud environment. This is a 100% U.S.-based remote, W-2, full-time position supporting VA enterprise cloud services. The role provides cloud architecture, engineering, operations, security, and customer-focused support, including setup, configuration, and provisioning of VAEC environments. The position requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI).

Requirements

20+ years of professional experience.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related technical discipline and 20 years of experience, or a master’s degree in the same fields and 10 years of experience.
U.S. citizenship is required.
Must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI).
Proven track record designing, deploying, and managing Azure infrastructure and services.
Experience with large-scale, highly available, scalable cloud architecture.
Expertise in core Azure services, including Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Blob Storage, Azure SQL Database, Azure Virtual Network (VNet), Azure Functions, Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Resource Manager (ARM), Azure Monitor, and Azure DNS.
Experience with Azure security practices and services, including Microsoft Entra ID, Azure RBAC, Azure DDoS Protection, and Azure Web Application Firewall.
Proficiency with Azure networking components, including VNet Peering, Azure ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Private Endpoints, and Azure Load Balancer.
Ability to design, deploy, and manage scalable, secure, highly available Azure cloud infrastructures.
Experience establishing and governing multi-subscription Azure environments using Management Groups, Azure Policy, and Azure Landing Zones.
Knowledge of cloud cost management, FinOps practices, budgeting, tagging strategies, and resource optimization using Azure Cost Management.
Proficiency with scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, Bash, or JavaScript/Node.js for automation and cloud operations.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools such as ARM Templates, Ansible, and GitOps methodologies.
Proficiency with monitoring, logging, and observability tools including Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Activity Log, and third-party tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and New Relic.
Experience optimizing performance, availability, and resiliency of Azure resources and services.
Understanding of Azure security best practices and compliance frameworks, including HIPAA, FedRAMP, NIST, GDPR, and PCI DSS.
Experience implementing encryption, key management, secrets management, and identity solutions using Azure Key Vault, customer-managed keys, and Microsoft Entra ID.
Knowledge of Azure database services, including Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure Database for MySQL.
Experience with database performance tuning, backup and recovery, high availability, and disaster recovery strategies.
Familiarity with CI/CD tools and practices, including Azure DevOps Pipelines, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and GitLab CI.
Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Container Apps, and Kubernetes.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and troubleshoot complex cloud issues.
Ability to prioritize tasks, manage competing priorities and time effectively, and meet project deadlines.
Strong attention to detail to ensure system stability, security, operational excellence, and data integrity.
Ability to mentor engineers and provide technical leadership and guidance to junior engineers and team members.
Ability to lead technical projects and collaborate across cross-functional teams.
Willingness to provide on-call support and emergency maintenance when required.
Strong documentation skills.
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and ensure timely, high-quality deliverables.
Commitment to staying current with Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, tools, and industry best practices.
Candidates must be based in the United States; applicants from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, or Washington will not be considered.

Nice To Haves

Deep hands-on EDIFECS experience with Electronic Data Interchange X.12 transaction standards and key workflows, including medical claims transactions 837, 834, 835, and 277; 270/271 and 278 transactions; and 999 transactions.
Experience with Edifecs.
Advanced Azure certifications, including Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert, Azure Administrator Associate, and Azure Security Engineer Associate.

Responsibilities

Create data flow, cloud, transition, and high-level architecture diagrams for cloud infrastructure, applications, and systems.
Design, develop, deploy, and operate automation technologies for continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD).
Manage and control cloud-service-provider permissions for hosted applications, storage, and services.
Design, implement, and manage monitoring capabilities for cloud architectures and hosted systems and applications to support performance and compliance with VA and federal policies.
Provide customer-focused support for product lines and services, including setup, configuration, and provisioning of VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) environments.
Provide cloud support for systems and applications in VAEC Azure GovCloud environments, ensuring compliance with Veterans Independence Program (VIP) development, release, and documentation requirements.
Apply DevOps practices and tooling.
Provide Cloud Security Provider Documentation.
Design VAEC and cloud-hosted solutions and address cloud-readiness gaps.
Lead cloud modernization, migration, and transformation initiatives while collaborating across cross-functional teams.
Mentor engineers, provide technical leadership, and contribute to cloud architecture governance.
Provide on-call support and participate in operational response activities when required.
Document architecture, operational procedures, security controls, system configurations, processes, and procedures.
Manage and contribute to multiple projects while delivering high-quality results on schedule.