Cloud Computing Engineer Principal - II

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG)•Nashville, TN

4d•$109,623 - $126,790•Remote

About The Position

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking an experienced Cloud Computing Engineer Principal to support Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare systems. This is a 100% U.S.-based remote, W-2, full-time position supporting VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) Azure GovCloud environments. The role requires U.S. citizenship and possession of, or eligibility to obtain, a Public Trust (MBI). Candidates residing in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, or Washington will not be considered. The engineer designs, deploys, operates, and supports Azure cloud infrastructure, applications, and services. The role includes developing automation and CI/CD capabilities, managing cloud permissions, implementing monitoring and compliance controls, provisioning VAEC environments, documenting cloud security, and designing cloud-hosted solutions while addressing cloud-readiness gaps. The position also calls for technical leadership, mentoring, coordination across teams, and participation in on-call operational support as required. Applicants must have 20 or more years of professional experience and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related technical discipline. Desired experience includes hands-on Edifecs work with healthcare EDI X12 transactions and advanced Azure certifications. Salary range: $109,623–$126,790.

Requirements

At least 20 years of professional experience.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
U.S. citizenship is required.
Must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI).
Proven experience designing, deploying, and managing Azure infrastructure and services.
Experience with large-scale, highly available, scalable cloud architecture.
Expertise in Azure services including Virtual Machines, Blob Storage, SQL Database, Virtual Network, Functions, Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Resource Manager, Azure Monitor, and Azure DNS.
Experience with Azure security practices and services, including Microsoft Entra ID, Azure RBAC, DDoS Protection, and Web Application Firewall.
Proficiency with Azure networking components including VNet Peering, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Private Endpoints, and Azure Load Balancer.
Ability to design, deploy, and manage scalable, secure, highly available Azure infrastructure.
Experience governing multi-subscription Azure environments using Management Groups, Azure Policy, and Azure Landing Zones.
Knowledge of cloud cost management, FinOps, budgeting, tagging, and resource optimization using Azure Cost Management.
Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, Bash, or JavaScript/NodeJS.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools and methods, including ARM Templates, Ansible, and GitOps.
Proficiency with monitoring, logging, and observability tools including Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Activity Log, Prometheus, Grafana, or 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 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 Docker, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Container Apps, and Kubernetes.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including troubleshooting complex cloud issues and explaining technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
Ability to prioritize tasks, manage competing priorities and time, and meet project deadlines.
Strong attention to detail to support system stability, security, operational excellence, and data integrity.
Ability to mentor engineers and provide technical guidance to junior engineers and team members.
Ability to lead technical projects and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
Willingness to provide on-call support and emergency maintenance when required.
Strong written and verbal communication and documentation skills.
Ability to manage and contribute to multiple projects simultaneously.
Commitment to staying current with emerging Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, tools, and industry best practices.
Candidates must be located in the United States; applicants from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, or Washington will not be considered.
Candidates must apply directly; recruiters and third parties will not be considered.

Nice To Haves

Deep hands-on Edifecs experience with healthcare EDI X12 transaction standards, including medical claims transactions 837, 834, 835, and 277; 270/271 and 278 transactions; and 999 transactions.
Experience with Edifecs.
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert certification.
Azure Administrator Associate certification.
Azure Security Engineer Associate certification.

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 permissions for cloud applications, storage, and services.
Design, implement, and manage monitoring capabilities for cloud architecture and hosted systems and applications to support performance and compliance with VA and federal policies.
Provide customer-focused product-line and service support, including setup, configuration, and provisioning of VA Enterprise Cloud environments.
Support systems and applications in VAEC Azure GovCloud environments and ensure compliance with Veterans Independence Program 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 complex cloud modernization, migration, and transformation initiatives in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership and 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 meeting deadlines and delivering quality results.
Troubleshoot complex cloud issues and explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.