Cloud Computing Engineer Principal

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG)•Topeka, KS

1d•$109,623 - $126,790•Remote

About The Position

Syms Strategic Group is hiring a Principal Cloud Computing Engineer to support Veterans Affairs healthcare systems. This is a full-time, 100% U.S.-based remote position supporting VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) Azure GovCloud environments. The role provides cloud architecture, engineering, operations, security, and customer-focused support for VA product lines and services. The position requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI). The listed salary range is $109,623–$126,790. The engineer will design and operate Azure cloud infrastructure and hosted systems, develop automation and CI/CD capabilities, manage permissions, implement monitoring, and help ensure compliance with VA and federal policies and Veterans Independence Program development, release, and documentation requirements. The role also includes creating architecture and data-flow diagrams, documenting cloud security controls, addressing cloud-readiness gaps, and providing technical leadership and mentorship. On-call support may be required. The posting calls for 20 or more years of professional experience. Formal education requirements are a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related technical discipline plus 20 years of experience, or a master's degree in those fields plus 10 years of experience. Desired experience includes hands-on Edifecs and X.12 EDI transaction workflows, as well as advanced Azure certifications.

Requirements

At least 20 years of professional experience, subject to the stated education-and-experience alternatives.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related technical discipline plus 20 years of experience, or a master's degree in those fields plus 10 years of experience.
U.S. citizenship is required.
Must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI).
Proven experience designing, deploying, and managing Azure infrastructure and services, including large-scale, highly available, scalable cloud architecture.
Expertise in Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Blob Storage, Azure SQL Database, Azure Virtual Network, Azure 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, Azure DDoS Protection, and Azure 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 strategies, and resource optimization using Azure Cost Management.
Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, Bash, or JavaScript/Node.js.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools and methods, including ARM Templates, Ansible, and GitOps.
Proficiency with monitoring, logging, and observability tools such as Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Activity Log, Prometheus, Grafana, and New Relic.
Experience optimizing the performance, availability, and resiliency of Azure resources and services.
Strong 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, Azure Container Apps, and Kubernetes.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to troubleshoot complex cloud issues and explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
Ability to prioritize tasks, manage competing priorities and time effectively, and meet 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 with cross-functional teams.
Willingness to provide on-call support and emergency maintenance when required.
Strong documentation skills for architecture, operational procedures, security controls, system configurations, processes, and procedures.
Ability to manage and contribute to multiple projects while ensuring timely, high-quality deliverables.
Commitment to staying current with Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, tools, industry trends, and best practices.
Candidates must be based in the U.S.; candidates 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 X.12 EDI transaction standards and medical claims workflows, including transactions 837, 834, 835, and 277.
Experience with 270/271, 278, 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, manage, and monitor cloud architecture and hosted systems and applications for performance and compliance with VA and federal policies.
Provide customer-focused support to product lines and services, including setup, configuration, and provisioning of VA Enterprise Cloud environments.
Support systems and applications in VAEC Azure GovCloud environments in accordance with Veterans Independence Program development, release, and documentation requirements.
Apply DevOps practices and CI/CD tooling.
Provide cloud security provider documentation.
Design VAEC and cloud-hosted solutions and address cloud-readiness gaps.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and contribute to cloud architecture governance.
Lead or contribute to cloud modernization, migration, and transformation initiatives with cross-functional teams.
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 maintaining quality.