Cloud Computing Engineer Principal - II

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG)•Austin, TX

4d•$109,623 - $126,790•Remote

About The Position

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking a Cloud Computing Engineer Principal to support Veterans Affairs healthcare systems in VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) Azure GovCloud environments. This is a 100% U.S.-based remote, full-time W-2 position supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs. 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 will design, deploy, operate, and govern secure, scalable, highly available Azure infrastructure and cloud-hosted systems. The position combines cloud architecture, automation and CI/CD, permissions and security management, monitoring and performance optimization, customer-focused VAEC environment support, cloud security documentation, and cloud-readiness assessments. The engineer will also provide technical leadership, mentor other engineers, lead modernization and migration efforts, and contribute to architecture governance while meeting VA/Federal policies and VIP development, release, and documentation requirements. Applicants must have 20+ years of professional experience and a bachelor’s degree in computer science, systems engineering, cloud engineering, or a related technical discipline. Deep hands-on EDIFECS experience with healthcare EDI X.12 transactions is desired, as are advanced Azure certifications. Selected applicants are subject to a government security investigation and must meet applicable eligibility requirements. Interviews are conducted on Microsoft Teams with the camera on, and candidates will be asked to provide a LinkedIn profile link.

Requirements

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, Azure 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, 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 cloud infrastructure.
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 in scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, Bash, or JavaScript/NodeJS.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools and practices, including 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, 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 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.
Experience leading technical projects and collaborating across cross-functional teams.
Willingness to provide on-call and emergency support and maintenance when required.
Strong documentation skills.
Ability to manage and contribute to multiple projects simultaneously while ensuring timely completion and quality results.
Commitment to staying current with emerging Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, tools, and industry best practices.
Must be based in the United States; applicants from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, or Washington are not considered.

Nice To Haves

Deep hands-on EDIFECS experience with Electronic Data Interchange X.12 (EDI) transaction standards, including medical claims workflows such as 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, or Azure Security Engineer Associate.
Military veteran status is encouraged.

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-provider permissions for hosted 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/Federal policies.
Provide customer-focused support for product lines and services, including setup, configuration, and provisioning of VAEC environments.
Provide cloud support for systems and applications in VAEC Azure GovCloud environments in accordance with VIP 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.
Lead cloud modernization, migration, and transformation initiatives and collaborate across cross-functional teams.
Provide technical leadership, mentor engineers, 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 meeting deadlines and delivering high-quality results.
Troubleshoot complex cloud-related issues and explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.