Cloud Computing Engineer Principal - II

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG)•Raleigh, NC

4d•$109,623 - $126,790•Remote

About The Position

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking a Cloud Computing Engineer Principal to support the Veterans Affairs (VA) department, focusing on MCCF-Healthcare Systems. This is a 100% U.S.-based remote, full-time W-2 position. The salary range is $109,623–$126,790. Candidates must be U.S. citizens and must possess or qualify for 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, secure, and support cloud infrastructure and services in VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) Azure GovCloud environments. The role includes cloud architecture and readiness work, automation and CI/CD, permissions and monitoring, customer-focused environment provisioning, and documentation in support of VA and federal policies and Veterans Independence Program development, release, and documentation requirements. The posting calls for 20+ years of professional experience and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related technical discipline. The position requires technical leadership, mentoring, collaboration across teams, and the ability to lead complex cloud modernization, migration, and transformation initiatives. On-call support and participation in operational response activities may be required. Desired experience includes hands-on Edifecs experience with healthcare EDI X12 transactions, as well as advanced Azure certifications.

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, high-availability, scalable cloud architecture.
Expertise with 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 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Azure DDoS Protection, and Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF).
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 in 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.
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 (AKS), 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.
Experience leading technical projects and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
Willingness to provide on-call support and participate in operational response activities when required.
Strong documentation skills.
Ability to manage and contribute to multiple projects simultaneously while ensuring timely, high-quality deliverables.
Commitment to staying current with emerging Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, tools, and industry best practices.

Nice To Haves

Deep hands-on Edifecs experience with Electronic Data Interchange X.12 (EDI) transaction standards and healthcare workflows, 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 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 product-line and service support, 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 development, release, and documentation requirements.
Apply a DevOps mindset and use CI/CD 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 guidance.
Document architecture, operational procedures, security controls, system configurations, processes, and procedures.
Manage and contribute to multiple projects while meeting deadlines and delivering quality results.
Provide on-call support and participate in operational response, emergency support, and maintenance activities when required.