Cloud Engineer SME

ECS Tech Inc•Fairfax, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The War Data Platform (WDP) is a key initiative within the U.S. Department of War's (DoW) AI-First strategy introduced in early 2026. The WDP focuses on operational warfighting data and aims to accelerate the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) on the battlefield. The WDP extends to Unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret environments, and supports collaboration between Combatant Commands, Joint Staff directorates, Senior Executive Service leaders, and operational analysts. The Cloud Engineer SME is a principal cloud architecture and operations authority within the WDP Core Integration program, responsible for designing, governing, and sustaining enterprise-grade multi-enclave cloud environments across IL2/NIPRNet, IL5/AWS GovCloud, IL6/AWS Secret Region, and JWICS in direct support of Joint Force and Combatant Command missions. Drawing on ECS's demonstrated depth in delivering scalable, secure, and compliant cloud solutions across DoW programs—including development of DoW cloud reference architectures, large-scale IL4/5 cloud enclave deployments, and multi-national AI/ML and Zero Trust initiatives—this role is expected to bring the same rigor and technical leadership to the WDP enterprise.

Requirements

Current Secret security clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).
12 or more years of progressively responsible experience in cloud engineering, cloud architecture, or a closely related field, with demonstrated expert-level proficiency designing, deploying, and sustaining secure, mission-critical cloud environments in support of DoW or federal government programs.
Expert hands-on proficiency with AWS services including VPC architecture, and cloud security such as IAM policy design, encryption, and monitoring tools (ex. Cloudwatch, CloudTrain and GuardDuty)
Demonstrated experience managing cloud infrastructure across IL5/AWS GovCloud, IL6/AWS Secret Region, and JWICS environments.
Demonstrated experience leading DevSecOps pipeline operations and implementing Infrastructure-as-Code and Configuration-as-Code using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, GitLab CI, or equivalent platforms, including oversight of CI/CD pipelines across multiple development teams.
Proven ability to lead enterprise cloud migration, modernization, and disaster recovery initiatives, including continuity of operations planning, recovery time objective validation, and cross-enclave data transfer operations in classified DoW environments.
Experience with data analytics platform architecture, AI/ML infrastructure, or secure application development in cloud-native environments, including containerized workloads using Kubernetes and automated observability tooling such as Grafana or Splunk.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities, with a proven ability to weigh the relative costs and benefits of potential actions and identify the most appropriate solution.
Highly developed interpersonal and oral/written communication skills, with the ability to effectively and professionally interact with a diverse set of stakeholders (from peers to end-users to executive management).

Responsibilities

Designs, deploys, and governs advanced cloud architectures supporting Department of War missions across multi-enclave environments, including Impact Level 2, NIPR Impact Level 5, SIPR Impact Level 6, and Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System enclaves.
Leads development of enterprise System Operations Plans outlining operational methods, configuration standards, security requirements, and lifecycle management activities for the War Data Platform (WDP) Core Integration program.
Architects secure Amazon Web Services infrastructures using Virtual Private Clouds, Identity and Access Management policies, boundary protection configurations, encryption services, and cross-domain transfer mechanisms.
Implements operational monitoring using CloudWatch, CloudTrail, GuardDuty, and Grafana to track performance trends, access patterns, workload capacity, and system availability metrics.
Directs enterprise backup strategies, continuity of operations procedures, and disaster recovery architectures using automated replication, redundancy engineering, and recovery time objective validation exercises.
Oversees migration, modernization, and optimization of large-scale mission datasets, system baselines, and analytical services.
Conducts risk identification and remediation across infrastructure, operational workflows, and security controls.
Coordinates with military stakeholders, Program Executive Offices, and engineering teams to align system capabilities with mission objectives and modernization priorities.
Oversees release readiness assessments, rollback strategies, and performance validation for production deployments.
Maintains asset inventory systems documenting cloud assets, configurations, licenses, and compliance status.
Delivers scalable architectures, measurable system resilience improvements, and mission-critical operational readiness supporting Joint Force, Combatant Command, and Fourth Estate agencies.
Performs other duties as assigned.