Junior Cloud Engineer

Leidos•Lorton, VA

About The Position

The Defense Sector at Leidos is looking for a Junior Cloud Engineer to support multiple fast-paced programs with the Air Force. The Junior Cloud Engineer will support the deployment, maintenance, and scale hybrid cloud digital infrastructure for Air Force customers. This position requires a fast-learning, high-performing candidate with a proven history of delivering cloud solutions to customers. The ideal candidate will have experience in deploying and maintaining cloud infrastructure in Microsoft Azure cloud using DevSecOps practices and an Everything-as-Code approach. As a junior member of the team, this position offers a unique opportunity for a high-achieving system administrator to further develop your career in cloud engineering within an Air Force program. You will be a member of a team providing 24x7 monitoring and management of customer networks and will be on-call in the event of off-hours emergencies.

Requirements

US Citizen with an active Top Secret clearance with the ability to obtain an SCI prior to your start date.
Bachelor’s degree with 2+ years of experience or a Master’s degree with 1+ years of experience. Additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Fundamental background with software design patterns and programming languages.
Fundamental background with software development paradigms and technologies (e.g. change management & version control, CI/CD, Agile planning tools such as Jira or Gitlab)
Experience with Linux and Windows operating systems, network administration, and networking protocols/functions (e.g., HTTP, HTTPS, SSL/TLS, SMTP, DNS)
Hands-on experience with container technologies such as Docker and container orchestration tools like Kubernetes
Excellent problem solving and analysis skills, including the ability to logically create structure and order from unstructured inputs.
Self-starter that is able to work independently while possessing the communication skills to work effectively with software development teams and customers.
DoD 8140 Basic certification (e.g. A+, Network+)
Effective communication skills for working with cross-functional teams.
Interest in continuous learning and professional development in cybersecurity and DevOps practices.

Nice To Haves

US Citizen with an active TS/SCI security clearance.
DoD 8140 Intermediate or higher certification (e.g. Cloud+, Security+, SecurityX)
Experience administering physical and digital infrastructure in a hybrid cloud environment
Intermediate Azure Certifications such as AZ-104: Azure Administrator Associate or similar certifications from other Cloud Service Providers.
Experience with security tools and practices related to DevSecOps (e.g., SAST, DAST, IAST).
Experience with automated provisioning and configuration tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, Chef, Puppet, Ansible or similar technologies
Experience provisioning and managing resources within IaaS/Cloud infrastructures (e.g., Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, etc.)
Understanding of container security and orchestration tools (e.g., Kubernetes).
Basic knowledge of compliance standards (e.g., OWASP, NIST) and DoD regulations.

Responsibilities

Deploy and manage virtual cloud infrastructures across hybrid environments in Microsoft Azure Cloud (IaaS & PaaS).
Automate deployments and configurations using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and Configuration-as-Code tools such as Terraform, Ansible, and ARM/BICEP templates.
Provision, maintain, and scale cloud resources in Microsoft Azure in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
Monitor cloud resource utilization to ensure cost efficiency and scalability.
Troubleshoot and resolve system, application, and infrastructure issues, performing root cause analysis as needed.
Ensure infrastructure meets security, compliance, and operational standards within a DevSecOps framework.
Support CI/CD pipelines and integrate infrastructure automation into the development lifecycle.
Implement and manage containerization and orchestration technologies, such as Docker and Kubernetes, for microservices architectures.
Configure and maintain monitoring tools to ensure system and application availability and performance.
Identify and implement optimizations to improve efficiency, reduce latency, and enhance system uptime.
Apply security best practices, including identity and access management (IAM), network segmentation, and encryption, to protect hybrid cloud infrastructures.
Assist in audits and compliance initiatives (e.g., RMF, NIST, ISO 27001).
Provide Tier-2/3 support for escalated issues, working closely with internal teams and external vendors.
Document procedures, configurations, and troubleshooting steps to enhance knowledge sharing.