Principal Cloud Architect

Florida Blue • United States,

13h • $180,000 - $292,500

About The Position

The Senior Director of Enterprise Cloud Architecture is a strategic executive leadership role responsible for establishing and executing the organization's multi-year cloud transformation vision. This individual serves as the principal technical authority and strategic advisor to the C-suite on cloud strategy, digital infrastructure investment, and organizational capability building. The role combines deep technical expertise with business acumen to drive enterprise-wide cloud adoption, optimize technology investments, and position BCF as a cloud-native organization.

This leader will drive organizational change across business units, security, finance, and operations—translating strategic business imperatives into scalable, resilient, and cost-optimized cloud solutions while building and mentoring high-performing technical teams.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field OR equivalent advanced work experience demonstrating strategic technical leadership
• 5+ years of direct management experience leading technical teams (minimum 5-10 direct reports)
• Demonstrated ability to build, mentor, and scale engineering organizations
• Experience establishing technical strategy and governance frameworks
• 12+ years of progressive IT infrastructure, software engineering, or enterprise architecture experience
• 8+ years of hands-on experience designing and delivering enterprise-grade cloud solutions
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing technical teams and driving large-scale transformation programs
• Proven track record of architecting and delivering multi-year cloud migration or digital transformation programs at enterprise scale
• Experience leading organizational change and building high-performing technical teams
• Deep expertise in at least two major cloud platforms: AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform
• Strong knowledge of enterprise cloud networking, security architecture, and Zero Trust principles
• Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code tools (Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep)
• Experience with container orchestration (Kubernetes) and CI/CD/DevOps practices
• Understanding of cloud security, IAM, compliance frameworks, and regulatory requirements
• Familiarity with FinOps principles and cloud cost management tools

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience in consulting, professional services, or enterprise architecture roles
• Background in regulated industries (healthcare, financial services, government)
• Experience with enterprise architecture frameworks and governance models
• Demonstrated thought leadership through speaking engagements, publications, or industry involvement
• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field
• Active cloud certifications: AWS Solutions Architect Professional, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or GCP Professional Cloud Architect
• Enterprise architecture certifications (TOGAF, Zachman Framework)

Responsibilities

• Define and communicate the 3-5 year enterprise cloud strategy aligned with corporate business objectives, competitive positioning, and technology roadmap
• Establish cloud governance frameworks, policies, and architectural standards that scale across the organization while maintaining security and compliance posture
• Lead cloud Center of Excellence (CoE) as a strategic business unit; set priorities, allocate resources, and measure impact
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR) and partner with Chief Information Security Officer on security-by-design integration
• Evaluate emerging cloud technologies and make strategic recommendations to executive leadership on adoption and investment
• Maintain architecture decision records (ADRs) and enterprise reference architectures as organizational assets
• Design multi-cloud and hybrid cloud solutions across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform that support enterprise scalability, resilience, and cost efficiency
• Lead large-scale cloud migration and modernization programs; establish phased roadmaps and success metrics
• Architect solutions for containerization, microservices, serverless computing, and platform engineering to drive organizational agility
• Conduct architecture reviews and provide technical guidance to senior engineering leaders and project teams
• Establish cloud networking, security, and infrastructure standards; ensure consistency across all business units
• Partner with Information Security to embed Zero Trust architecture and IAM best practices into all cloud workloads
• Lead enterprise-wide cloud adoption initiatives; drive cultural and organizational change across technical and business teams
• Build and scale internal cloud competency through hiring, mentoring, and training programs
• Establish cloud engineering centers of excellence and cross-functional working groups
• Communicate complex technical strategy to executive leadership, board members, and business stakeholders
• Facilitate architectural governance councils and ensure alignment across business units
• Develop and execute internal communications and change management plans to support cloud transformation
• Drive cloud cost optimization strategies; establish FinOps discipline across the organization
• Partner with Chief Financial Officer and business leaders to develop multi-year cloud budgets, forecasts, and ROI models
• Establish chargeback/showback models that align cloud costs with business units and drive accountability
• Create KPIs and dashboards to monitor cloud spend, performance, operational health, and business value realization
• Negotiate vendor contracts and managed service provider agreements; optimize licensing and commitment discounts
• Conduct regular business reviews with stakeholders on cloud investment performance and strategic impact
• Build and lead a high-performing cloud architecture and engineering team; establish hiring strategy and organizational structure
• Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders; develop succession plans and career pathways
• Set performance expectations, conduct evaluations, and drive accountability across the cloud organization
• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and technical excellence
• Represent the cloud organization in executive forums and strategic planning sessions
• Allocate resources strategically to maximize organizational impact and capability development
• Serve as executive relationship owner with major cloud vendors (AWS, Azure, GCP) and managed service providers
• Negotiate strategic partnerships and managed services agreements aligned with organizational objectives
• Engage with industry peers, analyst firms, and professional organizations to stay current on cloud trends
• Collaborate with external consultants and professional services firms on strategic initiatives
• Represent BCF in industry forums and thought leadership opportunities

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life and global travel health insurance
• Income protection benefits: life insurance, short- and long-term disability programs
• Leave programs to support personal circumstances
• Retirement Savings Plan including employer match
• Paid time off, volunteer time off, 10 holidays and 2 well-being days
• Additional voluntary benefits available; and a comprehensive wellness program
• Competitive pay
• Opportunities for incentive or commission compensation
• Regular annual reviews with pay for performance considerations for base pay increases

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior