Principal Cloud Engineer, Infrastructure | Onsite San Diego HQ

Neurocrine Biosciences • San Diego, CA

6d • $132,700 - $182,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Principal Cloud and Infrastructure Engineer serves as the senior technical expert responsible for designing, modernizing, and optimizing enterprise-scale hybrid cloud environments across Azure, AWS, and on-premises infrastructure. This role leads cloud transformation initiatives including migration, automation, infrastructure modernization, FinOps optimization, and secure platform engineering while establishing architectural standards for scalability, reliability, compliance, and operational excellence. The position requires deep expertise in Azure cloud services, hybrid infrastructure, virtualization, networking, identity management, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and container platforms, along with the ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and mentor engineering teams in highly regulated enterprise environments.

Requirements

• High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent and 10+ years of equivalent experience, training, or certifications OR Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field and 6+ years of hybrid technology infrastructure engineering experience with 4+ years focused on Azure services OR Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field and 4+ years of experience as listed above OR Certifications such as Azure Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Certified DevOps Engineer, or equivalent
• Extensive experience managing enterprise hybrid infrastructure environments across on-premises, Azure, and multi-cloud platforms, including support for scientific and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads
• Deep expertise in Microsoft Azure cloud services, including Entra ID, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), Storage, SQL, networking, governance, and security services
• Strong proficiency with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and automation frameworks such as Terraform, ARM/Bicep, and CloudFormation
• Advanced knowledge of hybrid cloud architecture, infrastructure integration, and enterprise platform modernization strategies
• Proven experience designing, deploying, and optimizing scalable HPC and analytics platforms in cloud and hybrid environments
• Hands-on experience with enterprise storage architectures across Azure and on-premises platforms, including performance optimization, lifecycle management, and data protection strategies
• Familiarity with scientific computing applications, research platforms, and data-intensive workloads in regulated environments
• Strong understanding of datacenter operations, virtualization technologies (VMware), backup/recovery, and infrastructure resiliency practices
• Experience implementing cloud security best practices, identity and access management, governance controls, and compliance standards across hybrid environments
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills with experience mentoring engineers and partnering with technical and business stakeholders
• Understands key business drivers and uses this understanding to accomplish work
• Has strong understanding of processes, procedures and systems used to accomplish the work and recognizes downstream impact on other functional areas
• Proficient with tools and processes that support work conducted by functional area
• Ability to work as part of a team; may train lower levels
• Excellent computer skills
• Strong communications, problem-solving, analytical thinking skills
• Detail oriented yet can see broader picture for department
• Ability to meet multiple deadlines, with a high degree of accuracy and efficiency
• Strong project management skills

Nice To Haves

• collaboration with AbbVie

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise-scale cloud transformation initiatives, including infrastructure consolidation, virtualization, hybrid cloud modernization, and migration strategies across Azure, AWS, and on-prem environments
• Architect scalable, resilient, and highly available cloud infrastructure solutions aligned with business, security, and compliance requirements
• Design and implement hybrid connectivity architectures leveraging Azure ExpressRoute, VPN, SD-WAN, private endpoints, and secure access technologies
• Develop disaster recovery, business continuity, and high-availability strategies across cloud and datacenter platforms
• Champion automation-first engineering practices using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) technologies including Terraform, ARM/Bicep, and CloudFormation
• Design and implement API-driven, self-service infrastructure provisioning platforms integrated with ServiceNow, identity platforms, and CI/CD pipelines
• Standardize and automate infrastructure deployment, configuration management, patching, monitoring, and lifecycle operations
• Lead adoption of modern platform engineering practices supporting scalable and repeatable infrastructure delivery
• Lead cloud governance, cost optimization, and FinOps initiatives across Azure and AWS environments, including consumption analysis, reserved instance strategies, rightsizing, and budgeting controls
• Establish operational standards for monitoring, observability, performance tuning, and incident response across hybrid infrastructure
• Optimize storage and compute utilization through lifecycle management, automated tiering, and workload balancing strategies
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance reliability, scalability, operational efficiency, and service performance
• Architect and optimize VMware infrastructure platforms with a focus on footprint reduction, operational efficiency, resiliency, and automation
• Design scalable enterprise storage solutions across Azure, AWS (S3, FSx), and NetApp environments, including backup, replication, and lifecycle governance
• Enable secure, scalable compute platforms supporting containerized workloads, Kubernetes orchestration, analytics platforms, and modern application hosting requirements
• Implement identity-driven access models using Active Directory, Azure AD/Entra ID, RBAC, and policy-based provisioning frameworks
• Integrate security best practices into all cloud and infrastructure architectures, including zero-trust principles, segmentation, encryption, and secure access controls
• Ensure compliance with enterprise security, audit, and regulatory standards across cloud and on-prem environments
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to implement governance policies, risk mitigation controls, and infrastructure hardening standards
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and strategic guidance to cloud and infrastructure engineering teams
• Partner with application, security, networking, and enterprise architecture teams to deliver scalable cloud solutions aligned with organizational goals
• Serve as a subject matter expert for cloud architecture, hybrid infrastructure, automation, and platform engineering initiatives
• Evaluate emerging technologies, industry trends, and Microsoft Azure innovations to recommend and drive modernization and continuous improvement

Benefits

• retirement savings plan (with company match)
• paid vacation
• holiday and personal days
• paid caregiver/parental and medical leave
• health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: High school or GED