Principal, Cloud Engineering, AWS

General Dynamics Missions System International • Ottawa, ON

3d • CA$120,000 - CA$170,000

About The Position

General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada is seeking a Principal, Cloud Engineering AWS Manager to own the design, build, and operation of our sovereign AWS Canada estate. Reporting into the Chief Digital & Information Officer(CDIO) this is a senior, the successful candidate will set the standards and guardrails for the platform, deliver them in code, and run the environment to the security and compliance bar that a regulated, sovereign defence environment demands.
The role is deliberately positioned as the anchor of the organization's AWS capability. The successful candidate will lead the transition of landing-zone operations from the current managed-service provider into a sustainable in-house model and will act as the definitive AWS technical authority across the CDIO organization. This person will be a builder first; comfortable owning outcomes end to end and exercising a high degree of autonomy within the guardrails and priorities set by executive leadership.

Requirements

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in cloud or infrastructure architecture, with deep, demonstrable expertise designing, building, and operating production AWS environments at scale.
• Expert command of AWS landing-zone design, including AWS Organizations, Control Tower, multi-account architecture, core networking, and security services.
• Strong Infrastructure as Code and automation capability, ideally with Terraform, together with hands-on experience of CI/CD and policy-as-code.
• Proven experience securing and operating cloud within a regulated environment, with a working understanding of the compliance frameworks and change discipline it demands.
• The ability to own outcomes end to end and operate autonomously, and to present platform direction and trade-offs to an executive audience.
• A senior AWS certification, such as Solutions Architect – Professional or DevOps Engineer – Professional, or equivalent demonstrable expertise.
• Demonstrated mentorship capabilities

Nice To Haves

• Dual-cloud depth across both AWS and Microsoft Azure is highly desirable, given a multi-cloud estate in which AWS serves as the sovereign landing zone and Azure as the predominant enterprise platform.
• Experience in a defence, government, or critical-infrastructure environment subject to controlled-goods or equivalent handling requirements.
• Experience standing up sovereign or otherwise constrained cloud environments, and transitioning operations from a managed-service provider to an in-house model.
• Familiarity with CMMC 2.0, ITAR and EAR, and the Canadian Controlled Goods Program.
• Experience working with or familiarity with AI/ML models is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture, build, and lifecycle of the sovereign AWS Canada landing zone, including multi-account structure, account vending, and organizational guardrails using AWS Organizations and Control Tower.
• Design and implement core platform networking, including VPC design, Transit Gateway, and Direct Connect connectivity into on-premises and enclave environments.
• Establish platform standards, reference patterns, and the roadmap that balance quality against the constraints of a controlled environment.
• Design and enforce identity, encryption, logging, and monitoring controls, using services such as IAM, KMS, CloudTrail, GuardDuty, and Security Hub.
• Ensure the platform satisfies CMMC 2.0, ITAR and EAR handling obligations, and Controlled Goods Program requirements, and that data residency and sovereignty are preserved by design.
• Integrate the platform with the organization's security tooling and partner closely with the Cybersecurity function on threat detection and response.
• Deliver the environment as code using Terraform or equivalent, and implement policy-as-code, automated provisioning, and drift detection.
• Oversee the build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for platform and workload deployment, reducing manual effort and configuration risk.
• Champion automation as the default operating model for the estate.
• Lead the transition of landing-zone operations from the managed-service provider to an in-house model in line with the defined insourcing trigger.
• Define the operating model, runbooks, and standards required to run the platform sustainably, and manage knowledge transfer from the incumbent provider.
• Manage the technical relationship with AWS and platform vendors, and hold them to standards and value.
• Enable data, AI, and application workloads to land on the platform securely and efficiently, partnering with the data, networking, and application teams.
• Act as the AWS technical authority in design authority and governance forums, and set the standards that others build to.
• Anchor and mentor the AWS capability as it grows, providing the technical foundation for a future in-house cloud team.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and eligible dependents from day one (no cost), including flexible benefits options (HCSA) emergency travel insurance, and 24/7 virtual care services.
• Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP), onsite fitness facilities, and employee resource groups.
• Defined Contribution Pension Plan with employer contributions after 3 months, RRSP access from day one, and financial planning support.
• Flexible time off including vacation, holidays, parental leaves with top-up options, sick leave, and disability programs.
• Career development through learning platforms, educational assistance, mentoring, and reimbursement of professional memberships.
• Additional perks such as employee discounts, free onsite parking, social clubs, and an annual scholarship program for employees’ children.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed