Senior Cloud Engineer

Thales Defense & Security • Clarksburg, WV

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are excited to announce that we have an opening in our Clarksburg, MD office for a Senior Cloud Engineer, reporting to the Senior Manager, Network Operations. The Senior Cloud Engineer will design, build, and operate secure, cost-efficient cloud infrastructure as we expand our presence in Microsoft Azure (primary) and AWS. This role places strong emphasis on cloud cost and budget management, networking/hybrid connectivity, security, and operational excellence in a regulated DOD contractor environment.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Applicants selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Minimum 6 years of IT infrastructure, systems engineering, or cloud operations experience, including at least 3 years of hands-on engineering and administration of production workloads in Microsoft Azure and/or AWS.
• Proven experience designing and operating enterprise or government cloud environments supporting regulated or mission-critical workloads.
• Strong working knowledge of core Azure (preferred) and AWS services: compute, storage, networking, identity, monitoring, and native security/compliance tools.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation (PowerShell strongly preferred; Python or Bash also valuable).
• Solid understanding of cloud and hybrid networking (VPN, ExpressRoute/Direct Connect, peering, transit, DNS, load balancing) and on-premises integration.
• Knowledge of cloud security best practices and compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, CMMC, DoD Cloud SRG).
• Security-first mindset required.
• Experience with virtualization platforms (Hyper-V, VMware, or Nutanix) and translating on-premises designs to cloud.
• Experience with ITSM/ticketing systems (Jira Service Management or similar) for incident, problem, and change management.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and communication skills; ability to work independently and collaboratively across technical and non-technical teams.
• Ability to maintenance windows and occasional nights/weekends as needed.
• Commitment to company policies, procedures, and core values.

Nice To Haves

• Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate or Solutions Architect Expert; AWS SysOps Administrator or Solutions Architect Associate; CompTIA Security+; CISSP; or related cloud security certifications.
• Hands-on Infrastructure as Code experience (Terraform preferred; Bicep/ARM or CloudFormation acceptable).
• Experience with Azure Government, AWS GovCloud, or IL5/IL6 / CUI environments.
• Experience with Nutanix and large-scale on-prem to cloud migrations.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools (Azure DevOps, Git, Jenkins, Ansible, etc.).
• Experience with AKS/EKS or other container platforms in cloud environments.
• Microsoft 365 / Entra ID administration and hybrid identity (Azure AD Connect) experience.
• Prior DOD, defense contracting, or highly regulated environment experience.
• ITIL or project management experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and maintain secure, scalable cloud infrastructure primarily on Microsoft Azure (with secondary AWS support) for enterprise and mission-supporting workloads.
• Engineer and operate core cloud services: compute (IaaS VMs), storage, virtual networking (VNets/VPCs, subnets, NSGs/security groups, load balancers), and hybrid connectivity to on-premises environments.
• Own cloud cost management and optimization — track spending, implement tagging and budgeting controls, identify waste, and drive continuous cost efficiency while meeting performance and security requirements.
• Implement and manage identity & access (Entra ID / IAM), RBAC, and least-privilege models aligned with DoD and company security policies.
• Automate infrastructure and operational tasks using PowerShell, Python, Bash, and cloud-native tools; support integration with existing CI/CD or DevOps pipelines where applicable.
• Monitor performance, availability, security posture, and cost using Azure Monitor, AWS CloudWatch, native security tools, and enterprise monitoring/ticketing platforms.
• Support backup, snapshot, and disaster recovery solutions that meet business continuity and data protection needs.
• Partner with security, network, systems, and application teams to deliver integrated hybrid solutions and resolve escalated issues.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with DoD requirements (FedRAMP, NIST SP 800-53, CMMC, Cloud Computing SRG, STIGs where applicable) and support related audits and assessments.
• Provide incident response, root-cause analysis, and technical support via Jira Service Management (or equivalent); communicate status clearly to stakeholders.
• Create and maintain clear documentation, architecture diagrams, runbooks, and SOPs.
• Lead or support on-premises to cloud migrations (including Nutanix and Windows Server environments) with minimal disruption.
• Contribute to cloud governance, capacity planning, cost forecasting, and technology roadmaps; serve as a cloud SME within IT.
• Work with leadership and business stakeholders to translate requirements into practical, secure cloud solutions.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan
• Medical insurance for self and eligible family members
• Generous 401(k) program- up to 7% company contribution and 100% immediate vesting
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday leave
• Paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave

What This Job Offers

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