Staff Platform Engineer

FAI

2d•Remote

About The Position

You will be the technical lead for First American’s enterprise AWS platform powering application modernization, with strong multi-cloud exposure across AWS and Azure. You will define strategy and reference architectures with a strong product mindset, lead complex designs (networking, security, identity, observability, centralized root account management, and org-wide Config and GuardDuty on AWS; Management Groups, Azure Policy and Entra ID RBAC/PIM on Azure), and guide multiple squads building a secure, compliant, self-service platform. You will take end-to-end ownership, hold yourself accountable for outcomes, communicate clearly across stakeholders, mentor engineers, and collaborate with AWS, Azure, and GCP Platform Engineering teams and our centralized point of presence to align guardrails and shared patterns across clouds.

Requirements

12+ years in platform/cloud engineering with 6+ on AWS at enterprise scale; proven multicloud exposure with hands-on Azure platform engineering in regulated environments.
Expert in Terraform (modules, workspaces), IaC governance (policy-as-code/OPA), and CI/CD (GitHub; Spacelift OIDC federation, policies, and stacks preferred) across AWS and Azure.
Deep AWS networking: VPC design, Transit Gateway, centralized VPC endpoints, routing, load balancing; hub/spoke with centralized inspection.
Solid Azure networking: VNet design, Azure Virtual WAN, Private Link/Private Endpoints, routing, load balancing; hub/spoke with centralized inspection.
Strong AWS security engineering: SCPs, IAM least-privilege/deny patterns, centralized root account management, AWS Config, GuardDuty, Security Hub, KMS/CMEK strategy, Secrets Manager and enterprise secrets integrations.
Strong Azure security engineering: Azure Policy, deny assignments, RBAC least-privilege design, Defender for Cloud, Key Vault/CMEK strategy, and enterprise secrets integrations.
AWS identity: Entra ID federation via IAM Identity Center, group-based RBAC, JIT/PIM concepts; OIDC for CI/CD and Kubernetes (IRSA).
Azure identity: Entra ID (Azure AD) federation, group-based RBAC, PIM/JIT access, managed identities, OIDC for CI/CD and AKS workload identity.
AWS observability: CloudTrail, CloudWatch, log streaming pipelines, Splunk/Elastic design and cost optimization.
Azure observability: Activity Log, Diagnostic Settings, Azure Monitor, log streaming pipelines, Splunk/Elastic design and cost optimization.
Hands-on with AWS Control Tower, AVM, Organizations, and the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
Hands-on with Azure Management Groups, subscription vending/Enterprise Scale landing zones, and the Azure Well-Architected Framework.
Strong product mindset with a track record of shaping platform roadmaps around customer (application team) needs, adoption, and measurable outcomes.
Excellent communication skills; demonstrated accountability and ownership of complex initiatives end to end.
Proven ability to mentor and grow engineers and to collaborate effectively across Platform Engineering and partner teams.
Excellent leadership: roadmaps, cross-BU influence, vendor management, risk trade-offs, and executive communication.

Nice To Haves

Spacelift knowledge or hands-on experience.
Cloudflare Zero Trust/Tunnels, WAF/DDoS; Palo Alto VM-Series design at scale.
CloudFormation and Bicep/ARM expertise; GitHub Actions federation at scale.
GCP platform familiarity for multi-cloud architecture alignment.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end AWS platform architecture (Organizations/OU model, Control Tower and AVM account vending, identity, network, security, observability, cost) and its roadmap.
Partner with Azure Platform Engineering to align landing-zone design: Azure Management Groups, subscription vending/Enterprise Scale, identity, network, security, observability, and cost governance.
Set and enforce platform principles across AWS and Azure: security-by-default, IaC-only (Terraform with CloudFormation/Bicep/ARM where appropriate), least privilege, and defense-in-depth for workloads.
Lead AWS hub-and-spoke networking: Direct Connect/Partner connectivity, centralized DNS, policy-based routes, Palo Alto security inspection, and centralized VPC interface endpoints.
Align Azure hub-and-spoke networking patterns: ExpressRoute/Partner connectivity, Azure Virtual WAN, centralized DNS, policy-based routing, Palo Alto inspection, and centralized Private Link/Private Endpoints.
Define and govern AWS SCPs, IAM policies, and permission boundaries; drive policy-ascode, exception processes, and AWS Well-Architected reviews.
Align Azure governance: Azure Policy, deny assignments, RBAC least-privilege design, policy-as-code, exception processes, and Azure Well-Architected reviews.
Own centralized AWS root account management strategy: no routine root access, secured credentials, activity monitoring, and audited break-glass aligned with InfoSec and compliance requirements.
Support Azure tenant/subscription break-glass controls: secured privileged access, PIM/JIT governance, activity monitoring, and audited emergency access aligned with InfoSec.
Define org-wide AWS Config and GuardDuty architecture (delegated admin, aggregators, conformance packs, auto-remediation, threat detection baselines) integrated with Security Hub and operational response.
Align Azure security posture: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Policy compliance, autoremediation, threat detection baselines, and integration with Security Hub-equivalent operational response.
Direct AWS identity architecture: IAM Identity Center with Entra ID (SAML), workload roles and OIDC for keyless auth across CI/CD and services; break-glass model with hardware MFA.
Align Azure identity architecture: Entra ID (Azure AD) federation, group-based RBAC, PIM/JIT access, managed identities, workload OIDC for keyless CI/CD, and AKS workload identity.
Own AWS observability architecture: org-level CloudTrail and log aggregation → streaming → Splunk/Elastic; ensure coverage for management, data, VPC flow, DNS, firewall, Config, GuardDuty, and Security Hub findings.
Align Azure observability: Activity Log, Diagnostic Settings, Azure Monitor, VNet flow logs, DNS/firewall logs → streaming → Splunk/Elastic; ensure Defender for Cloud and policy compliance coverage.
Partner with InfoSec on unified posture management across AWS (Security Hub, Config, GuardDuty) and Azure (Defender for Cloud, Azure Policy), plus Prisma Cloud and Qualys; define controls, SLAs, and drift remediation.
Drive multi-cloud patterns and guardrails consistent across AWS, Azure, and GCP; harmonize landing-zone, identity, networking, and security models and shared Blueprint/Modules standards.
Define modernization paths for AWS (EKS, ECS, RDS, data services) and Azure (AKS, Container Apps, Azure SQL, data services) with consistent platform patterns.
Champion AI-assisted engineering (Claude, Cursor) and agentic automations for platform delivery, documentation, and operational excellence across AWS and Azure.
Lead Terraform IaC migration strategy, module standards, and pipeline governance (GitHub; Spacelift where adopted) for AWS and Azure workloads.
Apply a strong product mindset: prioritize platform capabilities that deliver measurable value to application teams, balance roadmap trade-offs, and translate technical work into clear outcomes and adoption.
Mentor and develop senior and mid-level engineers through design reviews, pairing, and career guidance; model accountability, ownership, and high-quality delivery.
Collaborate across Platform Engineering teams (AWS, Azure, GCP, Blueprint and Modules, DNA Enablement) to align standards, shared patterns, and multi-cloud guardrails.
Design and manage AWS multi-account strategy using AWS Organizations with OU hierarchy aligned to environment, business unit, and workload classification
Implement and maintain AWS Control Tower or a custom landing zone for account vending and baseline configuration
Define and execute strategic roadmaps for AWS and Azure cloud platforms, aligning cloud adoption with business objectives, optimizing cost and performance, and ensuring scalability, security, and compliance across environments.
Communicate effectively with engineering, InfoSec, operations, and leadership; represent the AWS platform and multi-cloud alignment in architecture councils, CAB, and executive updates.