Cloud Operations Lead

Dizer Corp - Rockville, MD

Full-time - Mid Level

Rockville, MD

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Cloud Operations Lead is responsible for overseeing the management and maintenance of cloud infrastructure, ensuring high availability and reliability. This role acts as the primary point of contact for all cloud infrastructure-related issues and escalations, while also leading a team of cloud engineers and administrators. The position requires implementing monitoring solutions, managing incidents, and ensuring compliance with security policies and regulatory requirements. The Cloud Operations Lead will also focus on optimizing cloud resources for performance and cost, as well as driving automation and continuous improvement in cloud operations processes.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the management and maintenance of cloud infrastructure, ensuring high availability and reliability.
• Act as the primary point of contact for all Cloud infrastructure related issues and escalations.
• Ensure cloud resources are optimally configured and managed to meet performance and cost objectives.
• Implement and maintain monitoring solutions to track the health and performance of cloud infrastructure.
• Drive the major incidents and potential incidents end to end with periodic updates to client stakeholders for approvals/recommendations.
• Ensure due diligence and impact analysis for all the changes that get implemented in the cloud platforms.
• Lead and mentor a team of cloud engineers and administrators, fostering a collaborative and high-performing work environment.
• Provide guidance and support to team members, facilitating their professional development and growth.
• Coordinate and manage the team's daily activities, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and priorities.
• Lead the response to cloud-related incidents, ensuring timely resolution and minimal impact on business operations.
• Develop and implement incident management processes and procedures.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement preventive measures to avoid recurrence of issues.
• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive tasks and processes to improve efficiency and reduce operational overhead.
• Develop and implement automation scripts and tools, leveraging Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices.
• Continuously evaluate and improve cloud operations processes and procedures.
• Ensure cloud infrastructure adheres to security policies, standards, and best practices.
• Implement and maintain security controls to protect cloud resources and data.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
• Monitor and analyze cloud resource usage, ensuring efficient utilization and avoiding over-provisioning.
• Conduct capacity planning to support future growth and demand.
• Implement cost management strategies to optimize cloud spending.
• Develop and implement disaster recovery and business continuity plans for cloud infrastructure.
• Ensure regular testing and validation of disaster recovery procedures.
• Ensure cloud infrastructure is resilient and can recover quickly from failures or disruptions.
• Work closely with other IT teams, business units, and stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver cloud solutions that meet their needs.
• Collaborate with vendors and service providers to evaluate and integrate new cloud technologies and services.
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders, providing regular updates on cloud operations and performance.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of cloud infrastructure, configurations, processes, and procedures.
• Generate regular reports on cloud performance, incidents, and operational metrics.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Good experience in System administration, and good experience in Cloud operations and leadership/senior technical role.
• Proficiency in AWS cloud platforms. Strong working experience in Azure, OCI clouds platforms.
• Strong understanding of cloud architecture, services, and best practices.
• Experience with cloud management and monitoring tools.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation (e.g., PowerShell, Python, Terraform, Ansible Playbooks/Ansible Tower, Cloud Formation, Puppet, Chef).
• Strong knowledge of cloud security principles and practices.
• Proficiency in Windows/Linux Server administration and management.
• Proficiency and working experience in VMWare/AD and Azure AD SSO platforms.
• Strong networking skills - DNS, DHCP, PKI and LAN/WAN protocol understanding.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience in vendor management and contract negotiations.
• A proactive approach to continuous improvement and innovation in data center operations.

Nice-to-haves

• Cloud certifications such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate or Professional.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Architect Certified.
• Experience with DevOps practices and tools (CI/CD, Jenkins, Git).
• Familiarity with ITIL or other IT service management frameworks.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively interact with technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes of issues and implement effective solutions in a timely manner.
• Proven ability to work independently as well as part of a team, with a proactive and self-motivated attitude towards achieving project goals.

Benefits

• Contract to hire opportunity
• Onsite work from day one
• Potential for professional development and growth within the organization