Private Cloud Architect

Private Cloud Architect (Individual Contributor)

Compensation: $210K – $230K base

Overview

We are looking for a highly skilled Private Cloud Architect to play a key role in building and scaling an internal cloud platform. This is a hands-on, individual contributor position (no people management) focused on designing and modernizing a private cloud Center of Excellence (CoE).

You’ll lead architecture efforts to transform legacy systems into a modern, self-service private cloud environment, integrating with broader enterprise and public cloud ecosystems where needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and build a private cloud platform across multiple business units
• Establish and contribute to a Cloud Center of Excellence
• Design and enable self-service cloud capabilities for internal engineering teams
• Modernize legacy infrastructure and applications into cloud-native architectures
• Lead architecture for:
• Kubernetes-based platforms (OpenShift, Rancher/SUSE)
• Containerized environments
• Integrate private cloud with broader enterprise systems and selective public cloud (GCP) usage
• Build and manage GPU-enabled infrastructure for high-performance workloads
• Define and implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform
• Collaborate closely with engineering, platform, and security teams
• Ensure strong alignment with cloud security best practices (including zero-trust principles)
• Support streaming/data infrastructure components (e.g., Kafka)

Required Experience

• Proven experience as a Private Cloud Architect / Infrastructure Architect / Platform Architect
• Deep expertise in private cloud environments (this is not a public cloud-focused role)
• Strong hands-on experience with:
• Kubernetes (OpenShift, Rancher/SUSE)
• Containers and orchestration
• Terraform / Infrastructure as Code
• Experience building internal developer platforms or self-service infrastructure
• Strong background in modernizing legacy systems
• Experience with GPU infrastructure / compute-heavy workloads
• Solid understanding of cloud security principles
• Familiarity with Kafka or event streaming platforms
• Strong engineering background (must be technical and hands-on)

Profile

• Deep technologist with architecture-level thinking
• Comfortable operating as a senior IC (no management responsibilities)
• Strong communicator who can work across business and technical teams
• Builder mindset — someone who has created platforms, not just operated them