Job Description

RESPEC is hiring a mid-level Cloud Engineer to design, build, migrate, and operate secure AWS environments for multiple private and public-sector projects. You’ll lead environment buildouts, support migrations, implement automation and monitoring, and collaborate closely with security and engineering. AWS is the priority; Azure is secondary and exposure to GCP is a bonus.

Responsibilities:

• Architect, build, and operate AWS environments (dev/test/UAT/prod) for web, data, and GIS workloads.
• Execute migrations (lift-and-shift/re-platform); plan cutovers, validations, and rollback strategies.
• Implement automation using IaC (CloudFormation or Terraform) and scripting (PowerShell/Bash/Python).
• Manage core AWS services: EC2, VPC, S3, IAM, ALB/NLB, Auto Scaling, Systems Manager, CloudWatch/CloudTrail.
• Configure networking: VPCs, subnets, routing, security groups/NACLs, DNS; support VPN/Direct Connect concepts.
• Establish reliability: monitoring/alerting, patching, backup/restore, performance tuning, capacity planning.
• Apply security best practices: least-privilege IAM, encryption, key/secret management, logging/guardrails.
• Stand up basic databases (Oracle/SQL Server/Postgres on RDS or EC2), manage connectivity, and perform backups/restores.
• Optimize cost with tagging, budgets, lifecycle policies, and rightsizing.
• Create documentation (diagrams, runbooks, SOPs) and share knowledge with the team.
• Engage with PMs and stakeholders to clarify requirements, report status, and mitigate risks.
• Provide occasional Tier II/Tier III escalation support during cutovers or incidents.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of IT/cloud engineering experience with production AWS workloads.
• Hands-on with IaC (CloudFormation or Terraform) and scripting (PowerShell/Bash/Python).
• Strong grasp of AWS operations, networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, VPN concepts), and observability.
• Foundational DBA skills for Oracle/SQL Server/Postgres (deploy, configure, connectivity, backup/restore).
• Clear communicator with solid troubleshooting and documentation habits.
• Able to work onsite in Albuquerque 3 days per week.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS certification (Solutions Architect Associate, SysOps Administrator, or Developer) or willingness to obtain within 6 months.

• Exposure to Azure; familiarity with GCP helpful.

• Experience with containers (Docker, ECS/EKS basics) and CI/CD (GitHub Actions/Azure DevOps/Jenkins).

• Knowledge of HA/DR patterns (multi-AZ, read replicas, snapshots) and cost/performance trade-offs.

• Familiarity with ITSM environments (ServiceNow) and ITIL practices.

• Collaborative, documentation-first approach; comfortable explaining trade-offs to technical and non-technical audiences.

Work Arrangement and Support

• Hybrid model: 3 days onsite in Albuquerque for collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Occasional after-hours work for migrations, maintenance windows, or incidents; primary help desk covered by others with escalation to this role as needed.

Additional Information

Work Schedule:

• Hybrid schedule: 3 days/week in office; 2 days remote

Compensation: Salary depends on experience and expertise. Compensation includes a comprehensive fringe-benefits package. RESPEC is a 100% employee-owned company and employees are eligible for participation in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) after a qualifying period.

Featured benefits include:

· Flexible Work Schedules

· Paid Parental Leave

· 401(k) & ESOP (with company match up to 4%)

· Professional Development and Training

· Tuition Reimbursement

· Employee Assistance Program

· Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance Plans

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.