Lead Cloud Engineer / L3 Support (SME)

Role: Lead Cloud Engineer / L3 Support (SME)

Location: North Chicago IL (Onsite)

Salary: $120K

Position Type: Full-Time

1. Role Summary

Responsible for L3 cloud platform support across Azure and AWS environments, ensuring stability, scalability, security, and operational excellence. The role includes troubleshooting complex issues, implementing changes, and driving continuous improvement.

2. Key Responsibilities

Cloud Infrastructure Management:

Manage compute services (VMs, Kubernetes, Containers)

Handle storage services (Blob, Disk, File, S3, EBS)

Manage networking (VNET, VPC, Subnets, Peering)

Data Protection:

- Implement and manage Backup/Recovery solutions

- Work with Azure Recovery Services Vault, AWS Backup, Cross Region

Replication

Landing Zone & Account Management:

- Design Enhancement and support Landing Zones

- Manage subscriptions/accounts, policies, and governance

Networking Support:

- Troubleshoot routing, VPN, DNS, Load balancing issues

- Manage Application Gateway, Front Door, ELB

Cloud Configuration Changes:

- Execute infrastructure changes via automation/scripts

- Ensure compliance with change management processes

Preferred Skills

- Active Azure Administrator (AZ-104) or AWS Solutions Architect – Associate

certification.

- Experience working in a Managed Services / CloudOps delivery model.

- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, Jenkins, GitHub Actions).

- Exposure to security and compliance frameworks (CIS Benchmarks, Azure Policy,

AWS Config).

- Understanding of cloud cost optimisation.

Container Management

- Manage and maintain containerised platforms (AKS, EKS, Docker), including cluster

operations, orchestration, scaling, and CI/CD integration.

- Troubleshoot container deployments, cluster performance, and scaling issues to ensure

high availability and reliability.

PaaS Support

- Support and manage cloud-native application services including Azure App

Services, Functions, AWS Lambda, and API-driven integrations (API

Management, API Gateway).

- Manage event-driven and integration services (Event Hub, Event Grid,

EventBridge, SNS/SQS, Logic Apps) across Azure and AWS platforms.

- Monitor application platform health, performance, and availability using native

observability tools such as Application Insights, Log Analytics, and CloudWatch.

3. Responsibilities

- Own platform stability and architecture decisions

- Lead major incidents and RCA discussions

- Mentor junior engineers and guide teams

- Drive automation and DevOps initiatives

- Interface with clients and stakeholders

4. GenAI Platforms:

- Support Azure OpenAI & AWS Bedrock related workloads

5. Required Skills

- Strong experience in Azure and AWS core services

- Expertise in networking and security concepts

- Hands-on with Kubernetes (AKS/EKS)

- Experience with Terraform, ARM, or CloudFormation

- Scripting knowledge (PowerShell & Bash)

6. Soft Skills

- Strong communication skills

- Stakeholder management

- Problem-solving mindset