GCP Cloud Architect

Ampcus Inc. is a certified global provider of a broad range of Technology and Business consulting services. We are in search of a highly motivated candidate to join our talented Team.

Job Title: GCP Cloud Architect

Location(s): Chicago, IL
(Remote)


Role Overview
The Senior GCP Cloud Architect (D2) is a senior technical leader and design authority responsible for defining cloud architecture strategy, establishing technical standards, and delivering secure, scalable, highly available, and cost-efficient GCP solutions across large enterprise programs.

The role involves designing cloud-native and hybrid architectures, governing cloud platforms, driving automation, and collaborating with engineering, security, infrastructure, and business stakeholders. The architect will influence technology direction across multiple teams while remaining technically hands-on at the architectural level.

The candidate must be available to provide support during US business hours or shifts.

Key Responsibilities
Cloud Architecture and Strategy

• Define end-to-end GCP architecture for enterprise applications and programs.
• Establish and maintain cloud reference architectures, landing zones, and architectural design standards.
• Design multi-project, multi-region, multi-cloud, and hybrid cloud solutions.
• Evaluate and recommend cloud services aligned with business and technical requirements.
• Define conceptual, logical, and physical architectures for cloud-based solutions.
• Serve as the final design authority for complex GCP solutions and guide architecture strategy as technology evolves.
• Develop and oversee cloud adoption plans, application design, cloud management, security, and monitoring strategies.

Platform and Core Service

• Architect and govern the use of Google Cloud services, including:
  • Compute Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), and Cloud Run.
  • VPC, Shared VPC, load balancing, and hybrid connectivity.
  • IAM, organization policies, and service accounts.
  • Cloud SQL, Spanner, BigQuery, and Cloud Storage
• Establish architectural patterns for high availability, disaster recovery, scalability, performance optimization, and cost efficiency
• Design and validate disaster recovery strategies, including failover planning and execution approaches
• Ensure reliable integration between cloud-hosted applications and on-premises systems.

Security, Governance, and Compliance

• Design cloud security architectures based on zero-trust principles and least-privilege access.
• Define IAM models, network segmentation, data protection, and security guardrails.
• Establish governance using organization policies and policy-as-code frameworks.
• Support regulatory and compliance requirements, including ISO, SOC, and PCI.
• Collaborate with Security, Risk, and Compliance teams to implement cloud governance standards.
• Ensure cloud solutions meet enterprise security, reliability, and operational requirements.

Infrastructure as Code and DevOps

• Define enterprise Terraform architecture, standards, reusable modules, and governance practices.
• Review and approve infrastructure-as-code designs across engineering teams.
• Drive infrastructure automation, CI/CD enablement, and repeatable deployment practices.
• Promote self-service cloud platforms, standardized deployment patterns, and golden paths.
• Establish best practices for infrastructure lifecycle management and configuration consistency.

Technical Leadership and Mentorship

• Lead architecture reviews, technical design forums, and architecture decision-making.
• Mentor cloud engineering and operations teams and facilitate knowledge transfer.
• Drive engineering best practices and technical consistency across multiple teams.
• Provide expert architectural guidance during critical P1 incidents and escalations.
• Manage technical collaboration with teams, managed services partners, and other stakeholders.

Stakeholder and Business Collaboration

• Collaborate with Product and Engineering leadership, Enterprise Architecture, Security, Finance, and Operations.
• Translate business requirements into practical, secure, and scalable cloud architectures.
• Support RFP responses, technical estimates, architecture documentation, and architecture decision records (ADRs).
• Coordinate with application developers, infrastructure engineers, and security teams to deliver integrated cloud solutions.
• Provide technical guidance and cross-training on GCP, AWS, and related cloud technologies.

Required Qualifications

• 14–20 years of overall IT experience.
• At least 7 years of experience in cloud architecture.
• At least 5 years of experience designing and leading solutions on GCP.
• Strong expertise in GCP architecture and working knowledge of AWS architecture, with multi-cloud architecture exposure.
• Extensive experience designing large-scale, enterprise-grade production systems.
• Strong hands-on architectural knowledge of cloud networking, including Shared VPC and hybrid connectivity.
• Deep understanding of cloud security, IAM, network segmentation, and governance.
• Experience with Kubernetes, container platforms, and cloud-native application architectures.
• Strong experience with Terraform and enterprise infrastructure-as-code governance.
• Experience designing high-availability solutions, disaster recovery strategies, and failover procedures.
• Strong understanding of cloud cost management, FinOps, performance optimization, and resource utilization.
• Experience defining architecture standards, reviewing technical designs, and guiding implementation teams.
• Excellent architecture documentation, communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work during US business hours or designated shifts.
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Mathematics, Engineering, or an equivalent combination of education, certifications, and professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) or reliability engineering practices.
• Knowledge of policy-as-code tools and frameworks such as Open Policy Agent (OPA) and HashiCorp Sentinel.
• Experience modernizing legacy and on-premises systems for migration to GCP.
• Experience working in regulated enterprise environments.
• Experience managing technical teams and coordinating managed services partners.
• Strong understanding of cloud operations, incident management, monitoring, and service reliability.

Preferred Certifications

• Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect.
• Google Cloud Professional DevOps Engineer.
• Google Cloud Professional Cloud Security Engineer.
• HashiCorp Terraform Associate.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Technical leadership, mentoring, and knowledge transfer to cloud engineering and operations teams.
• Team coordination and collaboration with managed services partners.
• Participation in architecture governance, design reviews, and technical decision-making.

Work Arrangement

• Remote position within the United States.
• Availability required during US business hours or designated shifts.

Ampcus is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veterans or individuals with disabilities.