Azure Cloud Engineer

The Digital Modernization Sector has an exciting career opportunity for a highly skilled Journeyman Azure Cloud Engineer support the US Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC), Operational Command and Control Acquisition Delta, known as Kobayashi Maru. This role is instrumental in the development and deployment of mission critical software for space defense, space domain awareness, and enabling data services. This position is 80% hands on keyboard tactical engineering and 20% product/team support

Primary Responsibilities:

Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Engineering

• Design, deploy, administer, and optimize hybrid cloud infrastructures across on-premises and commercial/government cloud environments including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), leveraging both IaaS and PaaS solutions.
• Manage and maintain enterprise virtualization platforms such as VMware ESXi, Hyper-V, and cloud-native virtualization technologies to support highly available and scalable environments.
• Develop and implement Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) solutions using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, and CloudFormation to automate infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and operational workflows.
• Support cloud migration, modernization, and integration initiatives to improve system reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency.

Cloud Operations and Platform Support

• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering, security, and development teams to provision, maintain, and scale cloud and virtualized infrastructure environments.
• Monitor and optimize cloud resource utilization, system performance, and operational costs while ensuring scalability, resiliency, and service availability.
• Perform advanced troubleshooting and root cause analysis across cloud, virtual, physical, network, and application layers to resolve complex technical issues.
• Support system lifecycle activities including patching, upgrades, backup/recovery operations, and infrastructure maintenance.

DevSecOps and Automation

• Operate within a DevSecOps framework to ensure infrastructure solutions align with security, compliance, automation, and operational best practices.

• Support and enhance CI/CD pipelines by integrating infrastructure automation, security controls, and configuration management into the software development lifecycle.
• Implement and manage containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes to support cloud-native and microservices-based architectures.
• Develop and maintain automation scripts and tooling to streamline deployments, monitoring, remediation, and operational support activities.

Performance Monitoring and Optimization

• Configure, maintain, and optimize monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions to ensure infrastructure and application availability, reliability, and performance.
• Analyze system metrics, identify performance bottlenecks, and implement improvements to enhance system efficiency, latency, scalability, and uptime.
• Support capacity planning and resource forecasting efforts to meet current and future operational demands.

Security and Compliance

• Implement and enforce security best practices across hybrid cloud and virtualized environments, including Identity and Access Management (IAM), encryption, network segmentation, vulnerability management, and secure configuration standards.
• Support compliance initiatives and security audits aligned with frameworks and standards such as RMF, NIST, STIGs, FedRAMP, and ISO 27001.
• Assist with incident response, remediation activities, and security hardening efforts to maintain secure and compliant infrastructure environments.

Collaboration, Leadership, and Support

• Provide Tier 2/Tier 3 operational support for escalated infrastructure and cloud-related incidents, coordinating with internal teams, customers, and external vendors as required.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, standard operating procedures, architecture diagrams, and knowledge base articles to support operational excellence and knowledge transfer.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to team development through technical guidance, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
• Participate in technical planning sessions, architecture reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives to support evolving mission and business requirements.

Basic Qualifications:

• US Citizen and Possession of a current Secret Clearance.
• Certification: Active DoD 8570 IAT Level II or higher certification (e.g., Security+).
• BS degree and 4+ years of prior relevant experience or Masters with 2+ years of prior relevant experience in hybrid cloud environments, with hands-on expertise in virtual cloud server infrastructure management.
• Proficiency with virtualization technologies, such as VMware, Hyper-V, or OpenStack.
• Strong knowledge of public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Experience with IaC tools like Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation.
• Understanding of containerization (Docker) and orchestration platforms (Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with networking concepts, such as VPCs, subnets, VPNs, and firewalls.
• Working knowledge of DevSecOps principles and practices.

Preferred Skills and Certifications::

• Industry certifications such as VMware VCP, AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator, or Kubernetes CKA.
• Experience with security frameworks (e.g., RMF, NIST 800-53).
• Knowledge of scripting or programming languages, such as Python, PowerShell, or Bash.
• Familiarity with log management and monitoring tools (e.g., Splunk, Datadog, or ELK stack).

Your resume must demonstrate the following experience:

• Familiarity with cloud/hybrid cloud computing platforms and their services within various security domains
• Familiarity in implementing large-scale, complex systems that integrate cloud and on-premises platforms with an understanding of storage, compute, and throughput capabilities
• Understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).) and cloud-native technologies (containers, Kubernetes, serverless computing).
• Knowledge of platform services, middleware, and enterprise integration frameworks.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

Pay Range:

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.