Lead Cloud Architect - Data Center & Cloud Engineering (Remote)

Role Overview

Lead a hybrid infrastructure architecture practice for the VA Office of Information Technology (OIT). You will provide technical leadership across on-premises data center and cloud environments, helping design, modernize, and optimize secure, scalable, resilient solutions. This position is fully remote within the United States; the contract is currently unfunded and contingent on contract award.

Responsibilities

• Develop deep understanding of VA enterprise infrastructure, including cloud platforms, on-prem data centers, and modernization initiatives
• Lead design and implementation of hybrid cloud and data center architectures aligned to VA strategic objectives
• Create and maintain architecture artifacts, engineering standards, technical guidance, and design documentation
• Conduct design reviews and provide technical validation for infrastructure and cloud solutions
• Drive infrastructure modernization (hardware/software refresh, migration, transformation strategies)
• Support multi-year modernization roadmaps and platform decommissioning efforts
• Perform advanced engineering analysis (e.g., infrastructure performance modeling and optimization)
• Lead capacity planning, resource allocation, and performance monitoring for efficient, scalable operations
• Architect integrated solutions across on-prem and cloud with high availability, resilience, and performance
• Ensure architectures meet VA security and federal compliance requirements with embedded cybersecurity controls
• Oversee audit-ready, traceable configuration management materials and engineering artifacts
• Collaborate with program leadership, operations teams, and business stakeholders on portfolio planning and investment prioritization
• Communicate technical strategies and modernization outcomes to technical and non-technical stakeholders

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Information Systems/Engineering or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 12+ years of experience in cloud architecture, data center engineering, or infrastructure leadership
• Deep expertise in:
  • Hybrid cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, or similar)
  • Data center infrastructure (compute, storage, networking)
  • Infrastructure modernization and transformation
• Proven ability to develop architecture artifacts, engineering standards, and technical documentation
• Ability to lead complex technical initiatives across enterprise environments
• Experience with capacity planning, performance optimization, and infrastructure lifecycle management
• Strong communication skills and stakeholder influence

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant certifications (AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate/Professional; Google Professional Cloud Architect; Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert)
• Experience supporting federal agencies, especially VA (OIT, VBA, or VHA)
• Familiarity with advanced modeling/analysis techniques (e.g., performance modeling, computational simulations)
• Experience with cloud financial management, cost optimization, or FinOps
• Experience with tools such as Jira
• Background in enterprise architecture and future-state technology planning

Clearance

• Clearance required (details not included in the provided text).