Cloud Engineer

J5 Consulting is a Maryland based company established in 2006 to provide computing and consulting services for government and commercial entities. Our services improve Information System networking performance and compliance and protect electronic assets from loss and compromise. We welcome your application to receive consideration for the following position.

Job Overview: Available Immediately

The Customer plans to build a new secure cloud-based enclave and migrate off of legacy on-premises infrastructure. The Customer requires cloud engineering support to help design and build the new cloud enclave, perform Operations and Maintenance (O&M) tasks, evolve and enhance the cloud architecture once the build out and migration is complete, help continuously identify and mitigate system and data risks and achieve and maintain Assessment & Authorization (A&A) compliance.

• Work closely with the Customer for work prioritization.
• Set up, configure, update and maintain the Customer’s AWS cloud-based enclave, in all environments including PRODUCTION.
• Work in close coordination with the cloud vendor’s Professional Services as the cloud-based enclave is initially designed and stood up.
• Take the lead, in coordination with the Customer, in implementing the new cloud-based enclave architecture as well as moving mission data into the cloud for the migration from the legacy (Windows-based) on-premises enclave.
• Reach out to partners for technical details and solutions related to system implementation and security.
• Execute cloud engineering tasks to support the Customer’s information technology enterprise, as well as related tasks such as documentation, knowledge transfer, configuration management, systems security-related tasks and planning activities.
• Provide technical support and assist in the timely resolution of technical issues related to the Customer’s cloud environment and systems.
• Support system requirements gathering and refinement as directed by the Customer, and provide technical expertise on cloud computing techniques and technologies.
• Coordinate with and participate in meetings with internal and external teams and partners.
• Monitor current, and estimate future cloud-related costs and provide recommendations to the Customer for cost-optimization strategies.
• Provide input and recommendations to Customer staff and coordinate with the Information System Security Manager (ISSM) staff as necessary to help achieve and maintain ATO for the Customer’s cloud enclave.
• Provide support for application deployments, fixes and configuration changes in the cloud environment.
• Plan and implement backup and Disaster Recovery (DR) solutions in accordance with Customer’s requirements.
• Evaluate cloud strategy and architecture and provide recommendations and roadmaps for changes to improve security, reduce cost, and streamline operations to the Customer.
• Select appropriate cloud services to design and deploy applications based on given requirements.
• Create functional design specifications, architectures, and render support to other cloud project deliverables.
• Design, build and maintain high availability cloud-based IT systems.
• Use Infrastructure-as-Code principles and automation within cloud environments to reduce the risk of errors, streamline operations and facilitate repeatability.
• Keep the Customer informed of security, data integrity or technical risks.
• Work off-hours on occasion to support deployments, fixes or operations (happens rarely).
• Identify, analyze, and resolve infrastructure vulnerabilities and application deployment issues.
• Perform O&M tasks related to Customers enclave.
• Perform cloud activities including but not limited to; Create and configure virtual private clouds (VPCs), Create EC2 instances, Create RDS instances, Create and secure AMIs that meet security requirements, Create, manage, and test Lifecycle policies for backup and DR purposes, Create public and private subnets, Create auto scaling groups, Configure load balancers, Configure security groups, Create users and groups in cloud environments, Integration with external services.

Required skills and demonstrated experience:

• Demonstrated experience including knowledge of Best Practices for implementing the security services provided by Amazon AWS (such as Identity Management, Secure Tokens, Cloud Watch and Cloud Monitoring).
• Demonstrated experience with knowledge of security constraints and required protections for enclave accreditation in an AWS cloud.
• Demonstrated experience making virtual machine configuration changes necessary to resolve trouble tickets or to comply with security requirements and IT best practices.
• Demonstrated experience, within the last two (2) years, setting up and maintaining an AWS-cloud based VPC.
• Demonstrated experience deploying and maintaining Windows environments in AWS.
• Demonstrated experience, within the last six (6) months, managing MS Product Suite.
• Demonstrated experience, within the last six (6) months, managing MS SQL.
• Demonstrated experience, within the last six (6) months, managing MS Server 2012/2016/2019/2022.
• Demonstrated experience, within the last six (6) months, deploying and managing log aggregation systems, such as Splunk.
• Demonstrated experience, within the last six (6) months, maintaining system accreditation.
• Certification(s):
  • AWS Cloud Solutions Architect - Professional

Highly desired, though not required, include:

• Demonstrated experience with knowledge of security constraints and required protections for enclave accreditation in an AWS cloud in the Customer’s environment.
• Demonstrated experience transitioning an on-premises enclave solution to a virtual private cloud (VPC).
• Demonstrated experience making application software and operating system configuration changes necessary to resolve trouble tickets or to comply with Customer requirements and IT best practices.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating and mitigating software security vulnerabilities.
• Demonstrated experience with continuous monitoring from a security perspective.
• Demonstrated experience obtaining Certification and Accreditation within the Customer’s environment.
• Demonstrated experience with the Customer’s unique IT infrastructure and ongoing projects.
• Demonstrated experience executing O&M tasks as necessary to support the Customer’s software and hardware infrastructure.
• Demonstrated experience understanding and implementing Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) with AWS.
• Demonstrated experiencing managing Windows services and devices. This experience should be related to managing a Windows based enterprise, such as maintaining Server ISOs and related AMIs, COTS updates, managing domain forests and group policy objects, user role-based authentication in active directory.
• Demonstrated experience managing LDAP authentication with COTS applications, load balancing and gateway services related to remote desktop service deployments.
• Demonstrated experience with troubleshooting errors utilizing Event Viewer and Splunk logging.

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US Citizenship:

• This position requires US Citizenship. Verification of US Citizenship to meet federal government security requirements will be confirmed.

Security Clearance:

• The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Security Clearance with a Full Scope Polygraph.
• Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.

Travel:

• This position is expected to be onsite. The position will be located within the Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA). Local travel/POV will be on an as needed basis, within the local place of performance.

Join J5 Consulting and Grow Your Cybersecurity Career

At J5, we’re a team of innovators protecting organizations from evolving cyber threats. With 18+ years of success in government and commercial sectors, we offer meaningful opportunities to grow your career.

Enjoy comprehensive benefits, including:

• 100% employer-paid health coverage
• a 6% 401(k) match
• PTO
• tuition reimbursement
• bonuses
• professional development, and more.

Ready to make an impact? Explore our open positions and apply today.