Principal Cloud Platform Engineer

Principal Cloud Platform Engineer

Location: Remote - Missouri, United States Job Type: Full Time

Our client is seeking a highly experienced Principal Cloud Platform Engineer to act as the senior technical authority for their AWS cloud platform. This role will lead the strategy, architecture, and evolution of a large-scale, multi-account AWS environment, enabling enterprise-wide digital transformation. The successful candidate will define long-term cloud platform direction, influence executive-level decisions, and provide hands-on leadership for complex technical initiatives across hybrid cloud environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute a multi-year technical vision and roadmap for AWS cloud platform capabilities in close collaboration with IT leadership and Technical Product Owners
• Design and evolve enterprise-grade AWS architectures that are secure, scalable, resilient, and cost-efficient
• Establish cloud platform standards, reference architectures, and best practices; drive their adoption across engineering and application teams
• Provide technical leadership across high-impact, cross-team initiatives that span infrastructure, security, networking, and application domains
• Champion consistent usage of cloud platform services and infrastructure patterns across large development communities
• Architect and govern complex multi-account AWS environments using AWS Organizations, Control Tower, and advanced governance models
• Design event-driven and serverless platforms utilizing AWS Lambda, Step Functions, EventBridge, API Gateway, and related services
• Build and maintain enterprise infrastructure-as-code frameworks using TypeScript, Terraform, and CloudFormation StackSets
• Lead hybrid cloud architecture efforts, including connectivity and integration between on-premise systems and AWS
• Partner closely with Security, Network, Compliance, and Architecture teams to ensure cloud platforms meet enterprise governance and regulatory expectations
• Tackle complex platform challenges related to performance, scalability, reliability, and disaster recovery through hands-on technical leadership
• Continuously evaluate emerging AWS services and cloud-native technologies to drive platform innovation
• Mentor senior and lead engineers, strengthening technical excellence and engineering maturity across the organization
• Represent the cloud platform organization in executive and architectural forums, clearly communicating strategy, progress, and recommendations
• Influence platform roadmaps and backlog priorities based on enterprise needs, dependencies, and long-term goals
• Lead major cloud migration and modernization initiatives, defining transformation strategies and execution plans
• Define and track platform KPIs and success metrics aligned with business outcomes
• Build strategic relationships with AWS partners and account teams to accelerate problem resolution and innovation
• Drive large-scale cost optimization and FinOps practices across hundreds of AWS accounts
• Ensure cloud platform decisions align with compliance, regulatory, and enterprise risk management requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in a technical or quantitative discipline such as Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or similar (or equivalent professional experience)
• 6--8 years of progressive experience in cloud engineering, platform architecture, or related roles
• Proven experience designing and operating large-scale AWS Landing Zones managing extensive multi-account environments
• Expert-level knowledge of AWS services, architecture patterns, and platform design
• Advanced programming experience with TypeScript for infrastructure automation and platform tooling
• Deep expertise in Terraform, including module design and enterprise-scale state management
• Strong experience with AWS CloudFormation, StackSets, and cross-account deployment models
• Demonstrated success delivering serverless and event-driven architectures at scale
• Advanced understanding of AWS networking, including VPC design, Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, DNS, and hybrid connectivity
• Strong proficiency in GitLab CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure and platform automation
• Experience leading enterprise-wide platform initiatives impacting large developer populations
• Solid background in cloud security, IAM, governance frameworks, and compliance at scale
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders, resolve architectural disagreements, and build consensus across teams
• Hands-on experience with hybrid cloud integration patterns and enterprise connectivity

Preferred Experience

• AWS Professional-level certifications (Solutions Architect, DevOps Engineer)
• AWS Specialty certifications (Security, Networking, Database, Machine Learning)
• Experience with additional programming languages such as Python, Go, or Java
• Knowledge of containers, Kubernetes/EKS, and cloud-native application patterns
• Familiarity with AWS Well-Architected Framework and conducting Well-Architected Reviews
• Experience with AWS security and governance services such as GuardDuty, Security Hub, IAM Identity Center, KMS, and Secrets Manager
• Understanding of FinOps practices and cost governance at enterprise scale
• Experience with observability and monitoring tools (CloudWatch, X-Ray, Datadog, Splunk, Dynatrace, etc.)
• Exposure to service mesh architectures, API management platforms, and enterprise architecture frameworks
• Experience with multi-region designs, disaster recovery, and business continuity strategies
• Knowledge of regulatory and compliance standards such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, or FedRAMP