Cloud Architect

A CloudArchitect is responsible for designing implementing andmanaging cloudbased infrastructure and services for anorganization. To excel in this role a Cloud Architect should have abroad skill set that combines technical knowledge architecturalexpertise and soft skills. Heres a comprehensive breakdown of therequired skills:

Cloud Platforms andServices

CloudProviders: Expertise in major cloud platforms suchas:

o Amazon Web Services(AWS) o Microsoft Azure o Google Cloud Platform (GCP) o IBMCloud Oracle Cloud or other nicheproviders.

CloudServices: Familiarity with a wide range of cloud servicesincluding:

o Compute: EC2 Azure Virtual Machines Google Compute Engine.o Storage: S3 BlobStorage Google Cloud Storage Azure Storage Cloud File Systems.o Networking: VPC VPNLoad Balancing DNS CDN and IP management.o Databases: Manageddatabases (e.g. Amazon RDS Azure SQL Google Cloud SQL) and NoSQLsolutions (e.g. DynamoDB Azure CosmosDB).

o ServerlessComputing: AWS Lambda Azure Functions Google CloudFunctions. o Containerization andOrchestration: Docker Kubernetes Amazon EKS Google GKEAzure AKS.

Architecture Design andImplementation

CloudArchitecture: Designing scalable highavailability andfaulttolerant cloud solutions based on bestpractices.

MultiCloud& Hybrid Cloud: Experience in designing solutionsthat span across multiple cloud environments or integrateonpremises infrastructure with cloudservices.

MicroservicesArchitecture: Designing cloudnative applications usingmicroservices ensuring they are loosely coupled scalable andmaintainable.

HighAvailability and Disaster Recovery: Designing resilientarchitectures with backup failover and disaster recoveryplans.

CostOptimization: Knowledge of cost management strategies andtools to optimize cloud usage and ensure efficient use ofresources.

CloudMigration: Leading migrations of onpremises applicationsto the cloud (Lift and Shift Replatforming Refactoringetc.).

Security &Compliance

CloudSecurity Best Practices: Knowledge of securing cloudenvironments including identity and access management (IAM)encryption network security andfirewalls.

SecurityServices: Familiarity with cloudnative security serviceslike AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) AWS Shield AzureActive Directory Google Cloud Identityetc.

ComplianceFrameworks: Understanding of compliance requirements suchas GDPR HIPAA SOC 2 PCIDSS and how to implement them in a cloudenvironment.

DataPrivacy and Governance: Ability to create and manage dataprivacy policies and access control models for cloudenvironments.

Penetration Testingand Vulnerability Assessment: Experience in using toolsto test the security posture of cloud systems and mitigatevulnerabilities.

DevOps andAutomation

CI/CDPipelines: Experience in setting up and managingcontinuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines usingtools like Jenkins GitLab CI AWS CodePipeline Azure DevOpsetc.

Infrastructure asCode (IaC): Proficiency in tools likeTerraform AWS CloudFormation Azure Resource Manager (ARM) or GoogleCloud Deployment Manager for automating cloudinfrastructureprovisioning.

ConfigurationManagement: Familiarity with tools such asAnsible Chef Puppet or SaltStack formanaging and automating cloudconfigurations.

Containerizationand Orchestration: Expertise in working with containers(e.g. Docker) and orchestrating them using Kubernetes Amazon ECSGoogle Kubernetes Engine (GKE) or Azure Kubernetes Service(AKS).

Networking &Connectivity

CloudNetworking Concepts: Knowledge of cloud networkingprinciples including VPC subnetting load balancing DNS NAT andsecuritygroups.

Virtual PrivateNetworks (VPNs) & Direct Connect: Designingsecure communication between cloud and onpremisesnetworks.

GlobalDistribution & CDN: Familiarity with ContentDelivery Networks (CDNs) edge services and multiregion clouddeployments for globally distributedapplications.

SDWAN& Hybrid Connectivity: Understanding of hybridcloud networking solutions that connect onpremises data centerswith cloudinfrastructure.

APIGateway & Service Mesh: Using tools likeAWS API Gateway Azure APIManagement Istio orLinkerd to manage API traffic andservicetoservice communication in microservicesarchitectures.

Cloud Cost Managementand Billing

CostOptimization Strategies: Identifying underutilizedresources and recommending optimizations to minimizecosts.

Pricing Models andTCO (Total Cost of Ownership): Understanding of differentcloud pricing models (ondemand reserved instances spot instancesetc.) and the ability to estimate and manage costs using nativetools like AWS Cost Explorer Azure CostManagement and Google Cloud PricingCalculator .

Budgeting &Forecasting: Experience in setting budgets forecastingcosts and managing billing alerts to avoid unexpectedcharges.

Programming &Scripting

ProgrammingLanguages: Proficiency in at least one or moreprogramming languages such as Python Java Go orJavaScript for automation and tooldevelopment.

ScriptingLanguages: Experience with shell scriptingPowerShell or Bash for cloudautomationtasks.

CloudSDKs and APIs: Familiarity with the software developmentkits (SDKs) and REST APIs provided by cloud vendors to interactwith cloud servicesprogrammatically.

Data Management andAnalytics

BigData Solutions: Experience with cloudbased big dataprocessing tools such as AWS Redshift Google BigQuery or Azure SynapseAnalytics .

DataLakes and ETL: Knowledge of creating data lakes andhandling ETL (Extract Transform Load) processes in thecloud.

Machine LearningIntegration: Familiarity with integrating machinelearning services like AWS SageMaker Azure ML or Google AIPlatform into cloudsolutions.

RealTime DataProcessing: Experience with realtime data processingtools like AWS Kinesis Google CloudPub/Sub or Azure EventHubs .

Monitoring LoggingandTroubleshooting

Monitoring& Alerting: Knowledge of cloudnative monitoringtools like AWS CloudWatch AzureMonitor or Google Operations Suite (formerlyStackdriver) .

LoggingServices: Proficiency in centralized logging solutionslike AWS CloudTrail Azure LogAnalytics or Google CloudLogging .

TroubleshootingTools: Experience with cloud diagnostic tools totroubleshoot performance issues latency and failures in cloudbasedapplications.

SoftSkills

Leadership& Collaboration: Strong ability to collaboratewith crossfunctional teams including development operations andbusiness units and provide technical leadership in designing cloudsolutions.

CommunicationSkills: Ability to clearly communicate technical conceptsand cloud strategies to nontechnical stakeholders andexecutives.

ProjectManagement: Ability to manage and drive cloudrelatedprojects from inception through to completion ensuring they aredelivered on time and withinscope.

ProblemSolving: Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills to diagnose andresolve complex cloudrelatedissues.

ContinuousLearning: The cloud computing landscape evolves rapidlyso a Cloud Architect must be proactive about learning new toolsservices andmethodologies.

Certifications(Optional butBeneficial)

AWS CertifiedSolutions ArchitectProfessional

MicrosoftCertified: Azure Solutions ArchitectExpert

GoogleProfessional CloudArchitect

CertifiedKubernetes Administrator(CKA)

Certified CloudSecurity Professional(CCSP)

Key Skills
APIs,Pegasystems,Spring,SOAP,.NET,Hybris,SolutionArchitecture,Service-Oriented Architecture,Adobe ExperienceManager,J2EE,Java,Oracle
Employment Type: Full Time
Experience: years
Vacancy: 1

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