Senior Cloud engineer

About the RoleWe are looking for a Cloud engineer to architect, build, and maintain secure, scalable, and resilient cloud platforms while driving excellence in cloud infrastructure, DevOps practices, and platform reliability. You will design innovative cloud solutions, implement Infrastructure-as-Code, and provide hands-on support across both production and development environments. In this role, you will mentor and lead junior and intermediate engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration and technical growth, while effectively communicating with both technical teams and business stakeholders to deliver impactful solutions.Key Responsibilities Cloud Architecture & EngineeringDesign and build distributed cloud systems across AWS, Azure, and hybrid environmentsArchitect resilient, scalable, highly available cloud-native platformsImplement and manage container platforms (Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift, EKS, AKS, GKE, ODF)Work with Operator Framework to develop and manage Kubernetes/OpenShift operatorsSupport provisioning, orchestration, automation, and infrastructure scalingIntegrate Linux systems with authentication and directory servicesConfigure and manage enterprise storage systems across cloud and on-prem environments Infrastructure Automation & DevOpsDesign and maintain Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, ARM, Pulumi)Develop automation scripts for provisioning, configuration, and deploymentImplement CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or JenkinsMaintain software repositories and automate software update processesBuild and deploy serverless architectures and containerized workloads Reliability, Monitoring & SecurityImplement observability using Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch, X-Ray, ELK/EFK, or DatadogMonitor system health through automated and manual processesLead disaster recovery, backup, and replication strategiesEnsure compliance with NIST, CIS benchmarks, and Zero Trust principlesTroubleshoot OS-level and application-level issues across Linux and container platformsApply cloud security best practices including IAM governance, network security, and encryption Collaboration, Leadership & Stakeholder EngagementWork closely with customers and internal teams to understand requirements and deliver solutionsSet clear expectations and communicate effectively with stakeholdersMentor junior and intermediate engineersDrive improvements, promote DevOps culture, and support change managementRepresent the infrastructure team in cross-functional initiatives and escalations Your ExpertiseCore Technical Skills5+ years hands-on cloud/platform engineering experienceStrong experience with Linux systems (RHEL, Ubuntu, CentOS)Expertise in containerization (Docker, Podman, Containerd, CRI-O)Expertise in container orchestration (Kubernetes, OpenShift, EKS, AKS, GKE)Experience with cloud provider services (AWS, Azure, or GCP)Strong background in monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, CloudWatch, X-Ray, Datadog)Skilled in Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Pulumi)Ability to troubleshoot Linux performance, networking, SELinux, permissions, and storage issuesProficient in backup, replication, and disaster recovery strategy implementationHighly Desirable & In-Demand SkillsExperience with service meshes (Istio, Linkerd)Knowledge of SRE principles (SLAs, SLOs, error budgets)Understanding of Zero Trust security and cloud security posture management (CSPM)Familiarity with API gateways and ingress controllers (NGINX, Kong, Traefik)GitOps experience (ArgoCD, Flux)Multi-cloud or hybrid cloud architecture experienceStorage technologies (block, object, distributed storage)Programming/automation in Python, Go, or BashExposure to event-driven architectures and message brokers (Kafka, RabbitMQ) Education: Bachelor’s degree, diploma, or higher certificate in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related fieldOR equivalent hands-on cloud engineering experiencePreferred Certifications (Beneficial but not compulsory): Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA)Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift AdministrationAWS Certified Solutions Architect / AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Azure Administrator Associate / Solutions Architect CKA, CKAD, CKS (Kubernetes certifications)  Additional InformationContract Duration: 12 Months (with possibility of renewal)Salary: NegotiableLocation Options: Johannesburg / Cape Town / RemoteMust be located in South Africa or have a valid work permit for South Africa