Cloud Architect - Riverside Research Institute

Riverside Overview:Riverside Research is an independent National Security Nonprofit dedicated to research and development in the national interest. We provide high-end technical services, research and development, and prototype solutions to some of the country’s most challenging technical problems.  All Riverside Research opportunities require U.S. Citizenship. Position Overview:

The Riverside Research Software Applications Team (SWAT) is seeking a full-time, highly skilled, and motivated Cloud Architect to join our team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, documenting, and implementing cloud architecture to support internal and external users. This includes ensuring compliance with Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) standards for handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and adherence to company IT and cybersecurity policies. The role requires a strategic thinker with deep technical expertise, a strong understanding of cloud security and compliance, and excellent collaboration skills to work with stakeholders across the organization.

Value-Driven, Results-Focused: The SWAT is an innovative team of experienced software professionals who develop and deploy valuable and desirable software solutions at the speed of relevancy. Our unique offering lies in developing and deploying proof-of-concept prototypes within days or weeks, accelerating time-to-market and creating a competitive advantage. We believe in a culture built on smart work, trust, autonomy, and a healthy work-life balance. Our core values are commitment, growth, and resourcefulness. We use the proven practices of design thinking, rapid prototyping, and agile practices to address market demand and maximize user adoption. Our developers are experienced in a multitude of languages, libraries, frameworks, off-the-shelf products, environments, processes, and policies. Successful members typically have personality traits including proaction, patience, perseverance, and professionalism.

If our mission and work culture resonate with you, we invite you to apply.

Responsibilities:

• Cloud Architecture Design: Develop secure, scalable, and high-performance cloud architectures, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and compliance requirements.
• Compliance Leadership: Ensure systems meet CMMC, NIST 800-171, and NIST 800-53 standards for handling CUI, while aligning with company IT and cybersecurity policies.
• Collaboration: Work closely with stakeholders across IT, cybersecurity, business units, and product development teams to define and implement cloud solutions that meet diverse needs.
• Security and Access Management: Implement secure solutions using advanced IAM (Identity and Access Management), encryption, Zero Trust Architecture, and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• Scalability and High Availability: Design solutions that ensure availability, scalability, and reliability across internal and external users.
• Infrastructure Automation: Leverage Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, and Ansible to streamline deployments and maintain consistency.
• Cost Optimization: Architect systems that balance performance and cost-efficiency, using cloud cost management tools.
• Backup and Disaster Recovery: Establish robust backup and recovery strategies to protect data and ensure business continuity.
• Documentation and Standards: Create comprehensive documentation for cloud architecture, policies, and procedures, while establishing and enforcing cloud governance practices.
• Mentorship: Provide guidance and mentorship to engineering teams to ensure the successful implementation and operation of cloud solutions.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications

• Ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance with SCI adjudication.
• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of experience in cloud architecture or related roles.
• Proven experience designing and managing environments in AWS GovCloud and/or Azure Government.
• Deep knowledge of compliance standards such as CMMC, NIST 800-171, and NIST 800-53.
• Expertise in cloud security best practices and tools for access management, encryption, and secure networking.
• Strong understanding of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform and CloudFormation.
• Experience with automation and scripting using Python, Bash, or PowerShell.
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with advanced cloud networking (e.g., VPC, VPN, load balancing, subnetting).
• Ability to design and implement backup and disaster recovery solutions.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills with a proactive mindset.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to interact effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. 

 

Desired Qualifications

 

• Top Secret clearance with SCI adjudication.
• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Certifications such as:
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
  • Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect
  • CISSP or CCSP (security certifications).
• Experience with multi-cloud or hybrid environments and serverless architectures (e.g., AWS Lambda, Azure Functions).

Global Comp:$142,005-$208,592 This represents the typical compensation range for this position based on experience, location and other factors.Closing Statement: Riverside Research Institute is a not-for-profit, technology-oriented defense company, where service to our customers and support of our staff is our overall mission. Riverside is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring.  Riverside offers comprehensive compensation and benefit packages to our employees.Riverside bases its employment decisions solely on technical experience, qualifications and other job-related criteria related to our organizational purpose as a not-for-profit company, and without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran’s status or any other status legally protected by applicable federal, state, and local law.