Cloud Architect

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly experienced Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) SME / Lead Contractor to guide our enterprise engineering teams through a strategic migration from Tanzu PCF to GKE. This role will serve as the primary technical expert—defining standards, creating best practices, and providing hands-on support throughout the migration lifecycle.

The ideal candidate brings a blend of deep Kubernetes expertise, hands-on Java Spring Boot and Python experience, and a proven track record leading complex platform migrations in large enterprise environments.

Key Responsibilities

Migration Leadership & Architecture

• Lead the end-to-end migration of applications and APIs from Tanzu PCF to Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
• Define the migration blueprint including cluster architecture, networking, security, and workload patterns
• Partner with engineering teams to evaluate current PCF workloads and design the optimal target state in GKE

Technical Enablement & Best Practices

• Mentor and guide teams on Kubernetes fundamentals, containerization, service mesh, CI/CD, and GCP-native services
• Create templates, reusable components, and standardized deployment patterns for GKE
• Conduct technical workshops, training sessions, and architecture review forums

Hands-On Development & Troubleshooting

• Provide hands-on support in refactoring Java Spring Boot and Python applications for Kubernetes
• Optimize container builds, resource usage, autoscaling, and observability
• Troubleshoot platform, networking, and service-level issues in GKE clusters
• Work closely with DevOps and Cloud Engineering to integrate pipelines and IaC

Operational Excellence

• Establish logging, monitoring, and alerting best practices (Cloud Monitoring, Logging, Prometheus, etc.)
• Implement secure configuration practices including Workload Identity, RBAC, PSP replacements, and ingress controls
• Partner with InfoSec, Networking, and Infrastructure teams on governance and compliance requirements

Required Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of experience in cloud-native development, DevOps, or platform engineering
• Extensive experience with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE):
  • Cluster creation, node pools, autoscaling strategies
  • VPC, subnetting, Ingress/Gateway, load balancing architecture
  • Security controls: Workload Identity, RBAC, Network Policies, Secrets mgmt
  • Observability stack (Cloud Ops, Prometheus, Grafana)
• Strong hands-on experience with:
  • Java Spring Boot (microservices, config mgmt, API development)
  • Python for automation, scripting, or app refactoring
• Proven success migrating apps from Tanzu PCF, Heroku, or similar PaaS to Kubernetes
• Deep understanding of CI/CD tools (GitHub, Jenkins, Cloud Build, ArgoCD, etc.)
• Strong communication skills—able to influence, mentor, and simplify complex concepts

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience leading large-scale cloud migrations in healthcare, regulated environments, or Fortune 50 companies
• GCP Certifications (GKE, PCA, PCSE)
• Experience with Terraform or IaC frameworks
• Familiarity with service mesh tools (Istio, Anthos Service Mesh)
• Experience uplifting teams through structured training programs