[Hiring] Cloud Infrastructure Engineer @DEFCON AI

Role Description

We are seeking an experienced Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to design, deploy, and administer cloud environments with a strong emphasis on virtualization, automation, and security. This role owns the full lifecycle of cloud infrastructure — from virtual machine provisioning and network architecture to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments and continuous monitoring. The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience managing AWS and/or Azure environments, operating container platforms, and translating operational complexity into scalable, secure solutions. Experience working in regulated or compliance-driven industries (e.g., healthcare, defense, finance) is a strong plus.

Key Responsibilities

• Cloud Infrastructure & Virtual Systems Administration
  • Administer and maintain AWS and/or Azure environments, including day-to-day operations of virtual machines, networking, and storage.
  • Manage VPCs, subnets, routing tables, security groups, NACLs, and private networking constructs.
  • Deploy, maintain, and optimize EC2 instances, RDS, S3, IAM, KMS, Secrets Manager, and CloudTrail.
  • Build and manage hardened VM images (AMIs / golden images) for consistent, repeatable deployments.
  • Implement and support high availability, auto-scaling, and disaster recovery configurations.
  • Support multi-account or multi-subscription cloud governance structures (e.g., AWS Organizations, Azure Management Groups).
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  • Design and maintain infrastructure using Terraform, including modular design, remote state management, and workspace strategies.
  • Lead or support migrations from legacy IaC tooling (e.g., CloudFormation) to modern frameworks.
  • Enforce policy-as-code guardrails and maintain version-controlled infrastructure repositories.
  • Build reusable, secure baseline modules for VPC architecture, IAM roles, logging, monitoring, and encryption.
• Virtualization & Containerization
  • Administer virtualized workloads across cloud environments, including sizing, patching, lifecycle management, and cost optimization.
  • Support container-based workloads in ECS and/or EKS, including cluster management, networking, and image security.
  • Assist with transitions from legacy compute paradigms (e.g., EBS-backed instances) to modern container or serverless architectures.
  • Implement automated drift detection and remediation for both VMs and containerized environments.
• Automation & DevSecOps Integration
  • Identify and implement automation opportunities to reduce manual operational overhead and improve team velocity.
  • Integrate infrastructure provisioning and security controls into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or equivalent).
  • Implement and maintain secure secrets management practices.
  • Collaborate with DevSecOps and application engineering teams to enforce least-privilege IAM policies and secure-by-default configurations.
• Security, Compliance & Monitoring
  • Apply and maintain security hardening baselines (CIS Benchmarks, DISA STIGs) for Linux and Windows virtual systems.
  • Configure and monitor AWS CloudTrail, GuardDuty, Security Hub, Config, and centralized logging pipelines.
  • Support SIEM integration (e.g., Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel) and assist with incident response.
  • Maintain vulnerability management lifecycle including patching, remediation tracking, and reporting.
  • Support compliance efforts aligned with relevant frameworks (NIST 800-171, CMMC, HIPAA, SOC 2, or FedRAMP as applicable).
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Documentation
  • Partner with development, security, and IT operations teams to deliver reliable, scalable services.
  • Produce and maintain thorough documentation — architecture diagrams, runbooks, SOPs, and evidence artifacts for audits or assessments.
  • Contribute to budget management, resource planning, and capacity forecasting for cloud environments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in systems administration, cloud operations, or infrastructure engineering.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience managing AWS and/or Azure environments, including virtual machine administration.
• Strong Terraform experience, including modular design and state management; experience leading IaC migrations is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to automate operational workflows and reduce manual effort at scale.
• Strong understanding of IAM, encryption (KMS, TLS), and network segmentation.
• Experience with Linux (RHEL/Amazon Linux) and/or Windows Server in a cloud context.
• Familiarity with containerization technologies (Docker, ECS, EKS, or Kubernetes).
• Solid understanding of CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Multi-cloud experience spanning AWS and Azure.
• Experience in regulated industries such as healthcare (HIPAA), defense (CMMC/NIST 800-171), or financial services (SOC 2).
• AWS certifications (Solutions Architect, SysOps Administrator, Security Specialty) or Azure equivalents.
• CompTIA Security+ or equivalent security certification.
• Experience with AWS Control Tower, Landing Zones, or equivalent governance tooling.
• Familiarity with SIEM platforms (Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel).
• Experience managing or mentoring distributed technical teams.
• PMP, CSM, or similar project/program management certification.
• Active DoD security clearance (Secret or above) or ability to obtain and maintain one.

Core Competencies

• Infrastructure Ownership: takes end-to-end accountability for cloud environment health, security, and performance.
• Automation Mindset: proactively identifies manual processes and replaces them with scalable, repeatable solutions.
• Security-First Thinking: embeds security practices into every layer of infrastructure design and operations.
• Cross-Functional Communication: translates technical complexity for business and compliance stakeholders.
• Disciplined Documentation: produces clear, audit-ready artifacts without being asked.
• Adaptability: comfortable operating across cloud providers, toolchains, and evolving compliance landscapes.

What Success Looks Like

• Cloud environments (AWS/Azure + EKS) are stable, secure, observable, and documented.
• Infrastructure changes are repeatable through IaC with clear review and rollback paths.
• Monitoring/logging and vulnerability remediation are routine—not scramble-driven.
• Audit support artifacts (diagrams/runbooks/evidence) are kept current and usable.

Benefits

• A fully remote, results-based environment.
• Competitive salary, bonus, and equity package.
• 100% employer paid, comprehensive health insurance including medical, dental, and vision for you and your family.
• Unlimited PTO, with your manager’s approval.
• Flexible work environment where you manage your work day.
• 14 weeks of fully-paid parental leave.

Salary Range

$140,000-$180,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience, skills, and other factors.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We’re an Equal Opportunity Employer: You’ll receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability.