[Hiring] Senior Cloud Architect @Robots and Pencils

Role Description

We’re looking for a Senior Cloud Architect to contribute to the design and delivery of complex, multi-domain systems spanning cloud, data, and AI. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer growing into architectural ownership — someone who enjoys hands-on development, contributes to system design decisions, and is ready to take on larger pieces of the architecture.

In this role, you will work as a delivery-embedded contributor on a cross-functional team, helping shape architecture across cloud infrastructure, data platforms, and AI/ML workloads. You’ll collaborate closely with senior architects, engineers, and product partners to deliver solutions that are scalable, secure, and maintainable, and develop the technical instincts that come from shipping things that matter.

What You’ll Do

• Craft & Delivery
  • Contribute to architectural design across cloud, data, and AI/ML systems, taking ownership of meaningful components
  • Build and integrate cloud-native solutions including microservices, serverless, and containerized workloads
  • Implement infrastructure as code and CI/CD pipelines
  • Design and contribute to data architectures including pipelines, warehouses, and modeling
  • Support AI/ML system design, including model serving, MLOps pipelines, and integration of LLM-based capabilities
  • Implement monitoring, logging, and observability across deployed systems
  • Bring an AI-forward mindset to your daily work, using tools like Claude, Cursor, and other modern AI assistants to ship higher-quality work at pace
• Collaboration & Communication
  • Collaborate with engineers, data, AI, and product teams to translate requirements into sound technical solutions
  • Communicate technical tradeoffs and design decisions clearly across functions
  • Maintain architecture documentation that supports reproducibility, onboarding, and shared understanding
  • Participate actively in design reviews, raising concerns and offering constructive feedback
• Leadership & Influence
  • Take ownership of system components end-to-end with growing scope of architectural responsibility
  • Contribute to architectural standards and best practices that lift the quality of work across the team
  • Begin mentoring more junior engineers, sharing knowledge and supporting their growth

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with hands-on exposure to architectural decision-making
• Strong software engineering background, with proficiency in Python and at least one other language commonly used in modern stacks (e.g., Java, Scala, TypeScript)
• Working knowledge of cloud platforms and cloud-native architectures
• Hands-on experience with microservices, serverless, containerization, and event-driven systems
• Experience with infrastructure as code and CI/CD pipelines
• Working knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases, plus data pipelines and ETL/ELT concepts
• Familiarity with AI/ML system design, including model deployment, MLOps, and LLM integration
• Awareness of networking, security, identity, and access management fundamentals in cloud environments
• Understanding of security, compliance, and observability fundamentals (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2)
• Demonstrable, day-to-day usage of AI-forward tools such as Claude and Cursor
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate ambiguous technical challenges with sound judgment

Helpful Extras and Unique Skills

• A doer who sees something broken and fixes it
• A fast learner who embraces the ever-changing AI landscape
• Direct in a way that improves work quality
• Obsessed with craft and detail
• Built for ownership, honoring commitments and supporting teammates
• All in, treating clients' businesses like your own
• Resourceful when faced with constraints
• Glad to collaborate with passionate team members