Cloud Architect (Senior)

Peraton is seeking a Cloud Architect (Senior) to support the MODES III program supporting Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP). In this role, the selected candidate will provide enterprise cloud architecture leadership for the program IT, Cybersecurity, and Data Operations; design secure, scalable AWS GovCloud architectures, lead cloud engineering strategy, and ensure alignment with program objectives, QMP/PRS, and RMF/ATO requirements. This position is remote and requires an active Secret clearance. 

JOB DESCRIPTION 

• Provide enterprise cloud architecture leadership for MODES III IT, Cybersecurity, and Data Operations; design secure, scalable AWS GovCloud architectures, lead cloud engineering strategy, and ensure alignment with program objectives, quality management plan/program performance standards, and RMF/ATO requirements. 
• Architect secure multi TENANT IL2/IL4/IL5 cloud enclaves in AWS GovCloud: design VPCs, network segmentation, KMS/CMK encryption, IAM/least privilege, logging, and Zero Trust controls to meet DoD CC SRG and STIG/SRG requirements. 
• Lead cloud migration and modernization: translate application portfolios into migration plans, design containerization and microservices patterns (EKS), IaC templates (Terraform/CloudFormation), and phased cutover/runbooks to minimize downtime and meet RTO/RPO targets. 
• Define cloud operations & resilience: design backup/DR/COOP strategies, immutable backups, automated recovery orchestration, and capacity/scaling policies; validate through exercises and document in runbooks. 
• Integrate security & RMF into CI/CD pipelines: embed SAST/DAST, automated hardening, vulnerability management, ACAS outputs, and eMASS/RMF artifact submission workflows into development and release processes. 
• Implement observability & cost governance: design telemetry, logging (CloudWatch/Splunk/ELK) and metrics for dashboards; implement cost tagging, rightsizing, and savings automation to meet cost optimization KPIs. 
• Lead cross functional alignment: coordinate with MODES III O&E, SDEL, CCM, DBAs, and Program Manager to ensure architecture supports analytics, content, API, and helpdesk requirements; serve as architecture reviewer on CCB. 
• Produce architecture artifacts and governance: deliver DoDAF/enterprise architecture diagrams, system roll back plans (program deliverables), security architecture docs, and dashboard data model mappings (program deliverables, program deliverables). 
• Familiar with: Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, EKS/Kubernetes, Helm, Docker, AWS EC2/S3/RDS, VPC design, IAM/KMS, GitLab CI/Jenkins/CodePipeline, ArgoCD/GitOps, Prometheus/Grafana, CloudWatch/CloudTrail, OpenSearch, Trivy/Checkov, Tenable/ACAS, Helm charts, disaster recovery automation, Cost Explorer/Compute Optimizer 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Active Secret clearance required. 
• Experience / Education: 12 years relevant experience with BS/BA degree or 10 yers with MS/MA or 8 years with Phd or 16 years w/o a degree or 14 years with AS.AA
• Certifications: This role requires a demonstration of capability within the Cyberspace IT workforce. Successful applicants must satisfy Foundational Qualification standards via an approved industry certification (e.g., A+ or Network+) or documented equivalent military/educational training as defined in the DoD 8140 Qualification Matrix. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Eligible for Top Secret/SCI clearance. 
• Prior experience working in DoD or Federal government IT environments. 
• AWS certifications (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect, AWS Security Specialty) or equivalent cloud certifications. 
• Experience with cloud-native data pipelines, analytics platforms, or data lake architectures. 
• Familiarity with NIST RMF, ATO processes, and DoD security compliance frameworks. 
• CompTIA Security+ 

Worklocation: remote with the ability to travel to the NCR if required