Cloud Architect – IN Job Code IND-45274P4 FLSA Status Non-Exempt Work Location IND Function Technical Support Career Level Code P4 Career Level Professional Advanced H1-B Qualified Job Level 11 Individual Contributor Job Profile Summary The Cloud Architect is a key element within the Rackspace support infrastructure and is expected to provide department, company and industry management and implementation into solutions. The Architect is expected to take initiative and advise on potential pitfalls that may encounter on large scale multi-platform infrastructure across all customers. Addresses specific customer needs through leveraging new and existing feature sets, products, and technologies. Evaluates, documents solutions and trains Cloud Engineering and support staff to ensure supportability of customer environments. Serves as the last stop in the Rackspace support group for technical escalation and issue resolution of the most complex problems. Architects own escalations to ensure resolution and are leveraged as a Subject Matter Expert for input on new product selection and implementation into the support structure. The Architect will also partner with vendors to analyze escalated requests for assistance, using this data to identify training opportunities that elevate the level of technical expertise and drive positive customer outcomes. Responsible for adhering to company security policies and procedures and any other relevant policies and standards as directed. Career Level Summary • Requires specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise in own job discipline or field • Leads others to solve complex problems • Works independently, with guidance in only the most complex situations • May provide functional leadership to teams or projects Critical Competencies • Systems Thinking: Provides guidance when evaluating the impacts of a solution to ensure linkages between structure, people, process and technology • Technology Advising/Consulting: Exceeds customers’ expectations by listening for unexpressed needs; connects customer needs to relevant service offerings and new technology Key Responsibilities • Other Incidental tasks related to the job, as necessary. • Technical point of escalation to the Cloud Support and Engineering teams; resolving customer issues, working in collaboration with partners across the business, as required • Create and deliver customer solutions that maintain, deploy, upgrade, and troubleshoot infrastructure solutions • Participate in and define future state end-to-end architectures, platforms, products, tools, and solutions to advance security capabilities • Work closely with customers in the pre-implementation process to design and architect desired customer solutions which require products which may not currently be in the supported product portfolio. • Research, plan and coordinate complex maintenance activities • Lead analysis effort to support and drive Root Cause Analysis (RCA) exercises to drive process & technology improvements related to systems support products. • Review vendor support escalations to identify training opportunities • Collaborate and share knowledge with other administrators and engineers via wiki articles and training presentations • Contribute to the development of technical best practices for administrative responsibilities • Prepare and review defined policy and process standards • Own assigned account specific complex projects and act as an informal project lead to work with stakeholders • Actively engage partners and vendors to understand vendor products, proof of concept implementations, and guide successful onboarding and integration of new Cloud technologies • Coach, mentor and assists Rackers across the business • Collaborate with Account Managers and Business Development Consultants to build strong customer relationships • Collaborate and share knowledge with the Cloud support floor Knowledge • Advanced knowledge of Cloud Platform Products such as AWS, Azure, GCP, or Openstack • Advanced skills in at least one of the following languages: Node.js, Python, PHP, Ruby, and Java • Advanced skills with git and git workflows • Advanced skills in leveraging CI and CD tools to automate testing and deployment • Advanced knowledge of Linux or Windows OS, including but not limited to: Server Failover Clustering, Active Directory, IIS • Broad knowledge of the following with deep knowledge of some: PHP, Python, Ruby, Javascript, Memcached, LAMP, nginx, node.js, nosql, Varnish • Advanced web programming and scripting ability • Advanced knowledge of designing, building, implementing, analyzing, and troubleshooting distributed, highly available systems • Advanced automation skills with at least one configuration management system such as Chef, Puppet, Ansible, Salt, or other such tools • Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies including code profiling, regression testing, and continuous integration • Advanced knowledge of Project Management methodologies • Advanced understanding of services and protocols, configuration, management, and troubleshooting of hosting environments, including web servers, databases, caching, and database services • Advanced knowledge in the application of current and emerging network software and hardware technology and protocols • VMWare Platform • Advanced knowledge of the vSphere platform • Strong networking and NSX administration skills • Strong working knowledge of fibre channel SANS, NFS and vSAN • Strong knowledge of vROPS/vRLI • Strong working knowledge of HP/DELL Server hardware platforms • Strong knowledge/troubleshooting of Disaster Recovery technologies (e.g. ZERTO, SRM) • Hyper-V Platform • Advanced knowledge of the Hyper-V platform • Strong networking skills • Strong working knowledge of fibre channel SANS, NFS, vSAN, DAS, SMB, and Storage Spaces Direct • Strong knowledge of vROPS • Strong working knowledge of HP/DELL Server hardware platforms • Strong knowledge/troubleshooting of Disaster Recovery technologies (e.g. Hyper-V Replication) • Requires specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise in own job discipline or field • Interprets internal/external business challenges and recommends best practices to improve products, processes or services Skills • Passionate about technology and has a desire to constantly expand technical knowledge • Detail-oriented in documenting information and able to own customer issues through resolution • Able to handle multiple tasks and prioritize work under pressure • Demonstrate sound problem-solving skills coupled with a desire to take on responsibility • Strong written and verbal communication skills, both highly technical and non-technical • Ability to communicate technical issues to nontechnical and technical audiences • Fluency in multiple languages is a plus Education • Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related technical field • At the Manager’s discretion, 4 years of additional related experience may substitute for the degree requirement; if substitution allowed, regional equivalent to High School Diploma is required Certifications • Requires 3+ Azure Certifications for Azure Specialists • Requires AWS Master Status and AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional level certification OR AWS DevOps certification for AWS Specialists • Requires 3 Microsoft Certifications for Hyper-V Specialists: Azure Fundamentals, Software Defined Storage, Software Defined Networking • Requires VCP-DCV Certification for VMware Specialists • Prefer relevant technical certifications around Red Hat, MySQL, CCIA, CCEE, CCEA, CCA, MCSE/MCITP, MCSA, VCP-DCV, vRealize Operations, NXS and/or vSAN badge certifications Experience • 8 – 11 years of technical engineering and administration experience with a minimum of 5 – 6 years commercial experience as either a LAMP stack software developer and/or systems engineer • 3 years of current commercial experience as a Cloud Engineer working with a high-traffic site • Experience with high-availability, high-performance, open source web technologies • Experience automating and orchestrating workloads across multiple public cloud providers • Experience with cloud platforms, open source databases and caching layers • Experience working in a containerized environment (Docker/LXC) Physical Demands General office environment: no special physical demands required. May require long periods of sitting and viewing a computer monitor. Schedule flexibility to include working weekends and/or evenings and holidays as required by the business for 24/7 operations. Travel Occasional domestic/international travel, less than 50% Disclaimer The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees in this classification. It is not designed to contain or to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of the employee assigned to this job.