Cloud Infrastructure Specialist

Company Overview

Riverside Research is a dedicated National Security Nonprofit focused on research and development that serves the national interest. We provide advanced technical services, research initiatives, and prototype solutions to tackle some of the most complex technical challenges faced by the country. All opportunities at Riverside Research require U.S. Citizenship.

Position Overview

The Riverside Research Software Applications Team (SWAT) is in search of a full-time, highly skilled, and motivated Cloud Systems Administrator. The selected candidate will be tasked with overseeing and maintaining cloud infrastructure on Amazon GovCloud, ensuring the high availability, security, and performance of our applications. This role is suited for a proactive and detail-oriented individual with a robust background in cloud computing and system administration.

The SWAT team is comprised of innovative software professionals who create and deploy valuable software solutions rapidly. Our mission is to collaborate with clients to identify and address their challenges through transparent communication, creative ideation, and experienced prototyping and deployment. We foster a culture built on smart work, trust, autonomy, and a healthy work-life balance. Our core values include commitment, growth, and resourcefulness. We utilize proven practices such as design thinking, rapid prototyping, and agile methodologies to meet market demands and enhance user adoption. Successful team members typically exhibit traits such as proactivity, patience, perseverance, and professionalism.

Key Responsibilities

• Cloud Infrastructure Management: Configure, manage, and optimize the Amazon GovCloud environment to ensure peak performance and reliability.
• Monitoring and Maintenance: Continuously oversee cloud systems for performance, security, and availability, performing regular maintenance tasks and updates.
• Security and Compliance: Implement and manage security protocols to safeguard data and applications in the cloud, ensuring adherence to relevant regulations and policies.
• Backup and Recovery: Develop and manage backup and disaster recovery strategies to maintain data integrity and availability.
• Automation and Scripting: Automate repetitive tasks and processes using scripting languages and infrastructure-as-code tools to enhance efficiency and minimize manual intervention.
• Cost Management: Monitor and optimize cloud resource utilization to effectively manage costs.
• Support and Troubleshooting: Provide technical support to the development team and resolve issues related to cloud services, including incident management and root cause analysis.
• Documentation: Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for configurations, processes, and procedures.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance with SCI adjudication.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 3-5 years of experience in cloud system administration.
• Proven experience managing environments on Amazon Web Services (AWS), particularly Amazon GovCloud.
• Strong understanding of cloud security best practices and compliance requirements.
• Proficiency in cloud platforms, especially AWS.
• Expertise in automation tools and scripting languages (e.g., Python, Bash, PowerShell).
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and configuration management tools (Ansible, Chef, Puppet).
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation).
• Knowledge of monitoring and performance optimization tools.
• Understanding of backup and disaster recovery solutions.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration abilities.
• Detail-oriented with a proactive approach to managing cloud environments.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Desired Qualifications:

• Top Secret clearance with SCI adjudication.
• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Advanced knowledge of multi-cloud environments, serverless architecture (AWS Lambda, Azure Functions), and advanced networking concepts (VPC, VPN, subnetting).
• Experience with cloud databases (Amazon RDS, DynamoDB) and application performance management tools (New Relic, AppDynamics).
• Knowledge of compliance standards, cloud cost management tools, and security best practices.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with proficiency in collaboration tools (Microsoft Teams) and the ability to mentor junior team members.

Compensation

$78,000 - $120,000. This range represents the typical compensation for this position based on experience, location, and other factors.

Closing Statement

Riverside Research Institute is a not-for-profit, technology-oriented defense organization, where our mission is to serve our customers and support our staff. Riverside is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring. Riverside offers comprehensive compensation and benefit packages to our employees, basing employment decisions solely on technical experience, qualifications, and other job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran's status, or any other status legally protected by applicable law.