Principal Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Summary

Join Nerdery as a Principal Cloud Infrastructure Engineer and become a senior technical leader shaping how we and our clients leverage Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Lead the design, development, and management of secure, scalable, and cutting-edge GCP solutions, acting as the primary technical authority on projects. Guide clients, mentor engineers, resolve technical challenges, manage escalations, and establish best practices. Set technical standards, define Nerdery's approach to GCP technologies, and ensure our cloud capabilities drive client success. This is a key leadership opportunity within a growing team where you'll help define our path forward in GCP and work alongside passionate, highly skilled engineers. The role requires deep GCP infrastructure expertise combined with strong consulting acumen and communication skills.

Requirements

• 8+ years of hands-on cloud engineering experience, with significant focus on GCP
• 5+ years in a Principal/Lead Cloud Infrastructure Engineer or Architect role, preferably within a consulting or client-facing environment
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams or projects
• Undergraduate or graduate degree in a computer-related field OR a thorough demonstration of relevant technical skills
• Deep, hands-on experience across core GCP services (Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, VPC Networking, Load Balancing, IAM, Cloud Logging/Monitoring)
• Proven expertise designing, implementing, managing, and creating reusable assets with Terraform
• Ability to design, implement, and secure complex cloud networks. Understanding of GCP security best practices, IAM, network security controls, encryption, and familiarity with compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC2, HIPAA)
• Strong foundation in DevOps principles, CI/CD pipeline development (e.g., Cloud Build, GitLab CI), and automation scripting (e.g., Bash, Python)
• Exceptional communication skills (written/verbal) with proven ability to lead technical discovery, advise clients, present to executive audiences, negotiate technical decisions, and build trusted relationships
• Strong analytical skills, ability to architect creative solutions, make sound technical judgments under pressure, mentor engineers, and lead technical teams effectively
• Understanding of how to architect robust GCP infrastructure to support common data and AI workloads and services (e.g., Vertex AI, BigQuery, Dataflow, Pub/Sub), collaborating with data specialists
• Ability to evaluate technologies, define technical standards, and contribute to the practice's technical strategy
• A passion for technology and a demonstrated desire to continuously learn and stay current with the rapidly evolving cloud landscape
• Must be legally authorized to work within the country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and hands-on implementation of complex, scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud infrastructure solutions on GCP
• Serve as the lead technical decision-maker on projects, aligning technical approaches and ensuring architectural integrity
• Architect and standardize resilient GCP foundations, encompassing secure and efficient network designs (VPC, Load Balancing, Cloud DNS) and comprehensive observability strategies (Monitoring, Logging, Alerting) to ensure system health and performance
• Champion and implement DevOps and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles using Terraform, driving automation and building reusable infrastructure assets
• Establish and maintain technical standards, patterns, and preferred practices for GCP infrastructure within Nerdery
• Evaluate GCP services and related technologies, forming and documenting Nerdery's technical viewpoints and recommendations
• Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to diverse audiences, including client technical teams, business stakeholders, and executives
• Lead client workshops to define technical requirements, architect solutions, and establish project roadmaps
• Define and implement robust disaster recovery, business continuity, and security strategies on GCP (IAM, encryption, compliance)
• Mentor and guide cloud engineers (internal and client-side), fostering technical excellence and a culture of continuous learning
• Stay current with GCP advancements and industry trends, driving innovation within the practice

Preferred Qualifications

• GCP Professional Cloud Architect certification is strongly preferred
• Strong communication skills: Able to effectively explain technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders
• Process improvement: Experienced in identifying process pain-points and taking ownership of refining processes to completion
• Collaborative Problem Solver: Able to take initiative to understand a problem and make critical decisions to solve for next actionable steps
• Client interaction: Comfortable interacting with clients, understanding their needs and translating them into actionable solutions
• Risk assessment and communication: Proven ability to clearly communicate the risks, complexity, and timeline impacts of newly added product features or scope