Cloud Architect (Remote, AWS)

About the Company

Are you ready to take your career to the next level? At Blue Ridge, we're a fantastic SaaS company specializing in supply chain planning. We focus on demand planning, replenishment, and integrated business planning solutions. With over 220 clients around the globe—primarily in the US and Norway—we're growing rapidly at over 20% annually!

Now, we’re excited to open a new R&D office in the EU and are looking for a talented Cloud Architect (Systems Architect)  to join us as the first team member in this region. If you’re eager to work with cutting-edge technology and tackle complex challenges, this could be the perfect opportunity for you!

About the Role

As a Cloud Architect, you’ll play a key role in advancing our technology. Currently, our platform uses .NET, C#, and traditional databases, but we’re actively prototyping with Amazon EMR and Databricks to tackle data growth and increase scalability by an impressive 16-20 times! You’ll have the chance to work on both legacy systems and cutting-edge cloud platforms, really shaping the future of our supply chain solutions.

Position Details:

• Role: Cloud Architect
• Location: Remote (We’re looking for candidates in Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Georgia, or Serbia only)
• Employment: Service Agreement (B2B contract; you’ll need a legal entity to sign)
• Start Date: November, 2024
• Salary: from $7,000 USD per month GROSS (fixed income, paid via SWIFT)
• Working Hours: 11 AM to 7 PM local time
• Time Overlaps: Expect meetings with teams in GMT-5 and GMT+5:30; occasionally, you’ll chat with the CTO in GMT-8.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Design & Scale: Create cloud-native solutions to enhance scalability using tools like Amazon EMR, Databricks, and other big data technologies.
• Governance: Develop best practices for cloud architecture, security, and infrastructure management.
• Mentorship: Lead and mentor a team of engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration and growth.
• Collaboration: Work closely with global teams to drive innovation in supply chain technology.
• Modernization: Help transition legacy systems to a modern tech stack that includes .NET, C#, and various databases.

What We’re Looking For

• Education: A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Experience: 10+ years in cloud architecture, with deep expertise in AWS (a must!), and familiarity with GCP or Azure. You’ve also led teams and provided architectural guidance.
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery: You know how to design and implement multi-region deployments, failover strategies, and disaster recovery plans.
• AWS Mastery: Well-versed in AWS architecture, services, networking, and security (think IAM, VPC, EKS, ALB).
• Cloud Security: A solid understanding of cloud security frameworks (like NIST, CIS) and tools like IAM policiesand VPC configurations.
• Containerization & Orchestration: Advanced skills in Docker and Kubernetes (both managed services and self-managed clusters).
• Big Data Expertise: Hands-on experience with Apache Spark, Apache Kafka, and distributed data systems.
• Databricks Expertise: Strong experience with Databricks is a must! Comfort with using this tool to handle big data challenges effectively.
• Data Processing Technologies: Experience with ETL, SQL, PySpark, Airflow, and data lakes is fantastic!
• CI/CD & IaC: Experienced with Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, and CI/CD pipelines like GitHub Actions, AWS CodePipeline, and Jenkins.
• Cloud Networking: Proficient in cloud networking, including VPC peering, DNS management, load balancing, and security.
• Coding Skills: Basic Python skills (advanced is a plus)

Highly Desired Skills:

Cloud Certifications: AWS, GCP, or Azure certifications (like AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional, GCP Professional Cloud Architect) are a big plus. Specifically, AWS certifications that could help you succeed in this position include:

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate or Professional
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional
• AWS Certified Big Data - Specialty

Other Requirements:

• Remote Work: You can work remotely while maintaining a high level of productivity.
• Time Zone Overlaps: Comfortable meeting during time zone overlaps with teams in GMT-5 and GMT+5:30, plus occasional meetings with the CEO in GMT-8.
• Legal Entity: You need a legal entity to sign the B2B contract.

Why Join Us?

• Innovative Projects: Work with cutting-edge cloud and big data technologies like Databricks and Amazon EMR to solve complex scaling challenges.
• Global Team: Collaborate with a diverse team across the US, India, and Europe on meaningful projects that drive real-world solutions.
• Career Growth: This role offers fantastic opportunities for leadership development, with the potential to transition into a management position within 1 to 1.5 years.

Recruitment Process

1. Initial Interview: up to 60 minutes with HR, including a self-assessment form.
2. CTO Interview: up to 60 minutes (Focus on your technical experience, accomplishments, and career goals)
3. Test Assignment: 60-90 minutes on the iMocha platform (covering knowledge/skillset that a Cloud Engineer would use day-to-day, like Terraform, CI/CD Principles, Capacity/Performance Management principles). Note: If you hold a valid AWS Associate, Professional, or Specialty certification, this test assignment can be skipped.
4. Technical Interviews: Senior Director of Engineering: up to 60 minutes  (focus on hard skills)
5. Managerial Interview: VP of Engineering: 45-60 minutes (Discuss work schedules, platform functionality, company goals, and vision).
6. Optional final sync with CTO (pre-offer discussion).

(All calls and meetings will be conducted via MS Teams)

Got Questions or Interested? Let’s Connect!

If this role feels like the perfect fit for you or if you have any questions, let’s schedule an exploratory call this week. We’d love to chat about how your skills align with this exciting opportunity!