Principal Engineer Cloud Automation and Standards

Job Summary

The Principal Engineer provides technical leadership for delivering standardized, compliant, and scalable infrastructure foundations (IaaS) through automation, operating as a predictable internal service provider. This role owns infrastructure standards and configurations, base images, capacity and quota management, lifecycle and patching execution, and integration with foundational services such as network, DNS/Infoblox, storage (NetApp), and identity. The Principal Engineer establishes and enforces infrastructure-as-code standards, image factory and lifecycle automation, and cloud-native quota/capacity modeling to ensure repeatable provisioning and operational rigor. Operating within guardrails that prohibit bespoke builds, the role drives an automation-first mindset and implements controls that prevent manual variance so all consumption flows through approved patterns defined by Architecture and Engineering.

Core Responsibilities 

• Own and evolve standardized infrastructure foundation patterns, configurations, and base images for Windows and Linux platforms. 

• Build and operate an automation-first provisioning model, ensuring all consumption flows through approved patterns and engineering-defined pipelines (no bespoke/manual builds). 

• Define and enforce infrastructure-as-code standards, modules, and guardrails to enable repeatable, compliant deployments at scale. 

• Design and run an “image factory” capability, including automated build, validation, hardening, versioning, and publishing of golden images. 

• Lead patching, lifecycle, and baseline compliance for foundational infrastructure services, with measurable SLAs/SLOs and audit-ready evidence. 

• Own capacity management and cloud-native quota modeling (forecasting, trend analysis, thresholds, and lifecycle plans) to ensure predictable supply. 

• Engineer and maintain network and name services integration, including DNS and Infoblox, ensuring secure and resilient connectivity patterns. 

• Integrate and operate storage foundations (e.g., NetApp), including standard configurations, access patterns, and lifecycle controls. 

• Implement identity integration and access patterns that align with enterprise security requirements and platform standards. 

• Establish controls to eliminate manual variance (policy/validation checks, automated drift detection, and remediation workflows). 

• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues across compute, network, storage, and identity; drive root-cause analysis and continuous improvement through operational rigor. 

• Apply standards across Azure, GCP, AWS and OCI 

Additional Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience); advanced degree preferred. 

• Senior-level experience in infrastructure engineering or solution architecture, with strong emphasis on standardized IaaS foundations and automation in Azure, GCP, AWS and OCI (or comparable cloud environments). 

• Strong Windows and Linux administration skills, including patching, baseline hardening, and lifecycle management. 

• Demonstrated expertise with core infrastructure services: networking, SSL, DNS, and Infoblox (or equivalent IPAM/DNS tooling). 

• Experience with enterprise storage platforms (e.g., NetApp) and standardized storage/access patterns. 

• Proven ability to integrate identity and access patterns with enterprise directory and security standards. 

• Hands-on experience building automation and IaC standards (e.g., Terraform/Bicep/ARM), including reusable modules, guardrails, and policy-based controls. 

• Experience implementing image factory pipelines (build, validation, publishing) and controls that prevent manual variance/drift in builds. 

• Strong operational rigor: incident/problem management, root-cause analysis, documentation, and measurable service outcomes (SLA/SLO). 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence stakeholders and align engineering teams to approved patterns and guardrails. 

Years of experience required

Minimum of 8 years of Cloud Engineering experience