Lead Cloud Engineer (Security / SRE)

Ignite IT is seeking a Lead Cloud Engineer (Security / SRE) to support the U.S. Census Bureau as it modernizes its enterprise IT environment ahead of the 2030 Decennial Census. This is a hands-on role for a strong cloud engineer or site reliability engineer with a security mindset. You'll build, run, and secure cloud infrastructure in a hybrid environment built on AWS GovCloud, and help make sure it is reliable and secure at national scale. We're looking for someone who has implemented and operated real cloud environments and knows how to configure them securely: identity and access, network controls, encryption, logging, and the security tooling that watches over all of it. The work combines evaluating how the current environment is built and configured with hands-on engineering to close the gaps, and you'll serve as a technical lead for the engineers around you. Your Responsibilities Build, operate, and improve secure cloud infrastructure in AWS, and Azure where applicable, with a focus on reliability, automation, and securityConfigure cloud services securely by default, including least-privilege IAM, network segmentation, encryption and key management, and centralized logging and monitoringDeploy, tune, and act on cloud security tooling, and turn findings into fixesEvaluate how existing cloud and on-premises infrastructure is built and configured, identify gaps, misconfigurations, and technical debt, and engineer or recommend fixesAutomate infrastructure, configuration, and remediation using infrastructure as code and scripting so environments are consistent and stay secure over timeImplement guardrails and automated checks that catch misconfigurations before or soon after they reach productionImprove monitoring, alerting, and incident response so issues are detected and resolved quicklySupport security in deployment pipelines and container platforms where applicableTroubleshoot complex infrastructure and security issues across cloud and on-premises environmentsServe as technical lead: review designs and code, mentor engineers, and explain tradeoffs and recommendations to engineers and leadership Requirements U.S. Citizenship required8+ years of hands-on experience in site reliability engineering, cloud engineering, cloud infrastructure engineering, or cloud security engineering, including technical leadershipStrong hands-on experience implementing and operating production infrastructure in AWS, with a track record of delivered projects. AWS GovCloud experience is a plusA security mindset: practical experience configuring AWS services securely, including IAM, network controls (VPCs, security groups, network ACLs), encryption with KMS, and logging with CloudTrail and CloudWatchHands-on experience with AWS security services, such as GuardDuty, Security Hub, AWS Config, or Inspector, including acting on their findingsExperience automating AWS infrastructure and operations through infrastructure as code (such as Terraform or CloudFormation) and scriptingAbility to evaluate existing AWS and hybrid environments and turn findings into practical fixes and clear recommendationsStrong communication skills, with experience leading technical discussions with engineers and leadership Preferred Qualifications Production infrastructure as code experience with Terraform, CloudFormation, or Ansible, including reusable modules and code reviewExperience hardening systems against CIS Benchmarks or DISA STIGsContainer and Kubernetes experienceExperience with CI/CD pipelines in GitLab or GitHubExperience with AWS GovCloud environmentsExperience across more than one cloud platformDirect federal, government, or large distributed enterprise experienceHybrid position based out of the Washington, DC areaLarge-scale, mission-driven work supporting the 2030 Decennial CensusModern hybrid cloud environment built on AWS GovCloud Benefits 401(k)401(k) matchingDental insuranceFlexible spending accountHealth insuranceLife insurancePaid time offProfessional development assistanceReferral programTuition reimbursementVision insurance