Cloud Architect Job at Lifted, an Upwork Company™, Texas City, TX

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  • Lifted, an Upwork Company™
  • Texas City, TX

Job Description



An Enterprise client, a consulting firm specializing in helping organizations transform their operations through AI, data, and cloud technologies, is seeking a highly skilled Cloud Architect to design and implement a secure and scalable Palo Alto Firewall architecture on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This contract role is essential for establishing a robust, automated network infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles. The architect will collaborate with cross-functional engineering and security teams to define requirements, document solutions, and guide deployment efforts across Production and Disaster Recovery environments.

Job Description



Architecture & Design

  • Lead the design of a scalable Palo Alto VM-Series Firewall architecture across both Production and Disaster Recovery (DR) environments on GCP.
  • Develop detailed network and security architecture blueprints, ensuring alignment with cloud governance, compliance frameworks, and best practices.
  • Define automation strategies and tooling approaches using Terraform to support consistent, secure, and repeatable infrastructure provisioning.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

  • Build reusable Terraform modules for Palo Alto firewalls, networking components, and supporting GCP resources.
  • Document module inputs, outputs, dependencies, IAM requirements, and environment-specific configurations.
  • Ensure IaC implementations adhere to versioning, security, and maintainability standards.

Deployment & Advisory

  • Provide technical advisory and validation support throughout deployment and UAT phases.
  • Validate architecture against functional and security requirements, test traffic flows, and ensure seamless integration with monitoring and logging systems.
  • Support troubleshooting related to routing, firewall policies, and cross-environment connectivity.

Documentation & Knowledge Transfer

  • Deliver comprehensive design documentation, reference architecture diagrams, and Terraform artifacts.
  • Prepare implementation guides and operational runbooks to assist internal teams with ongoing maintenance.

• • Conduct knowledge transfer sessions with the client’s engineering teams to ensure smooth adoption and operational continuity.

Qualifications



Deep Technical Expertise

  • Proven experience designing secure and scalable architectures on Google Cloud Platform , including VPCs, IAM, Load Balancers, Service Accounts, routing, and networking components.
  • Hands-on experience implementing and managing Palo Alto Networks VM-Series firewalls or equivalent cloud-based firewalls.
  • Strong understanding of cloud networking, firewall rule configuration, and traffic flow design.

Infrastructure as Code & Automation

  • Recent, hands-on experience with Terraform and Infrastructure as Code methodologies.
  • Ability to create reusable modules, enforce IaC best practices, and document dependencies and design patterns.

Architecture & Governance

  • Skilled in reviewing cloud architectures and identifying bottlenecks or security gaps.
  • Experience designing secure, automated GCP environments aligned with governance or compliance frameworks.

Communication & Leadership

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience presenting complex technical concepts to engineering, security, and leadership teams.
  • Strong documentation skills, including creating architecture diagrams, runbooks, and implementation guides.

Additional Information

  • Eight weeks project!
  • 100% remote opportunity!

Job Tags

Contract work, Remote work,

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