Lead Cloud Solutions Architect

Why CDM Smith?:

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Join Us! CDM Smith – where amazing career journeys unfold.

Imagine a place committed to offering an unmatched employee experience. Where you work on projects that are meaningful to you. Where you play an active part in shaping your career journey. Where your co-workers are invested in you and your success. Where you are encouraged and supported to do your very best and given the tools and resources to do so. Where it’s a priority that the company takes good care of you and your family.

Our employees are the heart of our company. As an employer of choice, our goal is to provide a challenging, progressive and inclusive work environment which fosters personal leadership, career growth and development for every employee. We value passionate individuals who challenge the norm, deliver world-class solutions and bring diverse perspectives. Join our team, and together we will make a difference and change the world.

Job Description:

The Lead Cloud Solutions Architect serves as the senior client-facing technology leader for the Cloud Solutions team, partnering with business stakeholders to understand strategic objectives, identify technology opportunities, and develop solution strategies that deliver measurable business value. This role leads client engagement, solution discovery, requirements analysis, and implementation planning for complex cloud, application, and technology initiatives.

The Lead Cloud Solutions Architect provides leadership throughout the solution lifecycle, guiding engagements from initial concept through deployment and operational transition. Working closely with business partners, vendors, delivery teams, and the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE), this role ensures solutions align with business needs, leverage approved platform capabilities, and are delivered successfully, efficiently, and sustainably. The role also serves as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, helping prioritize opportunities, manage delivery risks, and drive successful business outcomes.

• Serve as the primary technical advisor and trusted partner for business stakeholders, helping identify opportunities to leverage technology to achieve business objectives.
• Lead client engagement activities, including solution discovery, requirements gathering, stakeholder workshops, and business case development.
• Translate business needs into practical, scalable, and supportable technology solutions that align with organizational goals.
• Experience supporting the full solution lifecycle, including implementation, operational transition, upgrades, support planning, and technology lifecycle management.
• Develop solution strategies, implementation roadmaps, and delivery plans for cloud, application, and technology initiatives.
• Lead complex solution engagements from initial concept through implementation and operational transition.
• Collaborate with business leaders, project teams, vendors, and technical resources to ensure successful delivery of technology solutions.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to Solution Architects, Engineers, and delivery teams throughout the solution lifecycle.
• Evaluate technology options and recommend solutions based on business value, functionality, cost, risk, and long-term supportability.
• Identify project risks, dependencies, and implementation challenges and develop mitigation strategies to support successful outcomes.
• Lead vendor evaluations, proof-of-concept initiatives, and technology assessments to support solution selection and delivery decisions.
• Work closely with the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) to ensure solutions leverage approved platform services, established capabilities, and enterprise standards.
• Drive accountability for solution delivery outcomes, stakeholder satisfaction, and successful adoption of implemented solutions.
• Support portfolio planning, demand management, and prioritization activities to align delivery efforts with business priorities.
• Identify opportunities to improve delivery processes, increase solution reuse, and accelerate implementation timelines.

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Skills & Abilities:

• Experience serving in solution architecture, consulting, technical leadership, or customer-facing technology roles, including designing, implementing, and delivering enterprise technology solutions.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional technology initiatives from discovery through implementation, including solution strategies, roadmaps, and recommendations that deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Strong experience engaging business leaders and stakeholders to gather requirements, translate strategic objectives into practical technology solutions, and develop implementation-ready solution designs.
• Advanced understanding of Microsoft Azure services, cloud solution architecture, application modernization, identity services, networking, and security concepts.
• Working knowledge of AWS services and cloud architecture principles.
• Strong understanding of enterprise networking concepts, including DNS, routing, firewalls, load balancing, VPNs, private connectivity, and hybrid networking architectures.
• Experience designing solutions that incorporate relational and non-relational databases, data integrations, and application data architectures.
• Strong experience working with Linux-based operating systems, application platforms, and enterprise workloads.
• Experience designing and integrating enterprise applications, SaaS platforms, APIs, and business systems.
• Strong communication, presentation, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and influence technical and business decisions across organizational levels.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, and team development experience, with the ability to lead, influence, and collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders without direct authority.
• Strong business acumen with experience evaluating solution costs, licensing models, operational support requirements, security considerations, and technology investments to develop cost-effective recommendations aligned with organizational objectives and client outcomes.
• Strong organizational, planning, prioritization, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives, priorities, and stakeholder expectations in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience identifying project risks, dependencies, and delivery challenges and developing effective mitigation strategies.
• Ability to drive organizational adoption of technology solutions, architecture standards, and delivery best practices across business and technical teams.
• Self-motivated and outcome-focused with the ability to work independently while driving collaboration and delivery across diverse teams.
• Commitment to continuous learning, emerging technology evaluation, and staying current with cloud, application, and technology trends.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree.
• 8 years of related experience.

Equivalent additional directly related experience will be considered in lieu of a degree.

Domestic and/or international travel may be required. The frequency of travel is contingent on specific duties, responsibilities, and the essential functions of the position, which may vary depending on workload and project demands.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience designing and delivering solutions within Azure and hybrid cloud environments.
• Experience implementing, integrating, and supporting enterprise SaaS, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), and cloud-based business applications.
• Experience supporting digital transformation, cloud migration, modernization, or technology enablement initiatives.
• Experience with DevOps practices, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD pipelines, and automation frameworks.
• Experience with enterprise integration platforms, APIs, identity solutions, and data services.
• Experience coordinating vendor relationships, technology evaluations, proof-of-concept engagements, and solution assessments.
• Experience working within Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) organizations.
• Familiarity with engineering, modeling, GIS, or simulation platforms such as HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, Fluent, Cube, ArcGIS, Bentley, Autodesk, or similar technologies.
• Experience supporting high-performance computing (HPC), distributed computing, engineering, or scientific computing workloads.
• Experience designing cloud solutions for compute-intensive workloads, data-intensive applications, or engineering platforms.
• Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Administrator, AWS Solutions Architect, or equivalent industry certifications preferred.

Amount of Travel Required: No Travel is required EEO Statement: We attract the best people in the industry, supporting their efforts to learn and grow. We strive to create a challenging and progressive work environment. We provide career opportunities that span a variety of disciplines and geographic locations, with projects that our employees plan, design, build and operate as diverse as the needs of our clients. CDM Smith Inc. and its divisions and subsidiaries are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, pregnancy related conditions, childbirth and related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression), national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Background Check and Drug Testing Information: CDM Smith Inc. and its divisions and subsidiaries (hereafter collectively referred to as “CDM Smith”) reserves the right to require background checks including criminal, employment, education, licensure, etc. as well as credit and motor vehicle when applicable for certain positions. In addition, CDM Smith may conduct drug testing for designated positions. Background checks are conducted after an offer of employment has been made in the United States. The timing of when background checks will be conducted on candidates for positions outside the United States will vary based on country statutory law but in no case, will the background check precede an interview. CDM Smith will conduct interviews of qualified individuals prior to requesting a criminal background check, and no job application submitted prior to such interview shall inquire into an applicant's criminal history. If this position is subject to a background check for any convictions related to its responsibilities and requirements, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background investigation including criminal history. Criminal history will not automatically disqualify a candidate. In addition, during employment individuals may be required by CDM Smith or a CDM Smith client to successfully complete additional background checks, including motor vehicle record as well as drug testing. Massachusetts Applicants: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Additional Compensation : All bonuses at CDM Smith are discretionary and may or may not apply to this position. Pay Range Min: USD $122,595.00 Pay Range Max: USD $214,510.00 Visa Sponsorship Available : No - We are not open to sponsoring for this position