Cloud Engineer

Job Overview

Nextlink is seeking an experienced Cloud Engineer to support NATO’s Cyber Threat Analysis Branch (CTAB) within the Joint Intelligence and Security Division (JISD). The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, developing, maintaining and securing the cloud infrastructure that hosts NATO’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) platform.

The role focuses on ensuring the availability, confidentiality, integrity, scalability and cost-effectiveness of NATO’s cloud environment while supporting the technical infrastructure required for cyber threat intelligence research and production.

The Cloud Engineer will work extensively with AWS cloud services, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, containerization and cloud security technologies. The individual will also play a key role in supporting the transition from an AWS-based environment to Microsoft Azure, ensuring secure, efficient and scalable cloud infrastructure.

Working closely with software engineers, data scientists, cyber threat intelligence researchers and other technical stakeholders, the successful candidate will translate business and technical requirements into secure cloud solutions aligned with industry best practices and NATO security requirements.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Cloud Infrastructure Management: Design, develop, maintain and optimize multi-account AWS cloud environments supporting NATO’s Cyber Threat Intelligence platform.
• Cloud Architecture and Engineering: Develop secure, scalable, resilient and cost-effective cloud architectures, ensuring alignment with AWS Well-Architected Framework principles and relevant security standards.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Build, provision, configure and maintain cloud infrastructure using Terraform, ensuring infrastructure deployments are automated, consistent, reusable and properly documented.
• AWS Cloud Services Administration: Manage and optimize core AWS services, including AWS Lambda, S3, CloudTrail, ECS, EC2 and other relevant cloud components.
• CI/CD Pipeline Development: Design, implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines to automate infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, software deployment and development workflows.
• Containerization and Workload Management: Automate and manage containerized workloads using Docker and Amazon ECS, ensuring reliable deployment, scalability and operational efficiency.
• Cloud Security and Compliance: Implement and maintain cloud security controls to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of cloud-hosted systems and data.
• Identity and Access Management: Manage AWS IAM, Single Sign-On (SSO), conditional access and role-based access controls, applying least-privilege security principles.
• Network Security and Connectivity: Configure and maintain Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) networking, network segmentation and secure connectivity across cloud environments.
• Monitoring, Logging and Threat Detection: Implement and manage cloud monitoring, logging and alerting capabilities using tools such as AWS CloudTrail and GuardDuty to support visibility, security monitoring and incident investigation.
• Cloud Migration and Transformation: Support the transition from the existing AWS-based cloud environment to Microsoft Azure, contributing to migration planning, architecture design, infrastructure deployment and validation.
• Automation and Scripting: Develop and maintain automation solutions using Python and Bash to streamline infrastructure management, operational processes and configuration activities.
• Collaboration and Technical Support: Work closely with software engineers, data scientists, cyber threat intelligence researchers and end-users to translate technical requirements into secure and functional cloud capabilities.
• Documentation and Knowledge Management: Maintain accurate technical documentation covering cloud architecture, infrastructure configurations, deployment processes, security controls and operational procedures.
• Cost Optimization: Identify opportunities to optimize cloud resource utilization, improve infrastructure efficiency and reduce operational expenditure without compromising performance or security.
• Stakeholder Communication: Participate in technical meetings, provide regular project updates, communicate implementation progress and present technical solutions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

3. Essential Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's degree from a nationally recognised or accredited university in Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Operations Research or another relevant quantitative discipline with substantial systems engineering content, accompanied by at least two years of relevant experience; alternatively, a minimum of four years of relevant professional experience supported by industry-recognised certifications.
• Strong practical experience designing, maintaining and developing multi-account AWS cloud environments.
• Hands-on experience with core AWS services, particularly:
• AWS Lambda
• Amazon S3
• AWS CloudTrail
• Amazon ECS
• Amazon EC2
• AWS IAM and related cloud services.
• Significant experience using Terraform for Infrastructure as Code (IaC), infrastructure provisioning and cloud configuration management.
• Proven experience designing, implementing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience automating and managing containerized workloads using Amazon ECS and Docker.
• Strong understanding of cloud security principles, conditional access and identity and access management.
• Practical experience configuring AWS IAM, SSO, VPC networking and least-privilege access controls.
• Experience implementing cloud monitoring, logging and alerting solutions using tools such as CloudTrail and GuardDuty.
• Proficiency in Python and Bash scripting for automation and operational tasks.
• Good knowledge of Linux administration, Docker and Git.
• Understanding of cloud architecture, infrastructure scalability, availability, resilience and cost optimization.
• Familiarity with industry best practices, particularly the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
• Ability to translate complex technical requirements into practical and secure cloud engineering solutions.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-cloud specialists.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary technical teams, provide constructive feedback and maintain clear technical documentation.