Principal Cloud Platform Engineer

You could be the one who changes everything for our 28 million members by using technology to improve health outcomes around the world.  As a diversified, national organization, Centene's technology professionals have access to competitive benefits including a fresh perspective on workplace flexibility.
 

Position Purpose:

Serves as the senior technical leader for AWS cloud platform strategy, driving transformational initiatives across the organization's multi-account AWS Landing Zone environment. Defines the technical vision and long-term roadmap for cloud platform services, working closely with IT leadership and Technical Product Owners to align platform capabilities with business objectives. Establishes enterprise-wide standards, architectural patterns, and best practices for AWS infrastructure automation using TypeScript, Terraform, and GitLab. Provides hands-on technical leadership on complex architecture challenges while influencing strategic decisions that impact multiple IT teams and the entire application development population across hybrid cloud environments.

• Define and drive the technical vision and multi-year strategic roadmap for AWS cloud platform services in partnership with IT leadership and Technical Product Owners.
• Architect enterprise AWS infrastructure, designing scalable, secure, and cost-effective solutions for complex business requirements.
• Establish and evangelize cloud platform standards, architectural patterns, and best practices across the organization.
• Lead project implementations and provide technical guidance on high-impact, cross-functional initiatives spanning multiple IT teams.
• Drive adoption of platform capabilities and infrastructure patterns across application development teams, ensuring consistent and efficient cloud utilization.
• Architect sophisticated multi-account AWS Landing Zone solutions using Control Tower, Organizations, and advanced governance frameworks.
• Design and implement complex serverless architectures leveraging Lambda, Step Functions, EventBridge, API Gateway, and related AWS services.
• Develop advanced infrastructure-as-code frameworks and reusable modules using TypeScript, Terraform, and CloudFormation StackSets.
• Lead hybrid cloud architecture initiatives, defining integration patterns and connectivity strategies between on-premises and AWS environments.
• Collaborate with Security, Network, Compliance, and Application Architecture teams to establish enterprise-wide cloud governance and security standards.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership in solving complex platform challenges, including performance optimization, scalability, and disaster recovery.
• Drive platform innovation by evaluating and prototyping emerging AWS services, cloud-native technologies, and industry best practices.
• Mentor Lead Engineers and senior team members, elevating technical capabilities across the Cloud Platform Engineering team.
• Represent the platform team in executive technical forums, communicating strategy, progress, and recommendations to IT leadership.
• Shape product backlog priorities and influence feature development based on enterprise needs and technical dependencies.
• Lead major cloud migration and modernization programs, defining migration strategies and transformation roadmaps.
• Establish and track platform engineering metrics, KPIs, and success criteria aligned with business outcomes.
• Build relationships with AWS account teams and leverage AWS expertise to solve complex technical challenges.
• Drive cost optimization initiatives at scale, establishing FinOps practices and cost governance frameworks across hundreds of accounts.
• Ensure platform decisions support compliance requirements, regulatory standards, and enterprise risk management objectives.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

Education/Experience:

A Bachelor's degree in a quantitative or business field (e.g., statistics, mathematics, engineering, computer science) and requires deep functional and Centene specific knowledge with 6 – 8 years of related experience.
Or equivalent experience acquired through accomplishments of applicable knowledge, duties, scope and skill reflective of the level of this position.
Technical Skills:

• Expert-level knowledge of AWS cloud services, architecture patterns, and platform design across all major service categories.
• Extensive hands-on experience architecting and implementing large-scale AWS Landing Zone environments with Control Tower managing 100+ child accounts.
• Advanced programming expertise in TypeScript for building sophisticated infrastructure automation and platform tooling.
• Deep expertise in Terraform including advanced state management, module design, and enterprise-scale implementations.
• Knowledge of CloudFormation, StackSets, and cross-account deployment patterns.
• Proven experience designing and implementing complex serverless architectures using Lambda, Step Functions, EventBridge, API Gateway, and related services.
• Expert knowledge of AWS networking (VPC, Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, Route53) and hybrid cloud connectivity patterns.
• Advanced proficiency with GitLab CI/CD for infrastructure automation and workflows.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-wide platform initiatives that span multiple teams and impact large developer populations.
• Proven track record of establishing technical standards, architectural patterns, and engineering best practices at enterprise scale.
• Experience working directly with IT leadership and product management to define technical strategy and roadmaps.
• Strong understanding of cloud security architecture, IAM, compliance frameworks, and governance at scale.
• Demonstrated ability to drive consensus across diverse technical teams and resolve complex technical disagreements.
• Experience in hybrid cloud environments with deep understanding of integration patterns and challenges.

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• AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional and AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional certifications (or equivalent demonstrated expertise).
• Multiple AWS specialty certifications (Security, Advanced Networking, Database, Machine Learning).
• Experience with multiple programming languages (Python, Go, Java) for platform development.
• Knowledge of Kubernetes/EKS, container orchestration, and cloud-native application patterns.
• Expertise with AWS Well-Architected Framework and conducting Well-Architected Reviews.
• Advanced knowledge of AWS security services (Security Hub, GuardDuty, IAM Identity Center, Secrets Manager, KMS).
• Understanding of FinOps practices, cost allocation strategies, and enterprise cloud financial management.
• Experience with observability platforms and distributed tracing (CloudWatch, X-Ray, Prometheus, Datadog, Splunk, Dynatrace).
• Knowledge of Service Mesh architectures and API management strategies at scale.
• Background in enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman) and architecture governance.
• Experience with AWS Control Tower customizations, Account Factory, and advanced account vending patterns.
• Understanding of DevSecOps principles and shift-left security practices.
• Experience with multi-region, disaster recovery, and business continuity architectures.
• Knowledge of compliance and regulatory frameworks (SOC2, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP).

Soft Skills:

• Advanced - Seeks to acquire knowledge in area of specialty
• Advanced - Ability to identify basic problems and procedural irregularities, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
• Advanced - Ability to work independently
• Advanced - Demonstrated analytical skills
• Advanced - Demonstrated project management skills
• Advanced - Demonstrates a high level of accuracy, even under pressure
• Advanced - Demonstrates excellent judgment and decision making skills
• Advanced - Ability to communicate and make recommendations to upper management
• Advanced - Ability to drive multiple projects to successful completion
• Advanced - Possesses technical aptitude

Centene offers a comprehensive benefits package including: competitive pay, health insurance, 401K and stock purchase plans, tuition reimbursement, paid time off plus holidays, and a flexible approach to work with remote, hybrid, field or office work schedules.  Actual pay will be adjusted based on an individual's skills, experience, education, and other job-related factors permitted by law, including full-time or part-time status.  Total compensation may also include additional forms of incentives. Benefits may be subject to program eligibility.

Centene is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, and values the ways in which we are different. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with the LA County Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act