About

The Talent Acquisition department hires qualified candidates to fill positions which contribute to the overall strategic success of Howard University. Hiring staff “for fit” makes significant contributions to Howard University’s overall mission. At Howard University, we prioritize well-being and professional growth. Here is what we offer: Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health support Work-Life Balance: PTO, paid holidays, flexible work arrangements Financial Wellness: Competitive salary, 403(b) with company match Professional Development: Ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement paths Additional Perks: Wellness programs, commuter benefits, and a vibrant company culture Join Howard University and thrive with us! https://hr.howard.edu/benefits-wellness We are seeking a Cloud Engineer I to support a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) acting as the central hub for a consortium of nine academic institutions. This role is critical in providing the secure, scalable, and high-performance Azure cloud infrastructure required to facilitate government-contracted research and development (R&D) across the consortium. The Azure Cloud Engineer will design and maintain a multi-tenant environment that enables diverse research teams to collaborate seamlessly while adhering to stringent federal security requirements. The ideal candidate is a self-starter capable of managing complex infrastructure that bridges the gap between traditional IT and advanced scientific research applications. Duties and Responsibilities: Consortium Infrastructure Management: Design, configure, and manage Azure IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS solutions tailored to the unique R&D needs of the nine-school consortium. Secure Networking: Create and manage complex Azure networking services (firewalls, VNETs, subnets, VPNs, ExpressRoute) to ensure secure data transmission between consortium members and government sponsors. Identity & Access Governance: Manage Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) to handle cross-institutional authentication, ensuring researchers from all nine schools have appropriate, secure access to shared resources. Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Automate the rapid provisioning of research environments using ARM templates, Bicep, or Terraform to support fluctuating project demands. Research Computing Support: Configure and manage high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, containers (AKS), and serverless environments to handle large-scale data analysis and simulations. Data Stewardship: Manage and support diverse data storage solutions including Azure Files, Blob Storage, and Data Warehousing to facilitate long-term research data retention and sharing. Performance & Cost Optimization: Proactively monitor Azure resources to ensure peak performance for computationally intensive tasks while optimizing costs across multiple research grants and task orders. Automation & Scripting: Develop PowerShell and BASH scripts to automate data manipulation, transformation, and routine administrative tasks. UARC Compliance: Ensure all cloud deployments comply with FedRAMP, NIST 800-171, and CMMC requirements essential for government-contracted research. Competencies/Qualifications: Azure Expertise: Direct experience in the Azure Cloud platform with a focus on architecting solutions for multi-tenant or collaborative environments. Automation Skills: Strong scripting experience using PowerShell and BASH for environment orchestration and configuration management. Full-Stack Cloud Knowledge: Advanced experience in IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS implementations, including monitoring and automated recovery. DevOps Integration: Experience in Azure DevOps services, CI/CD pipelines, and Agile processes within a research or academic context. Specialized Knowledge: Familiarity with High-Performance Computing (HPC) in Azure and meeting FedRAMP/government security benchmarks. Collaboration: Proven ability to work across institutional boundaries and communicate technical concepts to non-technical research faculty and stakeholders. Minimum Qualifications: 3 years of hands-on experience implementing and supporting Azure IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. 3 years of experience with PowerShell, BASH, or Azure CLI. 3 years of experience in Azure networking services within a large-scale or multi-site organization. Demonstrated experience with Azure design and management within a complex, fast-paced environment. Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently. Education: BS degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent years of professional experience). Desired Certifications: Azure Solutions Architect Expert Azure Security Engineer Associate Azure Identity and Access Administrator Associate Certified ITIL Foundation 4 Compliance Salary Range Disclosure Compensation Range: $110,000 - $123,000 Howard University is a comprehensive, research-oriented, historically Black private university providing an educational experience of exceptional quality to students of high academic potential with particular emphasis upon the provision of educational opportunities to promising Black students. Further, the University is dedicated to attracting and sustaining a cadre of faculty who are, through their teaching and research, committed to the development of distinguished and compassionate graduates and to the quest for solutions to human and social problems in the United States and throughout the world. Howard University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex,sexual orientation,gender or gender identity, marital status, religion, disability or protected veterans status. Veterans and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Inquiries regarding provisions for persons with disabilities or veterans status, Equal Employment Opportunity and Title IX should be directed to the Office of Employee Relations and Equal Employment Opportunity at 202-806-1280. This position description should not be construed to imply that these requirements are the exclusive standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as may be required. The university has the right to revise this position description at any time. This position description is not be construed as a contract for employment.