Sr. Cloud Engineer (1 of 2)

Certain terms and conditions of employment for this position, including the rate of pay, benefits, etc., are currently subject to negotiation with the appropriate union

This position requires working onsite in San Francisco, 2 days per week, and is not negotiable. We are unable to offer employment sponsorship for this position - now or in the future. An in-person interview will be part of the recruitment process.

The Senior Cloud Engineer will be accountable for driving the configuration and operation of University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) cloud infrastructure services. The Senior Cloud Engineer will coordinate the partnership with a broad range of developers, engineers, business partners, and key University stakeholders to provide best-in-class cloud services. This role configures and facilitates workloads in the cloud, automates cloud infrastructure maintenance, and builds new operational monitoring capabilities.

The Senior Cloud Engineer will positively impact UCSF’s operations and culture by ensuring UCSF’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure is operable, secure, efficient, and effective in service of the University’s mission. The Senior Cloud Engineer will advance the University’s mission by delivering exceptional information technology services comprehensively and consistently across customers and stakeholders. This role will execute UCSF’s vision while modeling UCSF’s culture and values.

Department Overview:

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is distinguished as a leading academic healthcare organization, home to groundbreaking discoveries, world-class education, and exceptional healthcare services. Infrastructure Services (IS) is the backbone of the technological infrastructure, assuring the technical services that enable the academic, medical, and research missions of the organization. Beyond a focus on maintaining systems and resolving issues, we are committed to nurturing the potential of our team members and empowering them to excel. UCSF Infrastructure Services provides 24x7 support to the University community, always upholding the highest level of responsiveness and reliability for our customers. IS values innovation and excellence in ensuring secure and efficient Information Technology (IT) services, regardless of the hour or complexity of the issue.

The Platform Services team within Infrastructure Services is committed to empowering the academic, medical, and research mission of UCSF by ensuring that all customers have seamless, secure, and accessible technological support. The team oversees the management and maintenance of various technology platforms, including system and cloud services, to guarantee they are secure, readily available, and performing optimally. Platform Services handles the management of critical software, such as Epic, ensuring it supports the highest level of medical service delivery by operating at peak performance. The team also oversees data center operations, including server management, storage, and networking equipment, to ensure the reliable delivery of health services. Additionally, it manages databases with a focus on data security, availability, and top-tier performance. All these tasks are critical not only for the smooth operation of the University’s technological infrastructure, but also for enhancing productivity, enabling the provision of high-quality health services and learning, and ultimately, improving patient and student outcomes.

% of Time

Essential Function (Yes/No)

Key Responsibilities

50%

Yes

Cloud Engineering

1. Drives the configuration and operation of University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) cloud infrastructure to meet the needs of a broad range of university customers by collaborating with developers, engineers, and business analysts.
2. Coordinates collaboration with key stakeholders, including with vendor partners, to deliver cloud services. Drives the design and implementation of a secure, scalable, and robust cloud infrastructure.
3. Standardizes, builds, and supports a portfolio of reusable cloud components, services, and interfaces to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of UCSF cloud infrastructure.
4. Ensures cloud solutions follow security and compliance controls and performs routine audit of systems and software to maintain compliance with established standards and policies.
5. Provides training and technical guidance for development teams moving to or utilizing the cloud infrastructure.
6. Develops and implements effective disaster recovery plans and procedures to support 24x7 service reliability and effective emergency response. This includes identifying potential disruptions to operations, designing, and managing backup systems, conducting regular disaster recovery tests to ensure system resilience, and leading recovery efforts in the event of natural disasters, cyber-attacks, equipment failures, etc.
7. Designs, implements, and maintains cloud infrastructure to ensure maximum uptime and reliability. This includes developing strategies for recovery solutions, such as backup systems and redundant hardware.

20%

Yes

Problem Solving

1. Works closely with UCSF’s Platform Services, Infrastructure Services (IS), and Information Technology (IT) leadership to identify, implement, and support cost-effective, leading solutions for cloud engineering.

2. Monitors customer and stakeholder needs. Provides troubleshooting support for issues escalated by the Customer Experience team.

10%

Yes

Customer Service

1. Builds and maintains strong relationships with customers, partners, and stakeholders to ensure that consistent, reliable service is delivered to a range of university stakeholders.

2. Utilizes best practices established around user experience and support to make decisions and define future platform services.

5%

Yes

Continuous Improvement

1. Keeps up to date with changes in laws, regulations, and cloud technologies that may affect Platform Services operations and informs senior management and staff.
2. Facilitates innovation and continuous improvement by leveraging the latest industry knowledge.

5%

Yes

Project Planning and Management

1. Contributes to the successful execution of cloud infrastructure projects, ensuring the support, maintenance, and security of existing platforms.

5%

Yes

Communications and Training

1. Creates, updates, and maintains comprehensive documentation of the server infrastructure, including server configurations, installed software, licenses, patch levels, and any changes to the server environment. Documents policies and procedures, including security and backup protocols, incidents and resolution processes, and compliance. This involves managing and sharing technical knowledge within the team, ensuring that crucial information is accessible and understood by relevant stakeholders.
2. Trains and mentors’ junior employees. This involves passing on technical expertise, guiding them in understanding cloud services processes, and providing hands-on training to ensure they are equipped to maintain and enhance the Platform Services systems.

3. Maintains consistent communication with senior leaders to resolve escalations and provide updates.

4. Proactively communicates with other departments and central IT units within UCSF to safely support UCSF’s cloud service’s needs.

5%

Yes

Other

1. Actively contributes to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion across the organization and UCSF’s campus.

2. Actively promotes the University’s core values and consistently integrates innovation, employee fulfillment, teamwork, respect, excellence, integrity, service, and accountability into each aspect of their work.

3. Maintains current knowledge of university policy and procedures; effectively, consistently, and fairly applies university policy and/or campus/division procedures for assigned area and team members supervised; complies with university, campus, and division policies and procedures regarding privacy of information, authorized use of university resources and the security of university systems and data.

4. Participates in an on-call rotation for high and critical 24x7 incident response, as needed.

5. Performs other related responsibilities as requested and when necessary. The University reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Total: 100%

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of experience/training, in one or more of the following fields: computer science, computer information systems, etc.
• 5+ years of experience in one or more of the following fields: information technology, computer science, engineering, etc.
• Associate-level cloud certification in AWS, Azure, GCP, or equivalent cloud platform, or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience in information technology with a focus on platform engineering and cloud services.
• Advanced knowledge of the design, development and application of technology and systems to meet business needs.
• Advanced experience migrating on-premises workloads to cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, or GCP, including support for hybrid and virtualized environments.
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure and applications, including GitHub Actions or similar tools.
• Experience applying DevOps practices, including infrastructure automation, continuous delivery, and collaboration across development and operations teams.
• Extensive knowledge of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and integration with cloud data providers. Experience with Linux, Windows, containerization, and orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes.
• Demonstrated experience with cloud-based automation tools and processes. Proven experience provisioning and maintaining cloud-based infrastructure.
• Strong ability to adapt technology solutions to meet user needs. Demonstrated understanding of system dependencies and how changes impact interconnected systems and users.
• Advanced troubleshooting and problem-solving skills in production cloud environments, including incident response, root cause analysis, and performance optimization.
• Strong proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform and Ansible, including development of reusable modules, templated configurations, and automated infrastructure workflows.
• Strong customer focus with the ability to triage issues, manage escalations, and deliver solutions that meet service-level agreements, institutional policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to communicate technical information and ideas to diverse colleagues and stakeholders.
• Ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with team members, stakeholders, and customers.
• Strong problem-solving skills, including the ability to scope solutions based on available resources and timelines. Ability to gather information, evaluate options, and make sound decisions.
• Experience participating in activities to advance an inclusive environment that values equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Ability to think creatively and propose innovative ideas, including the incorporation of new technologies or processes. Ability to work with agility in a fast-paced environment.

REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

• Associate-level cloud certification in AWS, Azure, GCP, or equivalent cloud platform, or equivalent experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience implementing cloud governance and security controls in regulated environments (e.g. AWS Service Control Policies (SCPs), Azure Policy)

• Advanced cloud certification such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or equivalent.