Architect - Sr. Solutions Architect/AWS Management

Position Description and Job Skill Set
Description of the job functions the contractor will be expected to perform.
The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) is the central IT organization for the state of
Mississippi and acts as a service provider and/or service broker for agencies. Over the last two years, ITS has
implemented an AWS Organization with Control Tower, and is working to build cloud expertise internally to support this
environment and future agency AWS projects. ITS is seeking a highly skilled and well-rounded AWS expert to assist in
maintaining this environment, working with agencies on troubleshooting, and helping to mentor staff. This position will
be crucial to the long-term success of this project for ITS as we work to build our Cloud Center of Excellence.

Job functions overview:
AWS Environment Management - Oversee and maintain the existing AWS Organization while ensuring adherence to
industry best practices.
Cloud Architecture - For both ITS and agencies, design, review, and implement AWS solutions that meet performance,
security, and scalability requirements.
Troubleshooting and Support - Serve as a senior point of contact for complex AWS-related issues including network
connectivity. This will require coordination with internal teams and agencies to determine root cause and remediation
strategies.
Vendor Relationships - Work with AWS and other third-party vendors to integrate various products into the overall AWS
ecosystem.
Mentorship and Training - Provide knowledge transfer, training, and coaching staff members to build internal cloud
expertise. Help with creation and maintenance of technical documentation, standards, and playbooks.
Governance and Security - Work with ITS and agency security teams to ensure industry best practices and various
compliance requirements are met.

Required Skills/Experience
Deep knowledge of key AWS services (EC2, S3, RDS, VPC, IAM, Lambda, CloudFormation, etc.).
Experience leading cloud migrations or implementations in a complex multi-account environment
Strong network troubleshooting abilities to help resolve connectivity issues both inside the AWS cloud
environment and ingressing/egressing to the State's on premises environment.
Familiarity with AWS Landing Zone implementations and management using AWS Landing Zone Accelerator
Proficiency with infrastructure as code (CloudFormation, Terraform, AWS CDK) and CI/CD pipelines.
Experience implementing security best practices (e.g., IAM policies, encryption, network segmentation, and
SCPs).
Familiarity with DevOps principles, containerization (Docker, ECS, EKS), and serverless architectures.
Strong troubleshooting abilities across networking, storage, and compute layers in AWS.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to both technical
and non-technical stakeholders.
Proven experience mentoring staff and fostering a collaborative, learning-focused environment.
Effective problem-solving skills and the ability to remain calm and focused under pressure.
Strong organizational skills, capable of managing multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
Ability to lead architectural reviews and navigate ambiguity in designing solutions to complex business
problems

Preferred/Not Required
AWS Professional-level certification (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional, AWS Certified
DevOps Engineer Professional).
Experience in a government or highly regulated environment (e.g., HIPAA, CJIS, IRS 10NA compliance).
Knowledge of ITIL, project management methodologies (e.g., PMP, Agile), and enterprise IT governance
frameworks.
Familiarity with other public cloud providers and hybrid-cloud environments.
Working knowledge of common scripting/programming languages (Python, Bash, PowerShell).