Cloud Technical Lead at Initiate Government Solutions

Description

Founded in 2007, Initiate Government Solutions (IGS) a Woman Owned Small Business. We are a fully remote IT services provider that delivers innovative Enterprise IT and Health Services solutions across the federal sector. Our focus is on data analytics, health informatics, cloud migration, and the modernization of federal information systems.
 

IGS uses ISO 9001:2015, 20000-1:2018, 27001:2013, 28001:2007, CMMI/SVC3, CMMI/DEV3 best practices, and PMBOK® methods to provide clients with a strategy to build solid foundations to grow capabilities and revenue. Our range of IT services and delivery methodologies are tailored to our customers’ unique needs to achieve maximum value.

IGS is currently recruiting for a remote Cloud Technical Lead to guide the design, implementation, and management of cloud-based solutions for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This role combines deep technical expertise with leadership responsibilities, ensuring that cloud initiatives align with organizational goals, security standards, and best practices. 

Assignment of Work and Travel:

This is a remote access assignment. The Candidate will work remotely daily and will remotely access VA systems and therein use approved VA provided communications systems. Travel is not required; however, the candidate may be required to attend onsite client meetings as requested.

This program is a transformative initiative by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs aimed at modernizing and streamlining access to VA data and services through secure, reliable, and scalable APIs. As a member of the team, you will play a key role in designing, developing, and supporting API solutions that empower veterans, partners, and internal stakeholders to access critical information and services efficiently.

In this role, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams—including product managers, engineers, security specialists, and business analysts—to deliver high-quality API products in alignment with federal standards and VA objectives. You will contribute to the program’s mission of improving veteran experiences by enabling digital innovation, ensuring compliance, and promoting best practices in API development and platform management.

This position offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on veteran care and benefits delivery, while working in a dynamic, mission-driven environment that values collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities and Duties (Included but not limited to):

• Technical Leadership: Lead the design and architecture of AWS cloud solutions. Make strategic decisions on cloud tools, frameworks, and platforms. Establish and enforce technical standards and best practices for cloud adoption.
• Project Delivery: Oversee the end-to-end delivery of cloud projects, from planning through deployment. Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, and cost-effective. Review and approve technical deliverables and documentation.
• Team Management: Mentor and guide cloud engineers, developers, and architects. Assign tasks, conduct code reviews, and provide technical feedback. Foster a collaborative and high-performing team environment.
• Stakeholder Communication: Translate business requirements into technical solutions. Communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Collaborate with project managers, business analysts, and cross-functional teams.
• Cloud Governance & Security: Implement governance frameworks and cloud policies. Ensure compliance with security standards and regulatory requirements. Oversee identity and access management, data protection, and monitoring.
• Continuous Improvement: Stay current with emerging cloud technologies and trends. Recommend improvements to existing infrastructure. Drive automation and DevOps practices across the organization. 

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Public Administration, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
• Expertise in AWS Cloud architecture and services.
• Strong experience with containerization and orchestration tools including Docker, Kubernetes, EKS, Helm, and Istio.
• Proficiency in CI/CD pipeline development and management using GitHub Actions, Argo, and related tools.
• Familiarity with Infra Engineering practices including policy-as-code and infrastructure-as-code.
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools such as Datadog, Dynatrace, Jaeger, and Kiali.
• Hands-on experience with Vault for secrets management and Amazon Controller for Kubernetes (ACK).
• Strong development background with Java, SpringBoot, SpringBatch, Python, and Ruby.
• Deep understanding of database technologies including MySQL, Oracle, Amazon RDS, DynamoDB, and MongoDB.
• Experience with GitHub Packages, GitHub Releases, and CodeClimate.
• Familiarity with Backstage.io, OpenAPI, and OpenTracing.
• Proven ability to lead technical teams and deliver high-availability, secure, and scalable cloud solutions.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance

Preferred Qualifications and Core Competencies:

• Active VA Public Trust
• Prior experience supporting federal agencies, especially the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Familiarity with VA Lighthouse tools and infrastructure.
• Certifications in AWS, Kubernetes, or cloud architecture.
• Experience implementing disaster recovery, clustering, and high availability strategies.
• Prior, successful experience working in a remote environment

Successful IGS employees embody the following Core Values:

• Integrity, Honesty, and Ethics: We conduct our business with the highest level of ethics. Doing things like being accountable for mistakes, accepting helpful criticism, and following through on commitments to ourselves, each other, and our customers. 
• Empathy, Emotional Intelligence: How we interact with others including peers, colleagues, stakeholders, and customers’ matters. We take collective responsibility to create an environment where colleagues and customers feel valued, included, and respected. We work within a diverse, integrated, and collaborative team to drive towards accomplishing the larger mission. We conscientiously and meticulously learn about our customers’ and end-users’ business drivers and challenges to ensure solutions meet not only technical needs but also support their mission.
• Strong Work Ethic (Reliability, Dedication, Productivity): We are driven by a strong, self-motivated, and results-driven work ethic. We are reliable, accountable, proactive, and tenacious and will do what it takes to get the job done. 
• Life-Long Learner (Curious, Perspective, Goal Oriented): We challenge ourselves to continually learn and improve ourselves. We strive to be an expert in our field, continuously honing our craft, and finding solutions where others see problems.  

Compensation: There are a host of factors that can influence final salary, including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications.

Benefits: Initiate Government Solutions offers competitive compensation and a robust benefits package, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision care, matching 401K and profit sharing, paid time off, training time for personal development, flexible spending accounts, employer-paid life insurance, employer-paid short and long term disability coverage, an education assistance program with potential merit increases for obtaining a work-related certification, employee recognition, and referral programs, spot bonuses, and other benefits that help provide financial protection for the employee and their family.

Initiate Government Solutions participates in the Electronic Employment Verification Program.