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Top 5 highest paying jobs in Cloud Infrastructure

Highest paying cloud jobs

The cloud computing market is projected to increase from $67 billion in 2015 to $162 billion in 2020 and as a result there is huge demand for cloud infrastructure professionals resulting in some of the highest paying positions in IT.

To show how much cloud infrastructure professionals can earn, Wayne Taylor, Cloud Infrastructure Recruitment Consultant, Networkers, describes the top five highest paying cloud infrastructure roles and the skills and experience required to do them.

1. Cloud Architect

Brief description: Generally speaking, a cloud architect evaluates a company’s computing needs and deploys appropriate cloud, rather than traditional, solutions to meet them. The cloud architect is expected to deliver a future cloud platform from initial design through implementation and then facilitate tasks such as automated metrics collection and analysis.

Permanent £75,000-£100,000 per annum

Contract £400-£600 per day

Experience required: 

15+ years in developing high-performance  ‘big data’ platforms
Skills required:

  • BS, MS, or PhD in a computer related field
  • Expert knowledge of programming languages and application deployment use cases
  • Multi-threading and analytics
  • Ability to interact with and lead a diverse team
  • Outstanding communication, leadership and project management skills

2. Cloud Consultant

Brief description: The consultant position involves performing a variety of technical studies and evaluations for either your own company or your client’s. Cloud based recommendations are then made to the IT management for further consideration.

Permanent £65,000-£100,000 per annum

Contract £500-£700 per day

Experience required:

5-10 years of increasing responsibility in systems engineering as well as a working knowledge of the Internet and hosting – from network to application layers.
Skills required:

  • Strong technical skills based on a BSc in computer science
  • Information technology or related technical degree
  • Outstanding communications skills

3. Cloud Practice Lead

Brief description:  This is a dynamic position with a wide range of responsibilities. The internal responsibilities include scoping all cloud opportunities, staffing projects, and providing employee development and leadership. The external responsibilities include ensuring a positive customer experience on all delivery projects, maintaining and expanding customer relationships, performing road mapping exercises to migrate on premise functions to Cloud.

Permanent £80,000–£90,000 per annum
Contract £600-£800 per day

Experience required:

A consulting background with an average of 8 to 15 years + experience focused on transformation consulting, proven sales and business development expertise
Skills required:

  • Strong technical background and experience of delivering multiple complex cloud solutions across a range of cloud platforms
  • Pre-sales and strong technical and communication skills
  • Proven ability to work cross-functionally
  • A team motivator

4. Cloud Security Architect

Brief description:  A Cloud Security Architect leads the design and development of innovative security architectures for protecting data deployed into different types of cloud and cloud/hybrid systems. They will directly contribute to the overall cloud architecture and lead the security vision and strategy around cloud-based applications, across all types (including Infrastructure, Platform, and Software as a Service (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS).

Permanent £65,000-£80,000 per annum

Contract £600-£750 per day

Experience required:

  • 5-8 years’ experience as a Security Architect
  • 3-5 years’ experience with Cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services

Skills required:

  • Cloud Security and Architecture related certifications within AWS, Azure, CISSP OR CISM
  • Working knowledge of common and industry standard cloud-native/cloud-friendly authentication mechanisms  such as Oauth and OpenID
  • Knowledge of deployment orchestration, automation, and security configuration management such as Jenkins, Puppet and Chef
  • Master’s degree in a Computer Science

5. DevOps Automation Engineer

Brief description: A DevOps engineer has the benefit of not only depth of knowledge but also years of practical experience. They merge the skills of a business analyst with the technical knowhow to build a solution. Furthermore, they will have a good knowledge of how the business works and know the impact of their actions on the entire organisation.

Permanent £55,000–£60,000 per annum

Contract £400-£650 per day

Experience required:

  • Experience with systems and IT operations
  • Process re-engineering
  • Data management
  • Experience of frequent, incremental code testing and deployment

Skills required:

  • Ability to use a wide variety of open source technologies and tools including Terraform, Chef, Puppet, Saltstack, Ansible, Juju, Jenkins, Vagrant, Docker and New Relic
  • Ability to code and script
  • Strong understanding of automation tools
  • Strong focus on business outcomes
  • Competent with collaboration, open communication and reaching across functional borders

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