Nearly every company today, from large enterprises to small businesses, does business in the cloud. As a result, cloud engineering jobs are in high demand to support the growing adoption of cloud resources. There are nearly 100,000 current openings in the U.S. alone, and many more available globally.
In this article, we’ll discuss cloud engineer roles and responsibilities, provide a cloud engineer job description, and explain how to get into cloud engineering by upskilling through an online cloud computing program.
Prepare for a Successful Career in Cloud Computing
A career as a cloud engineer can be exciting and lucrative. The average salary for a cloud engineer in the U.S. is $117,774, although the amount varies depending on location and company. According to Indeed, a cloud engineer with one or more years of experience typically receives an average salary of more than $135,000.
Cloud engineers have multiple roles and responsibilities because organizations need various types of professionals to help them manage their digital storage resources.
Preparing for a successful career in cloud computing requires learning the skills you will use on the job, such as:
- Technical skills: Computing fundamentals, HTML, and relevant scripting languages, such as Java, NET, SQL, and Python.
- Business concepts: Understanding efficient use of cloud resources to support business operations and marketing strategies cost-effectively.
- Data analysis: Data collection, cleansing, storage, and database management skills.
- Cloud computing management and security: Experience managing cloud infrastructure and maintaining security.Project management: Ability to identify cloud solutions, architect and deploy cloud resources, and manage cloud project life cycles.
- Vendor management: Effective communication with cloud providers and cloud application vendors, including contract management and efficient resource development.
Also Read: What is Cloud Computing? What You Need to Know to Get Started
Cloud Engineer Career Path
Various cloud engineering jobs are available, so starting a career as a cloud engineer or part of a cloud engineering team can take several career paths. Here are some of the more common cloud engineer roles and responsibilities, though there are also more specialized cloud engineering jobs and career paths available, especially in larger organizations.
Cloud Architect
A cloud architect manages cloud infrastructure and oversees cloud application architecture, configuration, and deployment.
Cloud Software Developer
Cloud software developers build and maintain cloud software features, databases, and applications.
Cloud Security Engineer
A cloud security engineer focuses on security for cloud-based platforms and applications.
Cloud Administrator
Cloud administrators manage the software and hardware needed for cloud services and resources.
Cloud Network Engineers
A cloud network engineer manages and supports the network infrastructure and connectivity between organizations and cloud service providers.
Cloud Automation Engineers
Cloud automation engineers focus on automation, orchestration, and integration to create a seamless workflow.
What Does a Cloud Engineer Do?
A cloud engineer is an IT professional who handles cloud computing infrastructure and resources. Cloud engineer responsibilities include:
- Identifying and deploying cloud computing services and new cloud technologies
- Managing cloud-based systems, hardware, and software
- Managing infrastructure, connectivity, and security
- Designing and deploying cloud applications
- Migrating on-premise applications to the cloud
- Creating a seamless workflow for efficient system use
- Optimizing cloud resources and their use for optimal cloud solutions
Cloud engineering specialists may also be called on to work as cloud developers, writing code for applications and managing software life cycles or integrating APIs and microservices for cloud applications to communicate with each other.
Also Read: How to Become a Cloud Engineer? A Complete Guide
Cloud Engineer Job Description Example
While job descriptions will vary by company, here is an example of a typical cloud engineer job description you may find online:
“We’re seeking an experienced AWS/Azure cloud engineer with expertise in strategy, design, development, and implementation of cloud infrastructure and resources. Ideal candidates will have demonstrated training and hands-on experience with emerging technology, platforms, and applications. Responsibilities include:
- Identifying and implementing optimal cloud-based solutions
- Deploying cloud applications
- Managing cloud-based systems
- Managing the software development life cycle
- Troubleshooting incidents and mitigating problems
- Educating and training team members on new cloud initiatives, cloud resources, and cloud platforms
Skills and qualifications required include:
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology, certification in cloud engineering, or completion of an accredited bootcamp training course
- Hands-on experience in cloud engineering strategy and tactics
- Knowledge of web services, APIs, IAM, and application deployment
- AWS or Azure certification”
The Value of Education in Cloud Engineering
Deploying cloud solutions and maintaining a secure cloud environment is crucial for most organizations. More than 60 percent of all corporate data is now stored in the cloud, with 91 percent of businesses using a public cloud and 72 percent having deployed private clouds. The majority of organizations are using hybrid cloud or multi-cloud solutions.
Organizations need trained and experienced cloud engineers to manage these mission-critical cloud services.
Job seekers need to have the necessary training across a wide variety of skill sets to master the challenges of cloud engineering. Cloud engineers need a solid understanding of the following:
- Cloud service providers
- Cloud storage
- Networking
- Virtualization
- Security
- Web services, APIs, and microservices
- Operating systems such as Linux and Windows
- Programming languages such as SQL, Python, and Java
Getting an education to become a cloud engineer is crucial to developing the necessary on-the-job skills.
Also Read: Cloud Computing Salary: 2023 Guide, Trends, and Predictions
Hands-On Cloud Engineering Experience
To get a job in cloud engineering, you need to have a combination of hands-on experience and education. While an IT or computer science degree can help, you can also gain the skills you need in an online cloud computing program to meet the requirements of a cloud engineer job description.
For example, this six-month Cloud Computing Bootcamp teaches you what you need to know to design, plan, and scale cloud services and resources for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Some of the specific areas you can master in this bootcamp include:
- Application migration
- Autoscaling
- Cloud migration and deployment
- Cloud provider selection
- Cloud workloads
- Database management
- Disaster recovery
- Identity access management (IAM)
- Multi-cloud deployment
- Performance testing
- Cloud storage
- Web services and APIs
If you are at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent, you may qualify for this bootcamp. Learn more and fast-track your career as a cloud engineer.
You might also like to read:
What Are the Different Types of Cloud Computing? A Comprehensive Guide
Cloud Computing Technology: Your Complete Guide
Virtualization in Cloud Computing: Here’s Everything You Need to Know
Azure Active Directory: The Key to Managing and Securing Your Azure Cloud Environment
