AgFirst Farm Credit Bank

Principal Cloud Solutions Architect (Hybrid or Remote - Columbia, SC)

AgFirst is seeking a strategic and technically proficient Principal Cloud Solutions Architect with deep expertise in networking and cloud-native network architecture. This role is pivotal in designing and implementing end-to-end network solutions that support scalable, secure, and high-performance hybrid cloud environments. The ideal candidate will bridge traditional infrastructure with modern cloud technologies to drive digital transformation initiatives.

What you’ll do

• Lead the design of hybrid network solutions that integrate on-premises infrastructure with public and private cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Develop reference architectures and blueprints for secure, scalable, and resilient network topologies.
• Translate business and technical requirements into comprehensive network solutions.
• Help lead the architecture, design, and deployment of a landing zone using one of the major CSP providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) for purposes of building out a multi-environment technology landscape that leverages a well-architected segmentation of the accounts/environments (e.g. development, test, production)
• Architect and implement cloud networking components such as VPCs, VNets, subnets, route tables, NAT gateways, and load balancers
• Design and manage interconnectivity solutions including VPNs, Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, and Transit Gateways
• Collaborate with infrastructure teams to align cloud network designs with existing physical network infrastructure.
• Support the design and deployment of physical network components including routers, switches, firewalls, and SD-WAN.
• Implement network security controls such as firewalls, security groups, NACLs, and zero-trust principles.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, guiding network architecture decisions.
• Create and maintain detailed documentation of network designs, configurations, and operational procedures.
• Partner with the DevOps and IaC teams to develop a strategy for network infrastructure automation that coincides with the general IaC and DevOps strategy of the Bank

What you'll need

• A college degree and/or comparable years of relevant job experience are required.
• Prior data center and/or network migration to the cloud experience
• Experience in Network Architecture/Engineering and/or Cloud Architecture
• Experience with Network and/or General Technology Operations in a major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Experience in Network Security best practices and operations
• Certifications (particularly in the areas of Network Architecture, Solutions Architecture, Operations, and/or Security) with any of the big three (3) cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) are preferred but not required.
• At least ten (10) years, of experience in a cloud architecture and/or network architecture/engineering role
• At least five (5) years, of experience with at least one (1) or more of the major cloud service providers (CSPs) – Azure, AWS, Google Cloud (GCP)
• Strong knowledge of networking protocols (TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, DNS, DHCP) and network security principles
• Hands-on experience with cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP) networking services
• Prior knowledge in leveraging the Cloud in a disaster recovery scenario from a physical data center and developing the network infrastructure (both physical and virtual (cloud)) to support it
• Experience with networking to and within the cloud (both east-west and north-south)
• Experience with network security design within the cloud (e.g., firewall, IDS, IPS, WAF) using both CSP-native (e.g. AWS, Azure) as well as 3rd party best of breed technologies (e.g. Palo Alto, Cisco, F5)
• Experience with network automation and monitoring/alerting best practices
• Experience in multi-cloud security frameworks such as NIST, CSA, etc.

AgFirst Farm Credit Bank provides financing, as well as technology and other value-added services, to association partners so they can lend to rural residents and agricultural operations of all sizes. We take pride in investing in our employees, our partners and our community.

Find out more on AgFirst.com, and follow us on LinkedIn!