Senior Digital Cloud Architect (Hybrid - In Office 10 days/Month)

We are adding a Senior Digital Cloud Architect to our team!  This is a hybrid position requiring to be In-Office 10 days per month.

Who We Are:

Since 1909, National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) has been one of America’s most successful and highly rated independent life insurance companies. We specialize in a suite of innovative products for life’s journey, giving people the financial stability, careful guidance and peace of mind to lead a life filled with confidence, dignity and grace.

NGL's Core Values – integrity, dependability, collaboration, compassion and growth are a foundation of our company and help to build on the interactions we have with our policyholders, partners, funeral homes and each other. We believe in creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for all where diversity is celebrated, and everyone is encouraged to live their best, most authentic self. We offer Employee Resource Groups for employees to get involved, learn, network, and offer professional and personal development opportunities.

With over 100 years of experience, our passion is to serve people. Learn more. 

Work Environment: NGL offers a flexible work environment where employees can work fully remote, hybrid or onsite at our Madison, Wis. office. We support virtual working arrangements in certain states outside of WI.

A Day in the Life:

The primary function of the Senior Digital Cloud Architect is to partner with business teams, technology teams and external vendor teams to deliver highly scalable, flexible and resilient cloud solution architectures that address business problems. This role is crucial in shaping our strategy, ensuring scalability, security and efficiency for our multi-cloud enterprise. The Senior Digital Cloud Architect is responsible for NGL’s cloud computing system and works with cloud technology to develop cloud adoption plans, determine cloud application design, and create systems for managing, monitoring, and maintaining the cloud system. This position leads and guides projects that make the workforce more efficient through the utilization of digital cloud solutions. Additionally, this role functions as an architect with a strong engineering background especially in cloud solutions architecture which includes cloud infrastructure architecture, and strong background in security, compliance and architecture governance.

Primary Responsibilities: 

Cloud Strategy and Planning

• Develop and implement cloud strategy aligned with business objectives and architecture guiding principles.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand technical requirements and translate them into scalable secure solutions.
• Work with Enterprise Architecture team to develop enterprise roadmaps, blueprints and cloud adoption plans for a multi-cloud enterprise.

Cloud Architecture Design

• Architect and design cloud infrastructure solutions based on industry best practices.
• Ensure the integration of cloud services, considering scalability, performance and cost.
• Perform Vendor and Technology Evaluations including product proof-of-concept and assessments.
• Ensure non-functional best practices are incorporated into patterns and standards including resilience, disaster recovery, cloud cost governance, and resource optimization.
• Incorporate modern development practices into architecture strategy and design including DevOps, IaC, automated testing, etc.

Security and Compliance

• Conduct regular assessments and implement improvements to security.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Design and implement security controls and measures for cloud environments.
• Partner with Information Security on threat modeling, IAM strategy, and secure-by-design architecture.

Performance Optimization

• Design and implement infrastructure management, monitoring and maintenance to meet business requirements including performance, reliability and cost-effectiveness.
• Conduct regular assessments and implement improvements as new cloud services become available and business conditions change.
• Collaboration and Communication
• Collaboration with developers, infrastructure and security teams.
• Communicate cloud architecture concepts and best practices to technical and non-technical resources.
• Present at Architecture Review Board candidate architectures and new patterns.
• Mentor developing architects and developers aspiring to transition to architecture.

Architecture Governance

• Develop and manage procedures for standards management and enforcement.
• Manage a peer review process for publishing architecture designs to ensure consistent quality.
• Maintain consistent and up to date documentation designed for development team and architecture consumption.

Essential to Your Success:

• Experience with containerization and orchestration tools (Kubernetes, Docker)
• Expertise in designing and implementing scalable and secure cloud solutions
• In-depth knowledge of AWS platform and technologies preferred
• Strong understanding of networking concepts and security best practices in cloud environments and a multi-cloud enterprise
• Articulate and can effectively communicate with technical teams, non-technical business leaders, and clients
• Ability to quickly understand business requirements and propose reference architectures and technology solutions. Capable to present options and weigh implementation complexities and risks to recommend the right technical decision
• Knowledge of emerging trends in the digital transformation, technology and architecture space and ability to recommend solutions
• Demonstrated project management leadership
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to new technologies and learn quickly
• Knowledge of DevOps practices and tools
• Familiarity with serverless computing and microservice architecture
• Experience with identity and access management, cloud networking, and zero-trust principles
• Knowledge of FinOps practices or experience managing a cloud cost management program
• Ability to guide and mentor peers in a collaborative team environment
• Experience with modern observability stacks

Education Requirements:

Preferred:  4 Year Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or related field and Cloud Certifications (AWS Certified Solutions Architect) desired.

Years of Experience:

• A minimum of five years of relevant hands-on solution architecture/design experience in infrastructure, and security domains required.
• A minimum of five years of experience with Infrastructure as Code tools (Terraform, Cloud Formation, etc.) required.
• A minimum of five years of relevant hands-on Cloud Solution architecture exposure to building on AWS required.
  

What We Offer:

At NGL, we provide a comprehensive Total Rewards package that includes competitive base pay and benefits designed to offer solutions to help meet your unique life needs.   

Benefits:

• 20 days of Paid Time Off growing to 25 days after 5 years
• 11 Paid Holidays (10 company holidays and 1 personal holiday of your choice)
• Health care, dental and vision plans
• Up to $1,500 (Family) or $1,000 (Single) annually towards a Health Savings Account 
• Annual bonus based on company performance
• Paid Parental Leave
• 401(k) match up to 9%
• Paid Sabbatical after 8 years
• Paid Volunteer Time
• Education Assistance Program
• Employee Recognition Program
• And much more!

Click here to learn more about our comprehensive Total Rewards program.

NGL is committed to creating a diverse environment and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

NGL is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the recruitment process. To request an accommodation, please contact [email protected].