Cloud Architect

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The Google Cloud Architect is the main architect for all GCP components in any way involved ingestion, processing and presentation of data and the associated monitoring, logging, audit trails, deployments, network, and governance. The architect will be a founding member of the GCP implementation and help with the design and architecture from the ground up. As such, the position requires in-depth knowledge of the Google Cloud Platform from a Data, Infrastructure and Security perspective. The candidate needs to understand high volume data flows and how to keep them secure, performant, observable and auditable.

Automation is a very important part of the platform implementation and the architect is responsible for working with Terraform for IaC, for setup as well as on-going changes. The architect also needs to be very familiar with CI/CD pipelines and setting them up for Data Ingestion, Transformation and scheduling to include robust integration and unit testing as applicable.

SQL, Python, PySpark and Cloud Shell are the main languages, and the candidate will need to be an expert in them. Dataproc / Spark will likely be leveraged for ingestion and transformation and the architect will need to understand how it works, how to secure it, where the bottlenecks are and how to best architect solutions for complex problems. The candidate needs to understand Cloud Composer (AirFlow), how schedule complex dependencies, read logs and understand where failures occur and formulate strategies to resolve or mitigate issues as appropriate. The candidate will also be responsible for leading Root Cause Analysis and code reviews prior to deployments.

This position also includes on-call rotation, and the candidate must have a strong sense of ownership of the platform and end-user experience. The candidate also needs to be a self-starter who is comfortable functioning as a Technical SME in various settings. A strong technical interest and curiosity, independently keeping up with industry trends, best practices, tooling and changes is very important. Simmons Bank provides funding for training and certifications as well, but the candidate must have a strong interest in actively pursuing these options.

The ability to effectively partner and communicate with remote and offshore team members is very important.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the Subject Matter Expert for all things GCP in technical architecture design sessions, audits and regulatory exams.

• Design and implement cost effective and scalable GCP solutions for data ingestion, processing, analytics and extracts.

• Serve as the final level of escalation for ongoing data incidents and troubleshooting.

• Formulating monitoring strategies for data loads, platform usage, billing and network ingress, egress and cross region flows.

• Creating resolution plans for slow or poorly performing jobs to either resolve through configuration changes or send as requirements to the Data Engineering team.

• Expert in BigQuery and Spark / dataproc data architecture, design and performance optimization

• Create and lead implementation of performance monitoring strategies and alerting.

• Validate runbooks authored by tier 1 and 2 data support analysts.

• Perform root cause analysis of ongoing issues.

• Archive and unarchive data based on policies and business requests.

• Perform basic ad-hoc analysis as needed.

• Other duties as assigned.

• Complies with bank policies as applicable to this position.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Skills

• GCP Architecture focusing on data, IaC, automation, networking, security, observability, disaster recovery and auditability.

• In depth knowledge of cloud networking including virtual networks, subnets, firewalls, interconnects, encryption in transit, routing, monitoring and how they interact with deployed data solutions.

• Expertise in implementation of cloud security including IAM and federation, encryption and Data Plex for domain and classification-based access management.

• Expertise in data operations including monitoring, scheduling, performance tuning BigQuery, Data Proc and Data Flow

• Proficient in DevOps methodologies such as git for source control, CI/CD pipelines and IaC using Terraform

• Expert level SQL, Python and Google Cloud Shell scripting

• Power BI Administration and architecture is highly desirable

• Experience in PowerShell, C# or Java is a plus

• Creating professional architecture diagrams and presentations to share with technical and non-technical users.

• Reading and comprehending GCP logs and quickly triaging issues.

• Setting up alerting and monitoring for early issue detection

• Setting up and administrating Google IAM and federation from other identity providers

• Ability to read and comprehend complex instructions, technical documentation, correspondence, and memos.

• Ability to write good technical documentation, policies, runbooks and architecture diagrams.

Education and/or Experience

• BS/BA Degree (four year) from an accredited university/college AND
• Four to ten years of experience as a Cloud Architect, Cloud Solutions Architect, Data Architect or equivalent

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

• GCP Data, Infrastructure, Security and/or architecture certifications

Other Qualifications (including physical requirements)

• Strong oral and written communication skills.

• Strong organizational, problem solving, and planning skills with the ability to set priorities.

• Comfortable interacting with co-workers in virtual environments such as MS Teams or Zoom

Equal Employment Opportunity Information: Simmons First National Corporation and its subsidiaries are committed to a policy of equal employment with respect to a person's race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, covered veterans, military status, physical or mental disability or any other legally protected classifications. Simmons First National Corporation and its subsidiaries are committed to Affirmative Action Programs consisting of results-oriented procedures to ensure equal employment opportunities. These programs require positive action in lieu of neutral non-discrimination and merit hiring/performance policies.