Western Governors University
Principal Cloud Engineer
Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84193
If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.
Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency‑based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student‑focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade: Technical 411 Pay Range: $157,000.00 - $243,400.00
Job Description Western Governors University (WGU) is reimagining higher education through technology and innovation. We’re seeking a
Principal Cloud Engineer
to help design and build the next generation of cloud infrastructure that powers accessible, high‑quality education for hundreds of thousands of students nationwide.
This is a
hands‑on engineering and leadership role
— ideal for someone who can both
architect and implement
cloud‑native solutions, drive Kubernetes platform innovation, and lead DevOps automation at scale.
What You’ll Do
Design, build, and optimize
AWS‑based infrastructure
for scalability, performance, and reliability.
Serve as WGU’s
Kubernetes expert , leading cluster design, deployment automation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
Implement and manage
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
and
CI/CD pipelines
using tools like
Terraform ,
Ansible , and
CloudFormation .
Define and maintain
High Availability (HA)
and
Disaster Recovery (DR)
strategies to meet RTO/RPO targets.
Partner with engineering, product, and architecture teams to ensure cloud infrastructure supports academic and business objectives.
Automate provisioning, monitoring, and deployments to accelerate delivery and reduce operational overhead.
Mentor engineers and promote DevOps, security, and cloud architecture best practices across teams.
What You Bring
Expert‑level hands‑on experience
with AWS services and distributed systems design.
Deep Kubernetes expertise , including cluster configuration, scaling, networking, and observability.
Strong proficiency with automation and configuration management tools such as
Terraform ,
Ansible , and
CloudFormation .
Scripting and programming skills in
Python ,
Bash , or
Node.js .
Solid knowledge of
cloud networking, security, and monitoring .
Experience with observability tools like
CloudWatch ,
New Relic , or
Prometheus .
Proven success implementing CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation at scale.
Excellent communication, documentation, and collaboration skills.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or related field (or equivalent relevant experience).
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
and
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
(both required).
6+ years of experience managing production cloud or IT workloads.
3+ years of hands‑on experience with core AWS services (VPC, IAM, EC2, ELB, RDS, Route53, S3).
3+ years of experience building CI/CD pipelines using
CodeBuild ,
CodePipeline , and/or
CodeDeploy .
3+ years of experience automating infrastructure with
Terraform ,
Ansible , and
CloudFormation .
3+ years using AWS governance and compliance tools such as
Config ,
Inspector , and
Lambda .
Preferred Qualifications
Experience integrating AWS with on‑prem or hybrid enterprise technologies.
Expertise with
serverless computing
(Lambda, Step Functions) and
cloud cost optimization .
Familiarity with compliance frameworks (HIPAA, FERPA, PCI, SOX).
JSON/YAML fluency and API integration experience.
Experience mentoring engineers and leading cross‑functional technical initiatives.
Why Join WGU At WGU, you’ll help shape the future of education through cloud innovation. You’ll join a mission‑driven team that values collaboration, autonomy, and purpose — working on systems that truly make a difference in learners’ lives.
#LI-GB1
Job Description Disclaimer: This position description provides the major duties/responsibilities, requirements and working conditions for the position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position, however management reserves the right to revise or change as necessary to meet organizational needs. Other responsibilities may be assigned when circumstances require.
Position & Application Details Full‑Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full‑time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all‑inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency‑based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student‑focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade: Technical 411 Pay Range: $157,000.00 - $243,400.00
Job Description Western Governors University (WGU) is reimagining higher education through technology and innovation. We’re seeking a
Principal Cloud Engineer
to help design and build the next generation of cloud infrastructure that powers accessible, high‑quality education for hundreds of thousands of students nationwide.
This is a
hands‑on engineering and leadership role
— ideal for someone who can both
architect and implement
cloud‑native solutions, drive Kubernetes platform innovation, and lead DevOps automation at scale.
What You’ll Do
Design, build, and optimize
AWS‑based infrastructure
for scalability, performance, and reliability.
Serve as WGU’s
Kubernetes expert , leading cluster design, deployment automation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
Implement and manage
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
and
CI/CD pipelines
using tools like
Terraform ,
Ansible , and
CloudFormation .
Define and maintain
High Availability (HA)
and
Disaster Recovery (DR)
strategies to meet RTO/RPO targets.
Partner with engineering, product, and architecture teams to ensure cloud infrastructure supports academic and business objectives.
Automate provisioning, monitoring, and deployments to accelerate delivery and reduce operational overhead.
Mentor engineers and promote DevOps, security, and cloud architecture best practices across teams.
What You Bring
Expert‑level hands‑on experience
with AWS services and distributed systems design.
Deep Kubernetes expertise , including cluster configuration, scaling, networking, and observability.
Strong proficiency with automation and configuration management tools such as
Terraform ,
Ansible , and
CloudFormation .
Scripting and programming skills in
Python ,
Bash , or
Node.js .
Solid knowledge of
cloud networking, security, and monitoring .
Experience with observability tools like
CloudWatch ,
New Relic , or
Prometheus .
Proven success implementing CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation at scale.
Excellent communication, documentation, and collaboration skills.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or related field (or equivalent relevant experience).
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
and
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
(both required).
6+ years of experience managing production cloud or IT workloads.
3+ years of hands‑on experience with core AWS services (VPC, IAM, EC2, ELB, RDS, Route53, S3).
3+ years of experience building CI/CD pipelines using
CodeBuild ,
CodePipeline , and/or
CodeDeploy .
3+ years of experience automating infrastructure with
Terraform ,
Ansible , and
CloudFormation .
3+ years using AWS governance and compliance tools such as
Config ,
Inspector , and
Lambda .
Preferred Qualifications
Experience integrating AWS with on‑prem or hybrid enterprise technologies.
Expertise with
serverless computing
(Lambda, Step Functions) and
cloud cost optimization .
Familiarity with compliance frameworks (HIPAA, FERPA, PCI, SOX).
JSON/YAML fluency and API integration experience.
Experience mentoring engineers and leading cross‑functional technical initiatives.
Why Join WGU At WGU, you’ll help shape the future of education through cloud innovation. You’ll join a mission‑driven team that values collaboration, autonomy, and purpose — working on systems that truly make a difference in learners’ lives.
#LI-GB1
Job Description Disclaimer: This position description provides the major duties/responsibilities, requirements and working conditions for the position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position, however management reserves the right to revise or change as necessary to meet organizational needs. Other responsibilities may be assigned when circumstances require.
Position & Application Details Full‑Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full‑time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all‑inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.
#J-18808-Ljbffr