Senior Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Architect

Job Summary

We are seeking a strategic and technically deep Senior Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Architect to lead the design and governance of enterprise-grade GCP environments for Texas public sector customers under the DIR PCM program. This senior role focuses on creating secure, scalable, cost-optimized, and compliant architectures-particularly for regulated workloads that may involve or access Criminal Justice Information (CJI)-while ensuring alignment with DIR PCM service catalogs, TxRAMP requirements, CJIS Security Policy, and federal/state standards. The successful candidate must successfully complete and maintain an FBI CJIS background check (fingerprint-based national criminal history check) upon hire and renewed every 12 months.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end architecture design for complex GCP deployments, including multi-project/folder/organization structures, hybrid/multi-cloud connectivity, data platforms, AI/ML workloads, security posture, and operational excellence.
• Define and implement reference architectures, landing zones, and foundational patterns using Google Cloud best practices: Organization Policy Service, Folders, Projects, Shared VPC, VPC Service Controls, Access Context Manager, Assured Workloads, and Google Cloud for Government capabilities.
• Architect secure-by-design environments with zero-trust principles: CMEK encryption, Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP), BeyondCorp Enterprise, Binary Authorization, Confidential Computing, Security Command Center Premium, Chronicle SIEM, and audit logging strategies compliant with CJIS requirements.
• Design high-availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions (multi-region/multi-zone deployments, Cloud Interconnect/Partner Interconnect, Cloud DNS, Global Load Balancing, Backup and DR services).
• Guide cost optimization and FinOps strategies (Billing Budgets, Recommender, Committed Use Discounts, Sustained Use Discounts, Cloud Billing export to BigQuery for analytics).
• Translate business, regulatory, and technical requirements into prescriptive GCP blueprints, reference implementations, and decision frameworks for Texas agencies.
• Collaborate with DIR PCM program leadership, agency stakeholders, security teams, and delivery engineers to align architectures with contract SLAs, TxRAMP controls, CJIS Security Policy, NIST 800-53/800-171 alignments, and state data classification standards.
• Provide technical leadership during migrations, modernization, and greenfield initiatives; conduct architecture reviews, threat modeling, and compliance gap analyses.
• Author architecture decision records (ADRs), design documents, security control mappings, and compliance evidence packages for audits and assessments.
• Mentor cloud engineers and cross-functional teams; stay ahead of GCP roadmap, Google Cloud for Government updates, and evolving compliance mandates.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional experience in cloud architecture and engineering, with at least 5+ years focused on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in enterprise or production-scale environments.
• Proven track record designing secure, compliant GCP architectures for regulated industries (government, public safety, healthcare, finance) or environments subject to CJIS, FedRAMP, TxRAMP, or equivalent standards.
• Deep expertise across GCP pillars: Infrastructure (Compute, Networking, Storage), Data & Analytics (BigQuery, Dataflow, Pub/Sub, Dataproc), Security & Identity, Operations (Monitoring, Logging, Cloud Operations Suite), Application Modernization (GKE, Cloud Run, Anthos), and AI/ML foundations.
• Strong understanding of zero-trust security models, encryption strategies, network perimeter controls (VPC Service Controls, Private Google Access), and observability/logging pipelines.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform strongly preferred; Deployment Manager, Cloud Foundation Toolkit, or Google-provided blueprints a plus) and CI/CD automation.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Relevant certifications required or highly preferred:
  • Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect (mandatory)
  • Google Cloud Professional Security Engineer
  • Google Cloud Professional DevOps Engineer or Professional Data Engineer (strongly preferred)

Security & Compliance Requirements

• Must successfully pass and maintain an FBI CJIS-compliant background check