Principal Cloud Platform Engineer

**Principal Cloud Platform Engineer | Sydney** Sydney | Flexible Hybrid | Permanent * **Principal-level technical ownership across AWS, Terraform and Cloud Architecture** * **Hands-on engineering role with autonomy to set technical direction** * **Major investment in cloud modernisation, automation and AI** **About the opportunity** We're partnering with a growing, technology-driven organisation looking for a **Principal Cloud Platform Engineer** to take ownership of its AWS infrastructure and help shape the future of its cloud engineering capability. This isn't a traditional management role. They're looking for someone who wants to remain **deeply hands-on** , while having the authority to make architectural decisions, establish engineering standards and mentor other engineers. You'll join an environment undergoing significant modernisation, with a focus on **Terraform, AWS ECS, GitHub Actions, automation and AI-driven engineering** . **What you'll be doing** * Own the technical architecture and engineering standards across a complex **AWS environment** . * Design and build cloud infrastructure using **Terraform and reusable IaC modules** . * Work extensively with **AWS ECS on EC2/Fargate** , Lambda, API Gateway, Aurora, CloudFront and IAM. * Lead the modernisation of legacy infrastructure and improve platform scalability and reliability. * Build and improve automated deployment pipelines using **GitHub Actions and GitOps** . * Introduce **Python/Bash automation** to reduce manual processes and improve operational efficiency. * Improve cloud security, observability, incident response and cost optimisation. * Support emerging AI initiatives, including automation and AWS AI services. * Work closely with Engineering, Architecture and Cyber Security teams. * Mentor a small DevOps team while remaining a hands-on technical authority. **What we're looking for** You'll ideally have: * **8+ years in Cloud, DevOps, Infrastructure or Platform Engineering** . * Strong hands-on **AWS engineering** , particularly ECS, EC2/Fargate and core AWS infrastructure services. * Advanced **Terraform / Infrastructure as Code** experience. * Strong **GitHub Actions, CI/CD and GitOps** experience. * Experience with **Python, Bash and infrastructure automation** . * A solid understanding of cloud networking, security, observability and reliability. * Experience working within regulated environments, particularly **ISO 27001, PCI DSS or similar frameworks** . * Proven ability to make architectural decisions and influence technical direction. * Strong communication skills and experience mentoring engineers. **Worth highlighting:** This is an **ECS environment, not Kubernetes** , so we're particularly interested in engineers with genuine AWS ECS experience. **Why consider it?** The biggest attraction is the **level of ownership** . You'll have genuine authority over cloud architecture and engineering standards, rather than simply implementing decisions made elsewhere. There's also significant investment in **automation, AI and platform modernisation** , giving you the opportunity to improve the environment while working with modern AWS technologies. For someone who enjoys **solving complex technical problems, influencing architecture and mentoring engineers without moving into people management** , this is a particularly interesting opportunity. *If you have any questions about this role or others we have available, you can email* ***Hayley*** *directly via* ***hayley@thedrivegroup.com.au*** *.* *For the latest jobs, tech news or to introduce a friend for a* ***$1,000 referral fee*** *, follow us on LinkedIn:* *https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedrivegroup* ***TheDriveGroup is 100% committed to improving meaningful diversity in the technology industry.*** *We partner with clients who embrace diversity and seek candidates across all backgrounds, abilities, genders, sexualities, cultures and faiths.*