Cloud / DevOps Engineer (DevOps & Solution Architect)

Job Title : Cloud / DevOps Engineer (DevOps & Solution Architect) Client : CalPERS Enterprise Solutions Development Division (ESDD) Location : Onsite Sacramento, CA Contract : 6 Months Contract (with possible extensions at CalPERS discretion) Work Type : Full-Time, Onsite Role Category : Architecture DevOps Architect & Solution Architect Strong preference for USC and Locals Position Overview CalPERS seeks a highly skilled Cloud / DevOps Engineer who will serve as a DevOps Architect and Solution Architect supporting mission-critical applications within the myCalPERS ecosystem. This consultant will act as a technical SME, supporting both on-premises and cloud-hosted environments (Azure / AWS) while guiding the ARTS team in architecture, CI / CD modernization, monitoring, technical documentation, and knowledge transfer. The consultant will evaluate legacy systems, identify improvements based on platform engineering standards, design modernization strategies, and provide ongoing architectural, DevOps, and platform engineering guidance. This position requires strong expertise in CI / CD, automation, observability, cloud optimization, security compliance, and technical mentoring. Project Scope : The scope of this project encompasses the following deliverable base tasks : The consultant will provide application architecture and monitoring and DevOps / Platform Engineering expertise and mentoring to the ARTS team members, to support and service the critical state- wide myCalPERS application subsystems. The consultant will act as a Subject-Matter Expert (SME), assisting ARTS technical team members in the design, architecture, analysis, troubleshooting, review, and documentation of products supported by the ARTS Unit. The products are both on-prem and in the Azure or AWS cloud. The consultant may also act as the technical subject-matter expert on complex projects or may participate with other team members on projects of a complex nature or broad scope. Consultant responsibilities also include ensuring that all work performed under this agreement will comply with CalPERS Information Technology Services Branch (ITSB) policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines. The consultant is to submit to the technical project manager a written monthly status report as part of this agreement and provide mentoring to CalPERS' team members to expand their functional knowledge, analysis skills, and technical skills sets throughout the contract. 1 : Solution Architecture, Development and Test Support Evaluate existing applications and provide roadmap for architectural upgrades and enhancements. Evaluate unit tests and collaborate with the Regression Automation team to ensure adequate testing suites. Provide input into design alternatives and provide alternative solutions based on the requirements and performance of the applications. 2 : Dev Ops Discovery and Assessment Provide a thorough assessment of the existing CI / CD infrastructure, monitoring, security and compliance, and identify bottlenecks, risks and technical debt. Provide a gap analysis between current state vs. industry standard. 3 : Roadmap & Strategy Prioritized list of improvements (short, medium, long term). Recommend upgrades and refactoring based on new technologies Identify automation opportunities. Security and compliance upgrade plan. 4 : Implementation of Approved Changes CI / CD Pipeline Enhancements such as automated build, test, and deployment pipelines. Monitoring and Logging Improvements to observability stack Implementation of secrets management, vulnerability scanning, and access controls For cloud applications, optimize scaling policies, cost optimizations, and backup / recovery improvements. 5 : Knowledge Transfer On an ongoing basis through the end of the contract, all work products and deliverables (project status reports, business process, triage incident reports with resolution, meeting minutes, test cases, test outcomes) have to be discussed with the contract manager to ensure that all the information is documented and placed in a file share. The contract manager will schedule knowledge transfer sessions at regular intervals to ensure that all of the work production details have been documented, and the knowledge has been transferred to the state personnel. Minimum Qualifications 1. Minimum of 10 years of expert-level experience as a DevOps Architect and System Integrator, with a proven track record of implementing solutions using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. 2. At least 10 years of experience serving as a Solution Architect for complex enterprise-scale applications, demonstrating the ability to design, integrate, and optimize large systems. 3. A minimum of 5 years of experience in the infrastructure and architecture of public pension systems, including system integration, scalability, performance optimization, and modernization of legacy platforms. 4. 5 years of experience in developing technical documentation (standards, best practices, procedures) and delivering training or knowledge transfer sessions to team members. 5. A minimum of 5 years of experience supporting applications on cloud platforms, specifically Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, with expertise in deployment, monitoring, and operational support.