About the role
This is a contract role with a contract duration of 6-12 months at a pay rate of 90-95$/hr 40 hrs a week
Senior Cloud Engineer (AWS / Terraform / Security & Production Readiness) Location: Toronto / Montreal (Hybrid – mandatory) Experience: 7–10+ years Employment Type: Full-time / Contract
Role Overview We are looking for a Senior Cloud Engineer to lead production readiness, secure cloud deployment, and live cutover of a regulated, high-assurance platform. This role is critical in ensuring that AWS production environments are secure, compliant, and operationally resilient, with a strong focus on infrastructure as code (Terraform), security controls, key management, and production deployment practices. You will work at the intersection of cloud engineering, security, and platform operations, supporting a high-stakes production launch and vendor integrations.
Key Responsibilities
- Production Environment Setup & Governance
Establish and configure AWS production environments (ca-central-1) separated from non-production accounts Implement multi-account governance and federation models aligned with enterprise standards Apply infrastructure-as-code (Terraform) modules to enforce:
Service Control Policies (SCPs) Data residency controls MFA enforcement and root access restriction Public access protections (e.g., S3 hardening)
Configure monitoring, alerting, and centralized logging using CloudWatch and log aggregation solutions
- Security & Key Management Infrastructure
Implement and manage customer-managed KMS keys, including asymmetric key configurations Deploy and maintain secure key custody frameworks, including:
Application service keys (rotating) Blockchain validator keys Privacy/encryption keys for sensitive transaction layers
Ensure secure handling of secrets via AWS Secrets Manager with automated rotation
- CI/CD & Production Deployment
Activate and manage production CI/CD pipelines with environment gating and approvals Deploy applications and infrastructure using controlled release mechanisms Lead production deployments of pre-validated components (from dev & staging) including:
Encryption and signing mechanisms Security-sensitive platform components
- Production Readiness & Runbook Validation
Validate and refine production runbooks against real-world system behaviour Identify and address gaps between staging and production environments Ensure operational readiness, incident response alignment, and monitoring coverage
- Vendor Integration & Cutover Own the end-to-end integration and production cutover of critical third-party services:
KYC systems (e.g., Persona)
Transition from mock → sandbox → production
Compliance platforms (e.g., sanctions, PEP screening)
Ensure secure data flows and operational stability
Custody / MPC platforms (multi-party computation)
Support secure key ceremonies and production rollout
- Hypercare & Production Support
Support live production cutover and stabilization phases Monitor platform health, performance, and security posture Rapidly respond to incidents during hypercare period
Required Skills & Experience
7+ years in cloud engineering / platform engineering roles Strong hands-on experience with AWS (multi-account environments) Deep expertise in Terraform (modular design, IaC best practices) Proven experience implementing:
Cloud security frameworks (IAM, SCPs, KMS, Secrets Manager) Monitoring & observability (CloudWatch, logging pipelines)
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and controlled production deployments Strong understanding of:
Production readiness and release management Secure architecture and data protection controls
Experience supporting high-risk production cutovers or regulated environments
Nice to Have
Experience with blockchain or cryptographic key management systems Exposure to MPC (multi-party computation) or custody platforms Familiarity with compliance/KYC integrations AWS certifications (Solutions Architect / DevOps / Security)
What You Bring
Ownership mindset with ability to lead production-critical initiatives Strong problem-solving skills in high-pressure environments Ability to work across engineering, security, and vendor teams Clear communication and documentation skills