Cloud Architect Job Description

As an essential virtualization specialist, you must have advanced skills in system architecture, network management, and software development principles. A successful candidate also needs to understand business strategies and be able to identify risks related to new technology implementations. To become successful you will need a combination of technical expertise, business acumen, and communication skills.

As a cloud architect, you will be expected to provide key decision-making insights for your organization. In other words, you will be responsible for developing technical solutions to business problems and ensuring that those solutions are efficiently implemented. Here are some of the responsibilities of a cloud architect:
- Developing technical solutions to business problems
- A cloud architect must be able to understand a business problem and be able to design a solution using the most suitable technologies. This requires an in-depth understanding of how business processes work and how IT systems interrelate with them.
- Designing an efficient implementation
- A cloud architect must understand how his or her IT solution will be implemented and be able to mitigate risks. This includes an understanding of how existing IT systems will be integrated with the new cloud architecture and how new technologies will be integrated with existing systems.
- Managing vendor relationships
- A cloud architect must be able to select the most suitable vendor technologies and manage vendor relationships. This includes an understanding of the features, capabilities, and limitations of vendor offerings and how the organization’s requirements can be met using vendor products.
- Managing change
- A cloud architect must have the ability to implement his or her technical solutions while managing change. This includes understanding how existing systems will be impacted as new technologies are implemented.

As a cloud architect, you will be expected to have a wide variety of technical skills, organizational knowledge, and business acumen. In order to succeed in this role, you will need a combination of the following qualifications:
- Strong technical skills
- A cloud architect must have strong technical skills in the following areas: system architecture, network management, network security, software development, and system administration.
- Strong organizational knowledge
- You must also have strong organizational knowledge, including business strategy, project management, and organizational change management.
- Business acumen
- You must recognize any potential business risks related to new technology implementations and have the ability to design solutions that mitigate those risks. You must be able to understand the organization’s business strategy and be able to identify and recommend changes that can improve business processes.