Job Title: Principal Cloud Infrastructure Architect.
Location: Washington, DC (On-site).
Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099).
About the Opportunity
ZipStaff is seeking a Principal Cloud Infrastructure Architect for technology modernization at a major passenger-rail organization.
You will set target-state enterprise architecture, Zero Trust baselines, and PCI-DSS patterns across hybrid cloud, networking, applications, and regulated payments. This is a senior individual-contributor architecture seat — not a team-manager role and not a hands-on cloud-admin role.
What You’ll Do:
- Define and govern target-state architectures, standards, and multi-year roadmaps across hybrid cloud, infrastructure automation, analytics, asset management, and AI-enabled decision support.
- Evaluate Generative AI, machine learning, and process-automation use cases and turn them into secure deployment architectures with data governance, access control, auditability, and ownership.
- Set architectural direction for Zero Trust, cloud networking, identity-aware access, and microsegmentation, on-premises and in cloud.
- Run technical risk assessments and set patterns aligned to PCI-DSS, NIST, ISO/IEC 27001, and Federal Railroad Administration rules.
- Use AI-assisted architecture workflows to speed designs, risk analyses, and executive material, and leave reusable patterns behind.
- Coach peer architects and engineering through design walkthroughs and reference implementations, without direct reports.
- Hold clear integration boundaries with platform architects.
Required Qualifications:
- 13+ years in enterprise architecture, infrastructure architecture, or related technical leadership.
- 2–3 years embedded in a formal Enterprise Architecture practice.
- Delivery of business value in a large enterprise environment ($500M+ scale).
- Architectures for AI/ML integration, Zero Trust, microsegmentation, and PCI-DSS payment environments.
- Ability to explain complex designs to C-suite and senior engineers without direct authority.
- Concurrent architecture engagements and portfolio transformation.
- Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Data/Intelligence, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC.
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s or MBA.
- Travel, transportation, or passenger rail.
- Breadth across business, solution, infrastructure, and data architecture.
- DevSecOps pipelines, automated policy enforcement, software-defined networking, and AI-assisted architecture workflows.
Benefits:
- Health Insurance.
- Dental Insurance.
- Vision Insurance.
- 401(k) + 401(k) matching.
- Paid time off.
- Referral Program.
About ZipStaff
ZipStaff partners with leading organizations to connect skilled technology professionals with high-impact contract opportunities. We focus on quality matches, clear communication, and long-term success for candidates and clients.
To apply, submit your resume highlighting enterprise architecture you governed, a Zero Trust or microsegmentation pattern you set, and PCI-DSS or another regulated-payment architecture you owned. Cloud engineers with no architecture-practice tenure will not be considered.