cloud engineer

A cloud engineer is an IT professional responsible for any technological duties associated with cloud computing, including design, planning, management, maintenance and support.

The cloud engineer position can be broken into multiple roles, including cloud architect, cloud software engineer, cloud security engineer, cloud systems engineer and cloud network engineer. Each position focuses on a specific type of cloud computing, rather than the technology as a whole. Companies that hire cloud engineers are often looking to deploy cloud services or further their cloud understanding and technology.

Job listings on Dice.com seek cloud engineers with at least three to five years' experience with cloud services -- including open source technology, software development, system engineering, scripting languages and multiple cloud provider environments. Additionally, cloud engineers must have a background building or designing Web services in the cloud.

Cloud engineers need to be familiar with programming languages including Java, Python and Ruby. Many companies looking to hire cloud engineers seek experience with OpenStack, Linux, Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, Google compute engine, Microsoft Azure and Docker. Experience with APIs, orchestration, automation, DevOps and databases like NoSQL are also important.

A cloud engineer should have a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, engineering or another related field, but some companies prefer a Master of Science degree. Additional certifications may be required.