Introduction

Cloud engineering is the process of designing, implementing, and managing cloud-based solutions. A cloud engineer is responsible for building and maintaining cloud systems, ensuring they are reliable, secure, and cost-effective by working with cloud services, automation, and troubleshooting.

However, supply and demand poses a challenge for companies looking to hire cloud engineers, with the demand for qualified, experienced cloud engineers outweighing the domestic supply within the US. Businesses often amplify this challenge by restricting their search to local tech talent; however, in recent years, the rise of remote, global work has begun to solve this issue.

What is Cloud Engineering?

A cloud engineer is an IT professional who designs, builds, maintains, and supports a company’s cloud computing infrastructure and services. They work with platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform to manage systems for storage, computing, and applications, ensuring they are secure, scalable, and cost-effective.

What does a Cloud Engineer do?

A cloud engineer designs, builds, and maintains cloud-based infrastructure and applications to ensure they are secure, scalable, and efficient. Their work involves planning and migrating systems to the cloud, configuring cloud services like networking and databases, and using automation to deploy and manage resources. They also monitor and troubleshoot cloud environments to optimize performance and address any issues.

Cloud Engineering Skills and Qualifications

Cloud Engineers will often hold a degree in computer science or similar, though this is not essential. When hiring a Cloud Engineer, it’s most important to look for strong experience in key tools and frameworks.

There are also many certifications and qualifications that a cloud engineer may have. Popular certifications include:

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
• Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate
• Google Cloud Certified – Associate Cloud Engineer
• Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Architect
• ISC2 Cloud Security Professional® (CCSP®)
• CompTIA Cloud+
• Google Cloud DevOps Engineer
• Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer IT Professional Program
• Cloud Native Computing Foundation: Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associate (CNPA)
• Microsoft Certified: 365 Administrator Expert (MS-102)

Beyond technical skills, soft skills are vital when choosing your Cloud Engineer. Problem-solving is crucial, aiding with troubleshooting and continuous learning. Communication is also essential when looking for any new team member, particularly in facilitating clear and open communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Popular Languages for Cloud Engineering

There are many languages and frameworks commonly used for Cloud Engineering. Some of the most popular include:

• Python: Popular for automation, scripting, data analysis, and general cloud tasks.
• Go/Golang: Favored for cloud-native development, microservices, and high-performance applications.
• Java: A reliable choice for large-scale, enterprise-level cloud applications.
• JavaScript/Node.js: Used for cloud-based applications with cloud management platforms.
• C#: Popular within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem, integrating well with .NET.
• Bash/PowerShell: Fundamental for scripting and command-line operations.
• YAML/JSON: Critical for configuration, defining infrastructure and data interchange.
• C++ / C: Used for high-performance computing and systems-level tasks in the cloud.

What are some popular Native Cloud frameworks?

Frameworks are collections of reusable code, templates and tools that provide a foundational structure for building applications effectively and efficiently. Some of the most popular cloud development frameworks include:

• Helidon: A collection of Java libraries for writing microservices that run on a fast web core.
• Kalix: A fully managed cloud platform for building and running event-driven applications; a platform as a service (PaaS) that enables developers to build and deploy cloud-native microservices and APIs.
• Akka: A toolkit for building highly concurrent, distributed and resilient message-driven applications.
• Spring Cloud: A popular framework that provides tools for building and deploying microservices on cloud platforms that integrates with Spring Boot.
• Dropwizard: Used for developing high-performance RESTful web services.
• MicroProfile: An open forum to optimise Enterprise Java for a microservices architecture by innovating across multiple implementations.
• Kubernetes: An open-source technology that helps automate containerised application deployment, scalability and maintenance.
• Vert.x: A toolkit that supports cloud-native development, used for building reactive applications on the JVM using an asynchronous and non-blocking execution model.
• Quarkus: A Kubernetes-native Java framework that enables developers to create applications for a modern cloud-native world.
• Micronaut: A modern full-stack framework for building microservices and serverless applications.

What are some popular tools in Cloud Engineering?

There are many tools commonly used in cloud engineering, including:

• nOps: An all-in-one automated cloud optimization platform designed to optimize cloud expenses.
• Terraform: An Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool that helps developers to manage cloud resources, including both low-level and high-level components.
• CloudFormation: An IaC tool from AWS that enables you to manage AWS resources, helping to automate the deployment and management of AWS cloud infrastructure.
• Google Cloud Deployment Manager: A tool designed specifically for the management of resources on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• OpenTofu: Designed for managing cloud and on-premises infrastructure across multiple providers.
• Pulumi: Allows developers to provision cloud infrastructure using general-purpose programming languages like TypeScript and Python.
• Ansible: An open-source, command-line cloud automation platform written in Python, offering cloud automation tools.
• Chef: An open-source cloud automation platform that streamlines the configuration and management of infrastructure across networks.
• Puppet: An open-source cloud automation tool that helps automate the provisioning, configuration, and management of servers.
• Rudder: A configuration management solution focused on continuous compliance and infrastructure automation.
• Datadog: A cloud-native monitoring and observability platform that brings together metrics, logs, traces, and security data.

What are the benefits of Cloud Engineering?

Cloud Engineering offers benefits like significant cost savings, enhanced scalability, improved security and greater mobility by shifting from on-premise hardware to on-demand remote resources. Some of these benefits include:

• Cost Efficiency: Reduces upfront hardware investments and ongoing maintenance costs.
• Scalability: Easily scale resources up or down to meet demand and only pay for what you need.
• Faster Deployment: Access to rapid provisioning can accelerate development and time-to-market.
• Security: Cloud providers offer advanced, built-in security and centralized backups.
• Mobility: Enables global access to data and applications.
• Disaster Recovery: Offers robust systems for backup and remote activation.
• IT Management: Offloads infrastructure management to the cloud provider.

How much does it cost to hire a Cloud Engineer?

When hiring traditionally in the US for a local, mid-level cloud engineers, the average annual compensation is $178,582, with a range of $85,000 to $275,000 according to Built In. However, even by just expanding to other parts of the United States, salaries can be reduced significantly.

On average, companies hiring cloud engineers with HireDevelopers can expect to save between 50% and 80% on salaries and hiring costs, with exact salaries varying based on location and experience. The greatest savings can be found by hiring in Africa and Asia, while companies looking for aligned time zones and a closer cultural match can hire from our extensive pool of Latin American developers.

How to hire Cloud Engineers

The first step to hiring a cloud engineer is to decide on a hiring method. Traditional hiring methods include local job adverts, LinkedIn job posts and using your professional network to identify potential candidates.

However, these methods are often time consuming and can be expensive. The median time to hire a developer is around 41 days, with the slowest 10% taking up to 82 days and 38% of companies reporting project delays due to recruitment problems, according to the Linux Foundation’s 2024 State of Tech Talent Report.

Alternatively, many companies are now turning to services like HireDevelopers to cut costs and speed up the hiring process. With HireDevelopers, you can hire cloud engineer from anywhere in the world, at any price point, in just 24 hours.

When putting together a job description or job interview for a cloud engineer, prioritize technical skills, like familiarity with key frameworks and libraries.

You should also consider using coding challenges alongside a traditional interview during the hiring process – if you’re using a pre-vetted talent pool like HireDevelopers, this has already been done for you. Coding challenges allow you to assess problem-solving skills and coding expertise in a realistic, real-time environment.

If you need help putting together a cloud engineer job description or conducting a cloud engineer job interview, you can check out our helpful and comprehensive guides below. Alternatively, to cut your time-to-hire by 90% and unlock savings of up to 80%, get in touch and book your free HireDevelopers consultation today.

Why hire Cloud Engineers with HireDevelopers?

Hiring the right cloud engineer for your team is a huge undertaking, and the process can be intimidating, especially for startups and small businesses.

At HireDevelopers, our pre-vetted, global tech talent marketplace streamlines your hiring journey and cuts time-to-hire by over 90% without compromising on quality or stretching your budget. Receive a custom shortlist of top cloud engineers at any seniority level, at any price point and located anywhere in the world within just 24 hours of your consultation.

Plus, we’ll handle all payroll, legal compliance and HR completely for free, giving you more time to start building with your new cloud engineer.

Get in touch today and start hiring top-notch cloud engineers in just 24 hours.