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Principal / Master Principal Cloud Architect- Oracle Government, Defense & Intelligence

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Reston, VAFull-time$147–244K/yrPosted 1w agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$147–244K/yr
Location
Reston, VA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

TS/SCI clearance

Job overview

Oracle seeks a Principal / Master Principal Cloud Architect-Forward Deployed Engineer to support a U.S. Intelligence Community customer. The engineer serves as a trusted technical partner, leading cloud architecture and deployment within customer environments and remaining engaged through operational adoption. The role focuses on secure, scalable OCI solutions, end-to-end delivery, and customer mission outcomes, while sharing field learnings that can influence Oracle’s product and engineering direction.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Cloud InfrastructureInfrastructureAutomationInfrastructure as Code (IaC)TerraformPython (Programming Language)Shell ScriptKubernetesCybersecurity ComplianceCloud EngineeringInfrastructure EngineeringCustomer Environment DeploymentCloud ArchitecturePlatform OperationsSecure Environment DesignHigh Availability DesignScalable Environment DesignOCI Resource ManagerAnsibleScriptingShellCommunicationCustomer Deployment LeadershipOCI ArchitectureAWSAzureGoogle Cloud PlatformContainer OrchestrationLegacy System Re-ArchitectureCloud-Native ModernizationGovernment Security AccreditationGovernment Compliance

Qualifications

U.S. Intelligence Community ExperienceTS/SCI With Poly Clearance6+ Years Cloud or Infrastructure ExperienceOCI Architect Associate or Professional Certification

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave

Full job description

Oracle Government Defense & Intelligence has an exciting opportunity for a Principal / Master Principal Cloud Architect-Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE)

Build What Others Only Design Some engineers advise. Some architects create diagrams. Forward Deployed Engineers build the solution, deploy it inside the customer's environment, and stay until it succeeds. Oracle is seeking experienced cloud architects and infrastructure engineers to join an elite team supporting the U.S. Intelligence Community. As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will be embedded full-time with a single customer, partnering directly with operators, technical leaders, and mission stakeholders to architect, deploy, secure, and operationalize cloud solutions that solve real-world national security challenges. This is not a traditional consulting role. It is not a presales role. You will own the technical success of a high-priority customer engagement from initial architecture through production deployment and operational adoption. If you thrive in ambiguity, enjoy solving difficult infrastructure problems, and want to see your work directly impact mission outcomes, this role was built for you.

  • Must possess or have the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI with Poly

Only Oracle brings together the data, infrastructure, applications, and expertise to power everything from industry innovations to life-saving care. And with AI embedded across our products and services, we help customers turn that promise into a better future for all. Discover your potential at a company leading the way in AI and cloud solutions that impact billions of lives. True innovation starts when everyone is empowered to contribute. That’s why we’re committed to growing a workforce that promotes opportunities for all with competitive benefits that support our people with flexible medical, life insurance, and retirement options. We also encourage employees to give back to their communities through our volunteer programs. We’re committed to including people with disabilities at all stages of the employment process. If you require accessibility assistance or accommodation for a disability at any point, let us know by emailing [email protected] or by calling 1-888-404-2494 in the United States. Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Oracle will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to applicable law. Partners with customers, sales, engineering and product teams to design, demonstrate and deploy Oracle Cloud architectures that address customer business problems. Disclaimer:

Certain U.S. based or U.S. customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization/occupational health mandates, and/or drug testing requirements.

Range and benefit information provided in this posting are specific to the stated locations only

US: Hiring Range in USD from: $147,300 to $243,800 per annum. May be eligible for equity and compensation deferral. Eligible for commission with an estimated pay mix of 70/30.

Oracle maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect Oracle's differing products, industries and lines of business. Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity.

Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following:

  1. Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
  2. Short term disability and long term disability
  3. Life insurance and AD&D
  4. Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
  5. Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
  6. Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits
  7. 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
  8. Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
  9. 11 paid holidays
  10. Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
  11. Paid parental leave
  12. Adoption assistance
  13. Employee Stock Purchase Plan
  14. Financial planning and group legal
  15. Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance

The role will generally accept applications for at least three calendar days from the posting date or as long as the job remains posted. As part of Oracle's onboarding process and consistent with applicable law, US-based employees are required to complete identity verification, which involves the collection and processing of their biometric information. Accommodations to this requirement may be granted following an individualized assessment. What You'll Do As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you become the customer's trusted technical partner and lead architect. You will:

  • Embed full-time with a dedicated Intelligence Community customer
  • Architect and deploy OCI-based solutions directly within customer environments
  • Transform complex mission requirements into scalable cloud architectures
  • Build and configure infrastructure across OCI IaaS and PaaS services
  • Design secure, resilient, production-grade environments
  • Implement Infrastructure-as-Code and automation frameworks
  • Configure networking, identity, security, observability, databases, storage, and container platforms
  • Harden pilot deployments into operational production systems
  • Lead troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and performance optimization efforts
  • Partner closely with customer operators, engineers, and leadership teams
  • Drive adoption, knowledge transfer, and long-term customer success
  • Capture field learnings and influence future product and engineering direction across Oracle

Why This Role Is Different Most cloud architects support many customers. Forward Deployed Engineers focus deeply on one. You are not handing off recommendations and moving to the next account. You are responsible for getting the deployment operational, secure, and successful. You will work alongside the customer through every phase: Architect → Build → Deploy → Harden → Operate → Transition This model gives you the opportunity to:

  • Solve technically demanding problems end-to-end
  • Work directly on mission-critical environments
  • Influence both customer outcomes and Oracle product evolution
  • Build lasting technical credibility with senior government stakeholders
  • Become a recognized expert in OCI deployment and cloud modernization

What You'll Build Depending on customer needs, you may work across:

  • OCI Compute Services
  • Virtual Cloud Networks (VCN)
  • Identity & Access Management (IAM)
  • OCI Kubernetes Engine (OKE)
  • Containers and microservices architectures
  • Databases and data platforms
  • Storage and backup architectures
  • Security and encryption solutions
  • Monitoring, logging, and observability platforms
  • High Availability and Disaster Recovery architectures
  • Cloud-native modernization initiatives
  • Large-scale mission applications and analytics platforms

What We're Looking For Required Qualifications

  • Experience supporting or working within the U.S. Intelligence Community
  • MUST possess or have the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI with Poly
  • Strong hands-on cloud engineering and infrastructure experience
  • Experience deploying and operating solutions inside customer environments
  • Deep knowledge of cloud architecture, automation, and platform operations
  • Experience designing secure, highly available, scalable environments
  • Infrastructure-as-Code expertise using Terraform, OCI Resource Manager, Ansible, or similar technologies
  • Scripting and automation experience using Python, Shell, or comparable languages
  • Strong communication skills across technical and executive audiences
  • Ability to work on-site with customers for extended engagements
  • minimum of 6+ years of cloud, infrastructure, or platform engineering experience
  • Independently leads customer deployments from architecture through production
  • Executes complex implementations with minimal oversight
  • Owns delivery outcomes for assigned engagements

Preferred Qualifications

  • OCI Architect Associate or Professional certification
  • Experience with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform
  • Kubernetes and container orchestration expertise
  • Experience rearchitecting legacy systems into cloud-native solutions
  • Knowledge of security accreditation and compliance processes within government environments

Why Oracle Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is powering some of the world's most demanding workloads across government, defense, and intelligence organizations. As an FDE, you won't simply help customers adopt cloud technology—you'll help them transform mission outcomes through secure, scalable, production-ready cloud solutions. You'll join a team of engineers who thrive on ownership, technical excellence, and solving problems that matter. If you want to build, deploy, and operate systems where success is measured by mission impact—not slide decks—we'd like to talk with you. Join Oracle and help shape the future of cloud innovation for the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Come Join Us! #LI-PA4

How this job compares

Set against the 2,660 open Cloud Architect jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 5, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$147–244K/yr
  • Virginia median$147–208K/yr234 salary ranges
  • US median$147–230K/yr2,386 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $196K, is 8% above the Virginia median midpoint ($181K) — in the top quarter of Cloud Architect salary ranges in Virginia.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 266 open Cloud Architect jobs in Virginia and 2,660 across the US. 12% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Virginia
Experience
This posting asks for at least 6 years of experience; Cloud Architect postings that state a minimum ask for 8 years at the median (2,303 postings).
Education
879 of the 2,660 open Cloud Architect jobs (33%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 5, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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