About the Role
<span><span><span><b><span><span>Title: </span></span></b><span><span>GCP Cloud Engineer / Developer</span></span><b><span><span> </span></span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span><span><span><b><span><span>Location:</span></span></b><span><span> Chicago, IL (Hybrid)<br />
<b>Employment Type:</b> 3 Month Contract-to-Hire (W2 Only)<br />
<b>Work Authorization:</b> US Citizen or Green Card Required</span></span></span></span></span>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>Overview </span></span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span><span><span><span><span>We are seeking a <b>GCP Cloud Engineer / Developer</b> who can <b>design, build, and scale cloud-native solutions on Google Cloud Platform</b>.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span><span><span><span><span>This role is not about maintaining systems—it is about <b>standing up modern cloud infrastructure, automating deployments, and enabling scalable, secure application delivery</b>.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span><span><span><span><span>The ideal candidate is a <b>hands-on builder</b> who can operate across <b>cloud engineering, DevOps, and application development</b> to deliver measurable outcomes.</span></span></span></span></span>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>Performance Objectives</span></span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span><span><span><b><span><span>First 30 Days – Assess & Stabilize</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Evaluate current GCP environment, architecture, and deployment pipelines </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Identify gaps across <b>infrastructure, security, and automation</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Gain alignment with engineering and business stakeholders </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>60 Days – Build & Automate</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Implement or enhance <b>Infrastructure as Code (Terraform preferred)</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Establish or improve <b>CI/CD pipelines (Cloud Build, Jenkins, GitLab)</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Begin optimizing application deployment workflows </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>90 Days – Scale & Optimize</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Deliver <b>scalable, production-ready cloud infrastructure</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Improve <b>system performance, reliability, and cost efficiency</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Implement monitoring, alerting, and observability across environments </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>Ongoing Success</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Ensure <b>secure, compliant, and resilient cloud architecture</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Continuously optimize <b>cost, performance, and deployment speed</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Support engineering teams with <b>best practices and reusable patterns</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>Key Responsibilities</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Design and deploy <b>scalable GCP infrastructure</b> using: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Compute Engine </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>App Engine </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Build and maintain <b>Infrastructure as Code (IaC)</b> using: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Terraform (preferred) </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Google Cloud Deployment Manager </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Develop and optimize <b>CI/CD pipelines</b>: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Cloud Build, Jenkins, GitLab </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Implement <b>monitoring and observability</b>: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Google Cloud Operations Suite (Stackdriver) </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Manage <b>security and compliance</b>: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>IAM policies </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Encryption </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Network security (VPCs, firewalls, load balancers) </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Support <b>data-driven solutions</b>: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>BigQuery </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Cloud SQL </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Cloud Storage </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>Technical Requirements</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Strong experience with <b>Google Cloud Platform (GCP)</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Hands-on experience with: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><b><span><span>Terraform / IaC</span></span></b> </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><b><span><span>Docker & Kubernetes (GKE)</span></span></b> </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><b><span><span>CI/CD pipelines</span></span></b> </span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Programming proficiency in: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Python, Java, Go, or Bash </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Strong understanding of: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Networking (VPCs, firewalls, load balancing) </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Cloud security and IAM </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Experience with: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Git (GitHub / GitLab) </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Agile development environments </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>What We’re Really Looking </span></span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span><span><span><span><span>We want someone who can:</span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Take a cloud environment and <b>make it scalable, automated, and production-ready</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Reduce manual work through <b>automation and pipelines</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Improve system performance while <b>controlling cloud costs</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Work across teams and <b>own delivery—not just tasks</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>Preferred Qualifications</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Google Cloud certifications: </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Professional Cloud Architect </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Professional Cloud Developer </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Experience in <b>regulated environments</b> (HIPAA, PCI, etc.) </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Exposure to <b>multi-cloud environments (AWS/Azure)</b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>This Role Is NOT</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Not a support-only role </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Not a ticket-based cloud admin </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Not limited to one tool or silo </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span><span><span><b><span><span>Must Have:</span></span></b></span></span></span>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>GCP hands-on experience </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Terraform / IaC </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>CI/CD pipeline experience </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Kubernetes (GKE)</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>