Director, Cloud

Brief DescriptionThe Director, Cloud is a pivotal technology leadership role responsible for managing, executing, and optimizing the enterprise cloud infrastructure at Kelly Benefits. Under the leadership of Tom Balloch, Sam Mello will drive the deployment, operations, and continuous improvement of the AWS environment. This role ensures that Kelly Benefits’ platforms are scalable, highly available, secure, and fully compliant with healthcare and financial data regulations (e.g., HIPAA, SOC 2).The Director acts as the definitive technical leader for multiple operational groups, directly managing the Cloud Engineering, DevOps, and Cloud Security teams. This role will optimize cloud spending (FinOps) and champion advanced engineering and automation practices to accelerate product delivery within an Amazon Web Services (AWS) ecosystem. Cloud Engineering, Operations & DevOps LeadershipInfrastructure Management: Oversee the provisioning, administration, and management of scalable cloud environments, acting as the primary steward of the company's AWS footprint.DevOps & Automation: Direct the DevOps teams to champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and CI/CD pipelines. Ensure the automation of deployment, monitoring, and scaling processes to reduce manual intervention and accelerate time-to-market.Performance & Reliability: Establish and enforce Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Ensure high availability, resilient disaster recovery (DR) protocols (e.g., multi-AZ/multi-Region deployments), and robust incident response frameworks for all cloud-hosted applications. Security, Compliance & GovernanceCloud Security Leadership: Direct the Cloud Security team to ensure the AWS infrastructure meets or exceeds stringent regulatory requirements, specifically HIPAA, SOC 2, and internal data privacy standards.Risk Management: Proactively identify and mitigate cloud-related security risks. Enforce zero-trust security principles and oversee the execution of robust AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) controls.FinOps & Budgeting: Establish strict cloud governance and FinOps practices using AWS Cost Explorer and third-party tools. Monitor, analyze, and optimize cloud expenditures, ensuring maximum ROI through Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and right-sizing without compromising performance. Team Leadership & DevelopmentOrganizational Mentorship: Lead, coach, and inspire a high-performing, multi-disciplinary organization encompassing Cloud Engineers, DevOps specialists, and Security Engineers.Skill Development: Foster a culture of continuous learning. Ensure the team remains AWS-certified (e.g., AWS SysOps Administrator, AWS DevOps Engineer, AWS Security Specialty) and proficient in Agile methodologies.Resource Allocation: Manage team capacity and workload, ensuring engineering projects and day-to-day operational support are appropriately balanced across all reporting verticals. Vendor & Partnership ManagementVendor Relations: Serve as the primary point of contact for AWS account teams, managed service providers (MSPs), and third-party security and software vendors operating within the cloud ecosystem.Contract Negotiation: Work alongside procurement and leadership to manage enterprise agreements, enterprise support contracts, and software licensing.Minimum hours are Monday through Friday 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Additional hours may be required to achieve business objectives.Requirements Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).Experience: * 10+ years of progressive experience in Information Technology, Infrastructure, and Software Engineering.5+ years of dedicated experience in enterprise-scale AWS operations and cloud engineering.3+ years in an IT leadership capacity, with specific experience managing multi-disciplinary teams (Infrastructure, DevOps, Security).Technical Proficiencies:Deep, hands-on expertise managing the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ecosystem.Strong background in containerization and orchestration administration (Docker, Amazon EKS, Amazon ECS, AWS Fargate, Serverless/Lambda).Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, AWS CloudFormation) and enterprise CI/CD toolchains.Solid understanding of cloud networking (VPCs, AWS Direct Connect, Transit Gateway, Route 53, AWS WAF) and enterprise cloud security posture management (CSPM).Industry Knowledge: Previous experience in the healthcare, benefits administration, or financial services sectors is highly desirable due to the complex compliance landscape.Soft Skills: Exceptional communication and presentation skills; strong operational problem-solving and vendor management capabilities.SummaryWhy Kelly BenefitsWorking here means you’ll be part of a mission-driven team that values growth, collaboration, and service excellence. You’ll gain the knowledge, mentorship, and real-world experience needed to build a strong professional foundation—and a career you can be proud of.Kelly & Associates Insurance Group, Inc., a Kelly Benefits company, is one of the nation’s largest employee benefit administrators, brokers, payroll providers and consultants.We’re committed to helping businesses navigate the intricacies of insurance, benefits, payroll, retirement and other offerings and services, while saving them time and money.Kelly Benefits Delivers High Quality, Cost-effective, Integrated Solutions Through An incredible team of dedicated professionals. Our set of business values called “The Kelly Way” inspires, guides and drives us to serve our clients with excellence. Efficient processes, tools and technology. We’re dedicated to delivering cost-effective efficiencies. High-integrity alliances with the finest health, life, disability, dental and vision carriers, suppliers and brokers.Kelly Benefits is committed to treating our People with dignity and respect, dealing with them honestly, compensating them fairly, and providing quality benefits and opportunities to develop their full potential.Benefits PackageWe offer a robust benefits package including:📈 401K with Match🏖️ Paid Time Off🧑‍🧑‍🧒 Paid Parental Leave🏥 Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability & other voluntary insurance options💪 On-site Fitness Center☕️ Cold Brew & Coffee on tap🌸 Campus Walking Path🙏🏼 Corporate Chaplain & Monthly Devotion🥒 Pickle Ball Courts on Campus