What AWS Cloud Engineers Do: Skills and Responsibilities

As an Advanced AWS Consulting Partner, EPAM has global experts in AWS cloud advisory, cloud-native development, application modernization and migration services. Our AWS engineers work on global projects and upscale in their chosen career path in cloud engineering. In this article, we will cover the details of job requirements and engineering skills for AWS competency.

What is an AWS cloud engineer?

Let’s start with the basics. An AWS specialist is a cloud engineer responsible for developing various products using Amazon Web Services (AWS). 

They understand different cloud structures, DevOps and cloud programming languages. They create complex and productive cloud products using cloud structures, such as database repositories, computing tools and information delivery services. 

An AWS cloud engineer knows how to correctly present the results of their work to the customer — emphasizing business value, uniqueness and functionality. Such engineers are engaged in constantly refining a project throughout its life cycle.

AWS cloud engineer skills and responsibilities

An AWS cloud engineer's day is filled with a variety of tasks and challenges. They start their day by checking the health and performance of the systems deployed on AWS. They monitor the system logs, analyze the data and ensure that everything is running smoothly. If there are any issues, they quickly troubleshoot and resolve them to minimize any potential impact on the business. 

Once the systems are confirmed to be running optimally, they might move on to a project involving the migration of an on-premises application to AWS. They carefully plan the migration, select the appropriate AWS services and then execute the migration, ensuring the application is up and running on AWS with minimal downtime.

Throughout their job, they are also involved in designing and deploying new systems on AWS. They work closely with other teams to understand their requirements and select the appropriate AWS services to meet those needs. They ensure that the systems they design are scalable, highly available and fault tolerant.

Between these tasks, they continuously monitor the usage of AWS resources. They implement cost-control strategies to ensure that the company is getting the most value out of its investment in AWS. They look for ways to optimize resource usage and reduce costs.

At the end of the day, they document their work and prepare for the next day's challenges. They stay updated with the latest AWS services and features, and continuously look for ways to improve the systems they manage. The life of an AWS cloud engineer is indeed a mix of challenges and learning, but it's these challenges that make their work exciting and fulfilling. 

AWS cloud engineer requirements

An AWS cloud engineer at EPAM is expected to bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role. This includes having relevant experience in a similar position and holding a degree in computer technology. The years of experience and the degree requirements vary according to the specialists’ seniority level.

They should have expert coding proficiency and an excellent understanding of AWS tools. The ability to conduct testing at various levels and stages of a project is also crucial. Additionally, they should be familiar with scripting languages and have experience with DevOps. Knowledge of optimization, automation, integration and productivity tools, as well as relevant libraries and security protocols, is also a key part of the role.

Does this sound like the role for you? Explore our open AWS cloud engineer jobs for a new exciting opportunity in your career.