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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Cloud Security Administrator

💰 $90,000 - $140,000

Cloud SecurityInformation SecurityDevOpsIT

🎯 Role Definition

The Cloud Security Administrator is a hands-on security practitioner focused on implementing and operating cloud security controls, driving risk remediation, and enabling secure development and operations in public cloud environments. This role manages identity and access, cloud-native detection and response, configuration and infrastructure-as-code hardening, container and serverless security, and continuous compliance monitoring while collaborating with platform engineering, DevOps, application teams, and the security operations center.

Key search/SEO terms: Cloud Security Administrator, cloud security, AWS security, Azure security, GCP security, IAM, Kubernetes security, Terraform security, CSPM, SIEM.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Cloud Engineer (with security focus)
  • Systems Administrator / Linux Administrator with cloud experience
  • Security Analyst / SOC Tier 2 with cloud responsibilities

Advancement To:

  • Senior Cloud Security Engineer / Architect
  • Cloud Security Lead / Manager
  • Director of Cloud Security or Head of Cloud Platform Security

Lateral Moves:

  • DevSecOps Engineer
  • Platform Engineer (security-focused)
  • Compliance & Risk Analyst (cloud focus)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, implement and maintain cloud-native security controls across AWS, Azure and GCP, including configuration of Security Hub, GuardDuty, CloudTrail, Azure Defender/Monitor, and GCP Security Command Center to ensure continuous monitoring and alerting for suspicious activity.
  • Own identity and access management (IAM) for cloud environments: create and maintain least-privilege roles and policies, manage cross-account trust relationships, configure SAML/SSO and OIDC integrations, and run periodic access reviews to enforce role-based access controls.
  • Configure and operate CSPM and cloud posture tools (Prisma Cloud, Dome9, Wiz, Orca, Cloudsploit) to detect misconfigurations, automate remediation workflows, and reduce cloud attack surface at scale.
  • Secure infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM templates) by implementing scanning pipelines, policy-as-code (OPA/Gatekeeper), CI/CD pre-deployment checks and drift detection to prevent insecure resources from being provisioned.
  • Implement container and orchestration security for Kubernetes (EKS/AKS/GKE): secure cluster configuration, pod security policies, network policies, runtime protection, admission controllers, and image signing and scanning (Trivy, Clair).
  • Manage secrets and key management solutions (HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, GCP KMS): automate secret rotation, enforce least-privilege access to keys, and integrate secrets vaults into CI/CD pipelines and runtime environments.
  • Integrate cloud telemetry into SIEM platforms (Splunk, Elastic, Sumo Logic) and create correlation rules, dashboards, and alerts for cloud-native attack patterns, privilege escalations, and suspicious lateral movement.
  • Lead cloud incident response activities: triage cloud security incidents, preserve forensic evidence, contain and remediate compromised resources, perform root cause analysis, and feed learnings back into detection use-cases and runbooks.
  • Conduct threat modeling and risk assessments for cloud applications and architectures, produce mitigation plans, and collaborate with architects and engineering teams to bake security into design decisions.
  • Operate vulnerability management in the cloud: schedule and analyze vulnerability scans for instances, containers and serverless functions, coordinate patching and remediation with engineering teams, and track remediation SLAs.
  • Implement network security controls in cloud environments (VPC/VNet design, security groups, NACLs, route tables, Bastion hosts), and design microsegmentation strategies to limit blast radius.
  • Secure CI/CD toolchains (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) by hardening runners, securing secrets in pipelines, enforcing code scanning (SAST) and dependency scanning, and configuring policy gates for deployments.
  • Develop and maintain security baselines, hardening checklists, playbooks, and policy documentation referencing NIST, CIS Benchmarks, and internal security frameworks; continually update to reflect evolving cloud threats.
  • Support compliance and audit efforts (SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA): prepare evidence, implement controls to meet audit requirements, map cloud controls to control frameworks, and remediate audit findings.
  • Automate repetitive cloud security tasks using scripting languages (Python, Bash, PowerShell) and cloud SDKs to scale guardrails, reporting, and incident response actions.
  • Drive threat detection engineering for cloud-native telemetry: author detection rules, tune alert fidelity, and measure mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to remediate (MTTR).
  • Maintain comprehensive cloud asset and configuration inventories; implement tagging standards, discovery processes, and reconciliation with CMDBs to ensure accurate visibility and ownership.
  • Evaluate, pilot and operate cloud security tooling and managed services; produce ROI analyses, onboard vendors, and integrate tools into existing security and engineering workflows.
  • Perform periodic privileged access reviews and implement processes for just-in-time access, MFA enforcement, and credential hygiene to reduce identity-based risk.
  • Provide ongoing security enablement, training, and consultation to development and operations teams to promote secure-by-design practices and shift-left security.
  • Monitor cost and operational impact of security controls, optimize for performance and scalability while maintaining required security posture across multi-cloud deployments.
  • Participate in cross-functional incident tabletop exercises, red/blue team engagements, and continuous improvement initiatives to harden defenses and readiness.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Maintain and update security runbooks, onboarding documentation, and run periodic tabletop exercise outcomes.
  • Assist with procurement and vendor due-diligence for cloud security products and managed services.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep expertise with public cloud platforms: AWS (IAM, KMS, CloudTrail, Config), Microsoft Azure (AD, Key Vault, Defender), and Google Cloud Platform (IAM, KMS, SCC).
  • Strong identity and access management (IAM) knowledge including role/policy design, federation (SAML/OAuth/OIDC), least privilege, and access governance.
  • Infrastructure-as-code security: hands-on experience securing Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM templates and integrating IaC scanning into CI/CD.
  • Container and orchestration security: Kubernetes hardening, network policies, runtime security, image scanning and admission controllers.
  • Experience with CSPM, CWPP, CIEM and other cloud security tools (Prisma Cloud, Wiz, Orca, Dome9, Lacework) and ability to operationalize alerts and remediations.
  • SIEM and logging integration skills: ingesting cloud logs, building detection rules, alert tuning and dashboarding in Splunk, Elastic, or comparable platforms.
  • Vulnerability management and container image scanning workflows; familiarity with tools like Tenable, Qualys, Trivy.
  • Secrets and key management proficiency: HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, GCP KMS.
  • Strong scripting and automation (Python, Bash, PowerShell) and experience with SDKs/CLIs for AWS/Azure/GCP to automate security tasks.
  • CI/CD security and DevSecOps tooling: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins hardening, SAST/DAST and dependency scanning integration.
  • Networking fundamentals in cloud: VPC/VNet design, routing, security groups, firewall rules, and microsegmentation.
  • Incident response and forensics experience for cloud environments, including evidence preservation and containment in ephemeral infrastructures.
  • Familiarity with security frameworks and compliance: CIS Benchmarks, NIST 800-53/800-171, SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA.
  • Experience with container registries, image signing, SBOMs, and supply chain security practices.
  • Optional but preferred: cloud security certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, AWS Certified Security – Specialty, Microsoft SC-200/SC-900, GCP Professional Cloud Security Engineer, or equivalent.

Soft Skills

  • Strong verbal and written communication: explain technical risks and remediation to engineering and leadership audiences.
  • Collaborative team player who partners effectively with DevOps, platform, and application teams.
  • Analytical thinker with strong root-cause analysis and problem-solving aptitude.
  • Proactive mindset with the ability to prioritize security risks and drive remediation across teams.
  • Capability to work in fast-paced, agile environments and balance operational firefighting with long-term improvements.
  • Attention to detail and discipline to maintain documentation, runbooks, and compliance artifacts.
  • Customer-focused approach to enable secure developer workflows and platform usability.
  • Project and time management skills to lead initiatives and coordinate cross-functional efforts.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or related field — or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, or related discipline.
  • Additional formal training in cloud security, network security, or information assurance.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Information Security / Cybersecurity
  • Information Systems
  • Network Engineering
  • Cloud Computing

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–6 years of hands-on cloud security, cloud engineering, or DevSecOps experience.
Preferred: 5+ years of progressive experience securing public cloud environments, demonstrable experience with at least one major cloud provider (AWS/Azure/GCP), and proven track record implementing security controls at scale. Certifications such as AWS Security Specialty, CISSP, CCSP, or equivalent are advantageous.

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