Cloud Principal Engineer

About Centric Software:
Centric Software® is a global leader, providing an innovative and AI‑enabled product‑concept‑to‑commercialization platform for retailers, brands and manufacturers of all sizes. We equip retail, fashion, luxury, footwear, outdoor, home and consumer goods brands with pioneering best‑of‑breed solutions to plan, design, develop, source, comply, buy, make, price, allocate, sell and replenish products. Our technology powers brands to streamline processes, drive efficiency and operate with confidence in an ever‑changing market.

Our story is one of rapid growth, bold ideas and extraordinary opportunities. We’re here to challenge the status quo—and we’re looking for brilliant people who want to do the same.

Cloud Principal Engineer

Anywhere in the US / Remote

5 Years

We are building a new Cloud Engineering function to modernize our platform, improve infrastructure economics, and increase delivery reliability across AWS, Azure, and limited GCP workloads. The Cloud Principal Engineer will define the cloud strategy and execution model, build the initial team, and deliver measurable business outcomes across cost optimization, platform standardization, observability modernization, and application modernization.

Our current environment is operational but fragmented across deployment patterns and cloud operations workflows. This role exists to create a single execution backbone that aligns engineering work with business priorities: infrastructure cost reduction and waste elimination; standardized, scalable Kubernetes‑based platform foundations; simplified and cost‑aware observability strategy; automation‑first operations for non‑production controls; and application modernization toward stateless, Linux‑aligned deployment patterns.

• Drive cloud cost optimization initiatives from audit to remediation execution.
• Lead platform direction for managed Kubernetes in a multi‑cloud operating model.
• Lead migration programs such as Kafka to Kafka‑as‑a‑Service and ARM adoption.
• Establish a decision framework and rollout plan for Datadog alternatives.
• Implement governance and automation for non‑production shutdown schedules.
• Partner with application teams to enable stateless architecture transitions.

• Define the cloud engineering operating model and role boundaries across Dev Ops, Cloud Ops, and R&D teams.
• Build and mentor the initial cloud engineering team and hire pipeline.
• Prioritize roadmap initiatives into quarterly execution plans with clear owners and milestones.
• Establish platform and automation standards for infrastructure provisioning, CI/CD integration, security controls, and reliability.
• Lead cross‑functional programs that require coordinated cloud, platform, and application changes.
• Ensure decisions are evidence‑driven with transparent measurement and reporting.

• 5+ years in cloud/platform engineering, SRE, or infrastructure leadership roles.
• 3+ years leading cross‑functional technical programs with direct business impact.
• Strong hands‑on depth in at least two of the following:
  Kubernetes platforms, cloud infrastructure automation, cost optimization, observability, CI/CD systems.
• Experience across AWS and Azure in production environments.
• Proven ability to translate business goals into technical roadmap execution.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

• Managed Kubernetes platforms: EKS and/or AKS architecture and operations.
• Infrastructure as Code: strong hands‑on depth in Terraform or Open Tofu or Pulumi.
• Cloud automation and scripting:
  Python and/or Type Script for workflow and operations automation.
• CI/CD implementation:
  Git‑based pipelines, environment promotion, release controls, rollback patterns.
• Cloud security foundations: IAM, secrets management, policy enforcement, and least‑privilege design.
• Cost optimization engineering: rightsizing, idle resource remediation, schedule automation, and governance controls.
• Observability foundations: metrics, logs, traces, alert design, and SLO‑oriented operating…