IT Operations & Security Specialist
First seen by Alion on Nov 10, 2026.
We are looking for an experienced and technically driven IT Operations & Security Specialist to join our Core Infrastructure team. The successful candidate will be responsible for the architecture, operational reliability, security, and cost optimisation of our global cloud infrastructure hosted on AWS and/or Alibaba Cloud.
This role offers the opportunity to manage cloud infrastructure supporting petabyte-scale data workloads, implement FinOps best practices, and ensure the reliability and security of our global operations.
Key Responsibilities1. Cloud Operations and Site Reliability Engineering
Manage day-to-day operations, monitoring, alerting, incident response, and troubleshooting across AWS and/or Alibaba Cloud environments.
Maintain high availability and operational reliability of business-critical systems operating 24/7.
Identify system performance bottlenecks and continuously improve cloud architecture and operational processes.
2. Big Data Infrastructure Operations
Ensure the stability, scalability, and data consistency of cloud-based big data services, including AWS EMR, Kafka, Spark, Flink, and equivalent Alibaba Cloud services.
Collaborate with data engineering teams to optimise resource allocation, workload performance, and infrastructure efficiency.
3. Containerisation and Platform Operations
Deploy, maintain, upgrade, and secure Kubernetes clusters, including AWS EKS and Alibaba Cloud ACK.
Support application containerisation initiatives and maintain CI/CD and GitOps workflows.
4. Cloud Cost Management and FinOps
Analyse cloud billing data, monitor cost anomalies, and prepare regular cloud expenditure reports.
Develop and implement cost optimisation strategies, including Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, idle resource elimination, and Spot Instance utilisation.
Collaborate with finance teams on cloud billing reconciliation, cost allocation, and budget management.
5. Cloud Security and Compliance
Manage cloud identity and access controls, including AWS IAM and Alibaba Cloud RAM, in accordance with the principle of least privilege.
Conduct regular access reviews, security assessments, and compliance audits.
Implement appropriate technical controls to support compliance with applicable data protection regulations, including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, PIPL, and Singapore's PDPA, where relevant.
6. Cloud Network Architecture
Design and maintain cloud networking infrastructure, including VPCs, subnets, IP addressing, and routing policies.
Configure and manage VPC peering, VPN connections, AWS Direct Connect, and other hybrid connectivity solutions.
Implement and maintain network security controls, including security groups, network ACLs, and web application firewalls.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
At least 3 years of relevant experience in public cloud infrastructure operations, preferably with AWS and/or Alibaba Cloud.
Strong knowledge of core cloud services such as EC2/ECS, S3/OSS, VPC, RDS, and IAM/RAM.
Hands-on experience with cloud identity and access management, multi-account governance, and data security.
Strong understanding of TCP/IP, cloud networking, subnets, routing, NAT gateways, load balancers, VPC peering, and hybrid network security.
Proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language, such as Python, Go, or Shell.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools, such as Terraform or AWS CloudFormation.
Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and incident management capabilities.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment and respond to critical operational incidents.
Experience operating Kubernetes clusters and large-scale data processing platforms.
Practical experience implementing cloud cost optimisation and FinOps initiatives.
Familiarity with international data protection and cloud security requirements.
Skills
TCP/IP, System Availability, Alibaba Cloud, Troubleshooting, AWS, Computer Proficiency, Computer Science, Big Data Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, Identity & Access Management, Resource Allocation, Site Reliability Engineering, Cloud Services, System Performance, Work in A Fast Paced Environment, Container Operations