Senior AWS WorkSpaces Architect

Position Details

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior AWS WorkSpaces Architect to take ownership of the architecture, engineering, reliability, and continuous improvement of a large-scale AWS WorkSpaces environment.

This is a hands-on technical architecture role rather than a project management or coordination position. The successful candidate will be expected to design, build, troubleshoot, and operate the WorkSpaces platform directly while working closely with internal IT teams, business stakeholders, end users, and AWS.

The ideal candidate will combine deep AWS WorkSpaces expertise with strong infrastructure knowledge, automation capabilities, and the communication skills required to lead technical discussions and drive solutions through to implementation.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will operate at a senior/principal technical level, with the ability to work comfortably across both technical and stakeholder-facing situations.

We are looking for someone who:

• Has deep, hands-on AWS WorkSpaces architecture and engineering expertise.
• Can independently diagnose and solve complex architectural and technical problems.
• Is comfortable working directly with senior stakeholders, technical teams, AWS, and business users.
• Can translate business and operational requirements into practical technical solutions.
• Is proactive and able to identify potential issues, risks, and opportunities ahead of the curve, rather than simply responding to problems as they arise.
• Can challenge existing approaches and make recommendations where the current architecture, processes, or technology can be improved.
• Is comfortable taking ownership of technical situations from initial problem identification through to implementation and resolution.
• Has strong communication and customer-facing skills without sacrificing technical depth.

This is not a role for someone who is purely technical with limited stakeholder interaction, nor is it a project manager with high-level knowledge of WorkSpaces.

The successful candidate needs to sit in the middle: a highly technical WorkSpaces architect who can also confidently lead technical conversations and manage senior stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

AWS WorkSpaces Architecture & Engineering

• Drive the technical architecture and ongoing evolution of the AWS WorkSpaces environment.
• Design and implement improvements focused on reliability, performance, security, scalability, and cost optimization.
• Own the WorkSpaces golden image lifecycle, including creation, validation, patching, versioning, deployment, and retirement.
• Build and maintain provisioning automation and standardized deployment processes.
• Design and maintain monitoring and alerting using services such as Amazon CloudWatch, EventBridge, and CloudTrail.
• Develop platform health dashboards and operational reporting.
• Engineer and troubleshoot AWS Directory Service / Active Directory integrations.
• Work across AWS networking components including VPCs, subnets, DNS, routing, security groups, firewalls, and VPC endpoints.
• Establish and manage controlled testing and rollout processes for WorkSpaces client versions.
• Participate in AWS Well-Architected Reviews and help implement resulting recommendations.

Operations & Incident Management

• Act as the senior technical escalation point for complex AWS WorkSpaces and VDI issues.
• Lead resolution of P1/P2 incidents, including root cause analysis and preventative actions.
• Manage AWS Support cases through to resolution.
• Troubleshoot WorkSpaces provisioning, lifecycle, connectivity, latency, and workspace health issues.
• Investigate complex cross-region and international connectivity issues.
• Lead unresolved performance and latency investigations through to closure.
• Facilitate technical post-incident reviews, including RCA/PIR/AAR activities.

Cost Optimization & Governance

• Implement and manage AWS WorkSpaces cost optimization capabilities.
• Analyze usage and billing data to identify optimization opportunities.
• Develop automation around the lifecycle of terminated employees and contractors.
• Establish sustainable governance and cleanup processes.
• Define provisioning controls and approval gates based on business use case and requirements.
• Evaluate and rationalize different WorkSpaces access methods based on usage, security, and cost.

Stakeholder & AWS Engagement

• Serve as a senior technical interface between IT, business units, end users, and AWS.
• Build strong working relationships with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Gather requirements and feedback and translate them into practical technical improvements.
• Co-develop technical roadmaps, deployment plans, and migration strategies.
• Engage stakeholders early in the deployment process and help forecast demand.
• Work directly with AWS to escalate platform issues, drive resolution, and ensure agreed actions are delivered.
• Establish a closed feedback loop by identifying recurring user and platform issues and incorporating them into the continuous improvement roadmap.

Access Governance

• Understand access governance concepts including RBAC, Active Directory group structures, and user personas.
• Identify gaps and recommend improvements in partnership with identity and security teams.
• Help design and implement improved governance processes.

Direct administration of identity/access groups is not a primary responsibility of this role.

Required Skills & Experience

Must Have

• Senior-level, hands-on AWS WorkSpaces architecture and engineering experience.
• Deep knowledge of AWS End User Computing (EUC) services, particularly:
  • AWS WorkSpaces Personal
  • WorkSpaces Secure Browser
  • WorkSpaces bundles and images
  • WorkSpaces directories
• Strong AWS infrastructure knowledge, including:
  • VPC
  • Subnets
  • DNS
  • Routing
  • Security Groups
  • VPC Endpoints
  • AWS Directory Service / Active Directory
• Strong Windows and macOS endpoint/client troubleshooting experience.
• Experience with AWS monitoring and automation, including:
  • CloudWatch
  • EventBridge
  • CloudTrail
  • Lambda
  • Scripting/automation
• Strong experience managing WorkSpaces image lifecycle and deployment automation.
• Knowledge of WorkSpaces cost optimization, billing models, usage analysis, and resource optimization.
• Experience working with ServiceNow / ITSM processes.
• Experience with incident, problem, and change management.
• Proven experience leading major technical incidents and conducting RCA/PIR/AAR activities.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to lead technical conversations with AWS and internal stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS certifications such as:
  • AWS Solutions Architect
  • AWS SysOps Administrator
  • AWS Advanced Networking
• Experience with other VDI/DaaS platforms such as Azure Virtual Desktop or Citrix.
• Experience supporting large-scale WorkSpaces environments or migrations.
• Experience managing environments with 1,000+ virtual desktops.
• Experience establishing WorkSpaces governance, automation, and lifecycle processes from the ground up.

Working Location & Hours

The engagement can accommodate candidates across the US, Canada, Mexico, or offshore, subject to technical capability, rate, and budget.

Offshore resources may be particularly attractive from a budget perspective; however, strong candidates from North America will also be considered.

Regardless of location, candidates must be able to reliably overlap with US business hours.

• Daily coverage must extend through at least 2:00 PM Pacific Time.
• Availability through 3:00–4:00 PM Pacific Time is preferred where possible.
• Must be available for real-time collaboration with internal teams, AWS, and business stakeholders.
• Must be available to participate in P1/P2 incident bridges and technical escalations during the required overlap window.
• Must be able to attend recurring US-hours meetings, including operational reviews, migration planning, AWS technical meetings, and post-incident reviews.

Interview Process

The interview process is expected to consist of two stages:

Stage 1 – Technical Interview

The candidate will meet with the hiring team\'s technical representatives. This discussion will focus on:

• AWS WorkSpaces architecture and engineering experience
• Hands-on technical problem solving
• AWS infrastructure and networking knowledge
• Troubleshooting and incident management
• Automation and platform engineering
• Experience operating at scale
• Ability to communicate technical solutions effectively

Stage 2 – Customer Interview

Candidates who successfully complete the technical stage will progress to a customer-facing interview.

This stage will assess the candidate\'s ability to work directly with senior stakeholders, understand customer requirements, communicate technical recommendations, and take ownership of complex technical situations.

Engagement

The initial engagement is expected to be approximately six months, working five days per week, with potential for extension depending on project requirements.

The target start date is October 1, 2026.

The target rate is up to $90 p/hour, with some flexibility for an exceptional candidate who demonstrates the required depth of AWS WorkSpaces architecture and engineering experience.