Top 10 Cloud Architects In United States
Updated January 2026 • 17 mins
Share
Who Are Cloud Architects?
Cloud architects are IT professionals who design and manage a company’s cloud computing systems. With deep expertise in platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, they bridge the gap between technical operations and business goals. As more organizations rely on cloud solutions, these experts play a critical role in driving innovation, efficiency, and growth.
In their day-to-day work, cloud architects design network, storage, and compute architectures, lead migrations from legacy systems, and define best practices for ongoing maintenance and performance. They collaborate with engineering, security, and development teams to address technical challenges and ensure cloud environments meet operational and regulatory standards.
Essential Skills & Expertise
Being a cloud architect requires technical expertise, strong leadership, and business insight. These professionals go beyond building systems, communicate complex ideas to stakeholders, and guide teams in implementing strategies. The following skills highlight the technical and interpersonal abilities that make cloud architects successful.
Cloud Infrastructure & Multi-Cloud Proficiency:Expertise in designing cloud systems across major platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP). Architects must understand core services and avoid vendor lock-in by leveraging the strengths of multiple cloud providers.
Networking & Hybrid Connectivity:Deep knowledge of network architecture, including VPCs, DNS, routing, VPNs, and hybrid networking. Cloud architects are responsible for connecting on-premises data centers to cloud regions, ensuring low-latency and secure data transfer.
Cloud Security and Zero Trust Architecture:Beyond basic firewalls, they implement security controls, including Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Zero Trust security models. These measures helps organizations meet global regulations while protecting against cyber threats.
Data Management & Storage Strategy:Architects optimize cloud storage and database systems to balance performance, scalability, and cost. Their expertise ranges from relational systems like Amazon RDS to high-scale NoSQL solutions, enabling AI and analytics workloads.
Automation & DevOps:Using Infrastructure-as-Code tools and CI/CD pipelines, cloud architects automate the provisioning and management of resources. Automation reduces human error and supports reliable pipeline deployment.
Leadership and Change Management:Cloud architects lead large-scale cloud initiatives and guide organizations through technological and cultural transformations. They establish governance, policies, and best practices while motivating cross-functional teams.
Business Acumen and Financial Governance (FinOps):Architects align technology with organizational goals and financial strategy. They understand ROI, cloud costs, and budget implications, and work with finance teams to optimize spending.
Adaptability and Continuous Learning:Given the fast-evolving cloud landscape, architects must continuously update their knowledge of emerging technologies, trends, and tools to remain effective and innovative.
The Evolving Role of Cloud Architects
The role of cloud architects is growing as cloud technology evolves. In 2025, the global cloud computing market is expected to reach $900 billion and grow at nearly 19 % annually. New trends such as multi-cloud and hybrid architectures, serverless and container orchestration, and AI/ML workloads are highly efficient, but add significant complexity to cloud environments.
The need for skilled cloud architects has never been greater. Organizations now require experts who can navigate these challenges, optimize cloud costs, ensure compliance, and enable AI-driven innovation.
Hummelstown, PA
1- Don Spidell
Don Spidell leads cloud architecture at Allocore, where he designs secure and scalable systems for federal and financial clients. His leadership has helped Allocore achieve AWS Premier Tier Partner status and strengthen its reputation in cloud engineering.
As an AWS Ambassador and Subject Matter Expert, Don contributes to the development of AWS certification exams and supports the wider community through his deep technical expertise and industry knowledge.
Industries: Federal Government, Financial Services
Specialties: AWS architecture, Terraform automation, GovCloud deployments
Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
Years of Experience: 20+ years in cloud architecture and engineering
Irvine, CA
2- Pouya Nourizadeh
Pouya Nourizadeh is a professional cloud architect and the founder of Cloudformix. After years of helping technology teams solve complex cloud challenges, he now focuses on optimizing AWS environments through FinOps tools and Infrastructure as Code, delivering cost reductions of up to 40 percent.
His approach strengthens security, improves scalability, and helps businesses operate efficiently so their teams can innovate with confidence in a rapidly changing technology landscape.
Industries: Cloud-native startups & regulated industries
Specialties: Cloud infrastructure design, performance optimization, security & compliance
Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional Architect
Years of Experience: 15+ years building and improving cloud systems
Fort Mill, SC
3- Kevin J.
Kevin J. Clark is an experienced cloud architect who builds secure and scalable data platforms for analytics and AI workloads. With more than 20 years in engineering and architecture, he has led large scale migrations to Snowflake on AWS that saved companies millions of dollars.
At LendingTree, he directed an eight million dollar cloud migration initiative. His work brings together MLOps, DataOps, and automation across AWS, Google Cloud, and enterprise environments to create efficient and future ready data systems.
Industries: Financial services, retail, data & analytics technology
Specialties: Cloud data platform architecture, MLOps & AIOps, DataOps automation
Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Terraform Associate (HashiCorp)
Years of Experience: 20+ years in engineering and cloud architecture leadership
Washington, D.C.
4- Adam Blackington
Adam Blackington builds cloud solutions that bring artificial intelligence together with modern infrastructure. He helps organizations design systems that are scalable, secure, and efficient across complex environments.
He has led major projects for federal agencies and shaped cloud strategies during his time at Google Cloud and AWS. As the founder of LionLink Networks, Adam focuses on automation, performance, and the intelligent use of AI to strengthen cloud operations and support long term growth.
Industries: Enterprise cloud solutions, AI-integrated systems
Specialties: Cloud optimization, security, DevOps, AI cloud solutions
Certifications: Google Cloud Certified Cloud Architect, AWS Certified Solutions Architect
Years of Experience: 15+ years as cloud architect
Orlando, FL
5- Paul Sebesta
Paul Sebesta has more than a decade of experience building secure and efficient cloud systems. He holds a degree in Computer Science from Full Sail University and has led large modernization initiatives at Hexagon Safety, Infrastructure and Geospatial.
With a strong background in network engineering and security engineering, Paul focuses on automation, cost optimization, and robust cloud security that supports reliable and scalable operations.
Industries: Regulated industries (safety, infrastructure & geospatial)
Specialties: Performance tuning, security & compliance frameworks, DevOps/automation pipelines
Certifications: Azure Cloud Architect Expert, Azure Security Engineer, CCSP, CCNA, Net+
Years of Experience: 10+ years as cloud architect/infrastructure & security specialist
Philadelphia, PA
6- Ed Keiper
Ed Keiper builds resilient cloud architectures at Nutanix with a focus on hyperconverged systems, disaster recovery, and data protection. As the founder of Velocity Managed Services, he improved reliability in the healthcare sector through hosted EMR solutions and modern infrastructure design.
He also shares guidance on automation and cloud strategy through his blog “nutanix[ed]” and his YouTube channel, helping teams understand practical ways to strengthen their cloud environments.
Industries: Enterprise IT, healthcare technology, hyperconverged infrastructure
Specialties: Disaster recovery, hyperconverged infrastructure design, data protection & automation
Certifications: Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP), VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Years of Experience: 20+ years in IT, 4+ years focused as cloud architect
Costa Mesa, CA
7- Jason Thompson
Jason Thompson began his cloud career in 2014 as a senior network engineer at ScaleMatrix. He later expanded his expertise by leading AWS and Azure initiatives at Akamai, where he strengthened cloud operations for large scale environments.
He designs multi account frameworks using Terraform and EKS to scale Kubernetes efficiently. His work on API security projects reduced costs by 25 percent and helped engineering teams deploy secure and reliable systems with confidence.
Industries: Technology infrastructure, API security platforms, enterprise systems
Specialties: Multi-account cloud design, Azure ops tuning, automation with Terraform
Certifications: Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, Terraform Associate
Years of Experience: 10+ years designing cloud infrastructures
Los Angeles, CA
8- Tamir Rosenberg
Tamir Rosenberg is a Los Angeles based technology expert who joined Gaggle in 2017. As a senior DevOps engineer and certified cloud architect, he builds AWS environments using CloudFormation and modern automation tools.
His work increases efficiency and strengthens security for more than five million K to 12 students, while delivering reliable, low downtime platforms for edtech teams.
Industries: K-12 education tech, child safety software
Specialties: AWS system fine-tuning, data protection standards, workflow streamlining
Certification: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Years of Experience: Over 15 years shaping cloud architectures
Mission Viejo, CA
9- Tony Fruzza
Tony Fruzza began his technology career in the early 2000s at Sturdy Networks, where he built reliable networks and databases. He later became an AWS expert at Onica and now leads cloud projects at Slalom, focusing on scalable and secure cloud architectures.
He uses Linux tooling, CloudFront, and Chef automation to design high performance systems. His work in the education technology sector has reduced deployment times by 30 percent and improved overall platform stability.
Industries: Education technology, professional services consulting, software development
Specialties: Cloud infrastructure optimization, enterprise cloud strategy
Certification: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Years of Experience: 20+ years as cloud architect
New York, NY
10- Gaurav K.
Gaurav Kamdar is based in New York’s financial center and holds an MBA from Fordham along with a master’s degree in Computer Science. He began his career at S and P Capital IQ and Jefferies, where he worked extensively with financial data and enterprise systems.
He now builds secure cloud environments at the Federal Reserve Bank using AWS and Terraform. His work strengthens security and speeds up deployments by 25 percent, allowing teams to innovate without disruption or downtime.
Industries: Financial services, banking institutions, market data analytics
Specialties: Enterprise architecture, AWS migration, and resilient cloud operations
Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional & Associate)
Years of Experience: 12+ years building cloud architectures