Job Description – Cloud & Containerization Consultant (Freelance | EU Remote)

Start Date: January 2026
Location: 100% Remote (Consultant must be based in an EU country)
Contract Type: Freelance / B2B
Duration: January 2026 – July 2026 (extension possible)

Overview

A major organisation is initiating a large-scale cloud and application transformation programme and is seeking a Cloud & Containerization Expert with strong experience in AWS, GitLab CI/CD, and Infrastructure-as-Code.

This role is part of a distributed engineering team and will focus on designing scalable architectures, defining integration patterns, and enabling high-quality automated deployments.

The position is fully remote but requires the consultant to be located within an EU Member State.

Responsibilities

Architecture & Design

• Design scalable, secure, and modular multi-tier application architectures

• Define and document integration patterns (synchronous, asynchronous, messaging, API gateway)

• Support teams in building application and database solutions aligned with cloud best practices

• Contribute to solution designs and architecture reviews

DevSecOps & CI/CD

• Build and manage robust GitLab CI/CD pipelines

• Apply strong Git fundamentals (branching, merging, rebasing, versioning workflows)

• Collaborate with development teams to promote secure, automated delivery practices

• Improve pipeline speed, reliability, and quality gates

Infrastructure-as-Code

• Implement and maintain IaC using AWS CloudFormation

• Develop reusable, idempotent Ansible Playbooks

• Apply declarative vs. imperative models, immutability, and module-based patterns

• Ensure consistency and compliance across cloud environments

Collaboration & Support

• Work closely with engineering, architecture, and DevSecOps teams

• Participate in technical discussions, solution planning, and delivery reviews

• Provide guidance on cloud, containerization, and automation best practices

Required Skills & Experience

Mandatory

• Strong experience designing scalable, multi-tier architectures

• Solid understanding of integration methods (sync/async, messaging, API gateway)

• Proficiency in Git and GitLab CI/CD pipeline creation and optimisation

• Hands-on experience with AWS CloudFormation

• Experience producing idempotent, modular Ansible Playbooks

• Knowledge of cloud application and database fundamentals

• Professional working location: EU Member State

Nice to Have

• Experience with Spring Boot services

• Familiarity with PostgreSQL or Redis

• Exposure to GitLab ecosystem tools (e.g., runners, caching, Gitly)

• Understanding of containerisation concepts (Docker/Kubernetes)

Contract Details

• Remote work – must be based in the EU

• Freelance/B2B

• Start: Early January 2026

• End: July 2026 (extension possible)