Senior AWS Platform Owner

Company Description

Build bold. Deliver impact. Win together.

At General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada, we’re not just engineering technology — we’re shaping the future of defence and security. Our teams design and deliver advanced, mission-critical solutions that enhance national security, strengthen communities, and protect the people we serve.

If you’re looking for meaningful work that contributes to a safer, more secure world, you’ll find purpose here. Every day, your skills will directly impact programs that matter.

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior IT Platform Specialist to act as the AWS Platform Owner within DIGITALcore responsible for the vision, roadmap, and hands-on delivery of the AWS Secure Landing Zone and associated AWS-native platform capabilities. You will operate the AWS environment as an internal product, enabling GDMS programs and internal services to onboard quickly, build securely, and meet compliance requirements.

You will manage feature development and platform evolution, while also managing our sub-contractor providing day-to-day operational support. The ideal candidate combines deep AWS platform and infrastructure expertise with strong service ownership instincts customer obsession, user experience awareness, and the ability to translate stakeholder needs into secure, scalable platform features.

Key Responsibilities

AWS Platform Ownership

• Own the AWS platform roadmap inside DIGITALcore: define priorities, epics, and release plans for the Landing Zone and AWS platform services.
• Establish AWS platform “product” outcomes: onboarding velocity, reliability, security posture, and customer satisfaction.
• Align AWS platform priorities with DIGITALcore system governance, enterprise architecture, and security/compliance stakeholders.

Secure Landing Zone Engineering (Hands-On)

• Design, build, and evolve AWS Landing Zone capabilities using IaC and automation (e.g., Terraform/CDK/CloudFormation + CI/CD).
• Implement and maintain multi-account patterns, baseline configurations, and secure-by-default guardrails (SCPs, IAM standards, encryption/KMS, centralized logging, config rules, detective controls).
• Publish and maintain reference architectures and reusable patterns for common workloads (networking, segmentation, endpoints, logging, monitoring, shared services).

Compliance Enablement & Evidence

• Ensure AWS platform capabilities support required control objectives (e.g., NIST 800-171-aligned requirements and other program-driven frameworks).
• Build audit-ready evidence through automated checks, standard configurations, and repeatable artifacts (control mappings, test results, runbooks).

Operational Excellence & SOC/SIEM Integration

• Own AWS operational health: SLOs, incident processes, change controls, patching/upgrades, and service reliability.
• Enable enterprise security monitoring: standardized logs, alerting, and integrations that support corporate SOC and SIEM workflows.

Sub-Contractor Management

• Direct and manage sub-contractor daily work: backlog assignment, priorities, acceptance criteria, QA, documentation, and knowledge transfer.
• Establish SLAs, escalation pathways, and a continuous improvement cycle for support quality and platform stability.

Customer Obsession & UX for Engineers

• Treat GDMS programs/internal teams as customers: capture pain points, remove friction, improve “time-to-first-workload.”
• Improve platform usability: clear docs, onboarding checklists, templates, paved roads, and developer-friendly guardrails.

Qualifications

Qualifications

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate or Professional) - required
• 7+ years in IT platform, cloud, or infrastructure roles with 3+ years in AWS at scale.
• Strong experience with AWS Organizations/multi-account design, IAM/federation, networking (VPC, routing, endpoints), security services (CloudTrail/Config/Security Hub/GuardDuty), encryption/KMS, and IaC automation.
• Proven ability to lead delivery through cross-functional teams and/or managed service partners.

Preferred 

• AWS Solutions Architect Professional and/or AWS Security Specialty.
• Experience with IT service ownership, platform lifecycle management, or service delivery models.
• Experience with landing zone frameworks (Control Tower and/or custom) in regulated environments.
• Product management fluency (roadmaps, requirements, metrics, prioritization tradeoffs).
• Experience integrating cloud telemetry into enterprise SOC/SIEM operations.

Additional Information

What We Offer

The expected Salary range for this position is $95,000 - $130,000 CAD Annual.

Our goal is to provide a fair, competitive offer based on an assessment of:

• Qualifications
• Relevant experience
• Technical and non-technical skills
• Education and certifications
• Internal equity

Benefits

At General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada, you can enjoy a competitive total rewards package

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage for you and your eligible dependents, from day one of employment at no cost to you.
  • Flexible benefit options available (including HCSA).
  • Emergency medical travel insurance.
  • 24/7 virtual health care services.
• Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP) – counselling, life coaching, lifestyle change support, and financial planning.
• Onsite fitness facilities & employee resource groups.
• Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP) with employer contributions after 3 months of service.
  • Access to financial advisors for investment advice and comprehensive financial planning.
  • Voluntary Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) accessible from day one.
• Flexible time away to rest and renew with vacation, holidays, vacation purchase plan and parental leaves (with top up options).
  • Sick leave and disability programs.
• Grow your career your way with free access to a learning platform offering a wide range of courses and resources.
  • Educational Assistance Program to support formal learning.
  • Self-directed mentoring opportunities.
  • Reimbursement for professional and industry-related memberships and dues. 
• Employee discounts on travel, home and auto insurance, as well as services and activities.
  • Free onsite parking.
  • Annual scholarship program for children of GD employees.
  • Employee social clubs and recreational activities.

Why join us?

Purposeful Innovation

You’ll work on innovations that genuinely make a difference. You’ll apply advanced thinking, design expertise, and practical problem-solving to help equip military and allied forces with leading-edge systems. You’ll be surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the defence sector, contributing to next-generation technologies in an environment that celebrates creativity, new ideas, and modern solutions.

Connection

We believe people do their best work when they feel they belong, and their ideas can flourish. Different perspectives, experiences, and ways of thinking help us innovate and grow. Strong relationships with our teammates help us unite, overcome challenges, and deliver the world-class quality we’re known for. Here, we are committed to inclusivity and ensures every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered.

Challenging and Rewarding Career Pathways

Your career path matters to us. From mentorship and regular check-ins with your leader to educational support, professional certifications, and continuous training, you’ll have the resources you need to thrive. We encourage internal mobility so you can explore different business areas, broaden your skillset, and expand your network. You’ll be working on high-profile, impactful projects that challenge your skills, expand your expertise, and allow you to both learn from mentors and guide others along the way.

Accommodation

If you require accommodation during any stage of the application process, please contact Human Resources via [email protected] .

Closing Date: 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.