What Is a Cloud Engineer? Building and Maintaining the Cloud

Key takeaways

• A cloud engineer is someone who builds information technology (IT) infrastructure on the cloud to help businesses scale their operations.

• According to Glassdoor, the annual median cloud engineer salary is $152,000 [1].

• Cloud engineer jobs can entail helping organizations migrate to the cloud, creating applications for the cloud, and managing cloud storage.

Organizations hire cloud engineers to establish themselves on popular cloud computing platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). Learn more about what a cloud engineer does and how you can become one.

If you’re ready to get your start, earn an AWS Cloud Support Associate Professional Certificate, where you will have the opportunity to earn credentials and build job-ready skills in several areas, including software architecture, cloud computing, network troubleshooting, and more.

What is a cloud engineer?

You probably use cloud-based technology frequently in your everyday life, such as watching TV or listening to music on your favorite streaming services. For a company, it means data can be stored and backed up more easily, software updates can be rolled out on demand, and customers may be able to access their information from different devices.

As a cloud engineer, you’ll work behind the scenes to keep those systems running. Cloud engineers build IT infrastructure for businesses, establishing their services on the cloud so that they can scale and accelerate their operations.

Cloud engineer salary and job growth

A cloud engineer makes a median total pay of $152,000 annually in the US as of July 2026, according to Glassdoor [1]. This figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation. Robert Half’s 2026 study of the tech job market found that network and cloud engineering is one of 10 positions experiencing above-average growth and consistent demand over the past year [2].

What does a cloud engineer do?

A cloud engineer’s role can look fairly different depending on the company they work for. Cloud technology has become ubiquitous in recent years, with AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud making up three of the biggest cloud computing platforms [3]. (Learn more about their key differences.) An organization may need to help plan and design infrastructure for a business to establish itself on a cloud computing platform, or work to maintain a system that's already in place.

A cloud engineer’s day-to-day tasks might include:

• Helping organizations migrate their computer systems to the cloud

• Configuring cloud infrastructure components like networking and security services

• Creating the applications and databases that run on the cloud

• Monitoring cloud management and data storage services

Will AI replace cloud engineers?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is unlikely to replace cloud engineers. In fact, it’s contributing to the demand for cloud professionals, as the adoption of AI systems that integrate with cloud computing applications leads to the need for cloud engineers who can manage the performance of these hybrid environments.

How to become a cloud engineer

By getting the right skills, experience, and perhaps a certification, you can prepare to compete for cloud engineering jobs.

1. Develop relevant skills.

IT jobs that can have cloud-related tasks include systems engineer, network engineer, and database administrator. If you’re already in an IT role, keep an eye out for opportunities to grow in these areas.

• Cloud platforms: It’s generally recommended that you learn one cloud platform well, instead of having minimal knowledge of several. By market share, the three largest cloud infrastructure providers are AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud [3]. Much of what you learn in one cloud platform may be transferable to another, with slight variations.

• Data storage and security: How to access, store, and protect data is an important part of being a cloud worker.

• Networking: Having knowledge of networking basics and virtual networks will be useful in integrating networks with cloud services.

• Programming: Common languages used in cloud computing include Python, Java, Golang, and Ruby.

• Operating systems: You should have a strong understanding of operating systems such as Windows and Linux.

Read more: DevOps Engineer vs. Cloud Engineer: Which Career Path Is Right for You?

2. Build hands-on experience.

There are several ways you can gain hands-on experience working with the cloud. If you’re in an IT role, try approaching your manager to see if there are opportunities for you to shadow coworkers in cloud computing roles, or if you can take on tasks that will help you learn more about cloud principles. You can also sign up for a cloud platform account and begin exploring on your own.

3. Earn a certification.

A certification can be useful in building up technical skills and showing employers that you have a baseline of knowledge in the cloud space. If you’re new to the cloud space, try a foundational certification. These can help you learn the technology and vocabulary of the field.

If you have a little knowledge of the cloud, you can consider more technical certifications. These can include associate-level certifications, or credentials in a specialized area of expertise, like the Google Cloud Cybersecurity Professional Certificate.

4. Prepare for interview success.

Practice answering common technical interview questions you might encounter during a live job interview. "I think mock interviews are a fantastic way to get comfortable with the process," advises Miller. "If you can find someone to practice interviewing with, you can flex your technical knowledge and practice being comfortable having a conversation with an interviewer."

"If I ask a candidate to solve a technical problem and they don't know how to go about it, I want someone who can acknowledge that fact quickly, but is still able to have a conversation around how they would map the knowledge and experience that they do have to the problem," continues Miller. "In IT, when you encounter a problem you've never seen before, it's probably just a weekday."

Cloud engineer career path

If you have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field, you may be able to land an entry-level cloud engineering position. That’s not the only path you can take.

Many cloud professionals get their start in IT positions that include concepts used in cloud computing, like network engineer or DevOps engineer. You can also start by working in cloud support, which can help you get to know specific platforms and troubleshooting techniques. From there, you might become a cloud engineer or cloud administrator. Cloud engineers can go on to more specialized roles, like cloud architect.

Related cloud engineer jobs and salaries

If you’re curious, this is how much various cloud professionals make in the US. All data comes from Glassdoor as of July 2026.

• Cloud administrator: $118,000

• Cloud network engineer: $149,000

• Cloud systems engineer: $158,000

• AWS cloud engineer: $144,000

• Azure cloud engineer: $169,000

• Cloud DevOps engineer: $159,000

• Google Cloud engineer: $195,000

• Cloud data engineer: $156,000

• Cloud architect: $202,000

All salary information represents the median total pay. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

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