Responsibilities

Operational Excellence

Leadership and Prioritization Responsibilities

Define and communicate priorities based on business needs and customer value.
Coordinate cross-team collaboration for operational goals.
Ensure teams are empowered to make timely decisions and escalate when necessary.
Align team responsibilities with operational ownership and performance outcomes.

Roles:
Product Owner, Product Manager, Business Analyst, Project Manager, Team Lead, Executive Sponsor, Organizational Leadership

Engineering and Workload Management Responsibilities

Implement observability through telemetry, logging, and distributed tracing.
Enable frequent, small, and reversible changes to reduce deployment risks.
Use deployment automation and rollback strategies to improve release quality.
Continuously test workloads for operational readiness and resilience.
Maintain version control, configuration management, and deployment consistency.

Roles:
DevOps Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), Software Developer, Release Manager, Quality Assurance Engineer, Cloud Architect

Metrics, Alerts and Incident Management Responsibilities

Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics.
Analyze workload behavior, performance, and alert patterns.
Use dashboards and analytics to monitor system health and identify trends.
Automate alerts and responses to reduce time to resolution.
Establish escalation paths and communication plans for operational incidents.

Roles:
Operations Manager, DevOps Engineer, Data Analyst, Site Reliability Engineer, Incident Manager, Communication Specialist

Change, Risk, and Readiness Responsibilities

Conduct readiness reviews and maintain operational runbooks.
Plan and test for rollback and failure scenarios.
Mitigate deployment risks through controlled release strategies.
Assess impact of changes on workloads and business operations.
Review configuration and ownership of all operational components.

Roles:
System Administrator, DevOps Engineer, Operations Analyst, Support Engineer, Release Manager, Quality Assurance Analyst

Post-Incident and Continuous Improvement Responsibilities

Perform post-incident analysis to identify improvement areas.
Capture lessons learned and embed them into future operations.
Conduct metrics reviews to guide prioritization of improvements.
Facilitate knowledge sharing and feedback loops across teams.
Organize and lead game days to test response and recovery.

Roles:
Incident Response Manager, Data Analyst, Operations Manager, Continuous Improvement Specialist, Training Coordinator, Team Lead

Cost Optimisation Pillar

Financial & Cost Management Responsibilities

Establish and maintain cloud budgets and forecasts.
Provide cost transparency and accountability across teams.
Monitor actual vs. forecast spend and analyze cost drivers.
Drive cloud financial governance and optimization efforts.
Promote a culture of cost awareness and ownership.

These responsibilities could be fulfilled by the following or similar roles in your organisation:
Cloud Financial Manager, Cloud Financial Analyst, IT Finance Officer, Cost Analyst, FinOps Specialist, Finance Manager, Finance Partner

Architecture & Engineering Responsibilities

Design cloud architectures for cost efficiency and elasticity.
Right-size resources and select pricing models appropriately.
Implement automation to reduce manual cost overhead.
Monitor and manage service usage dynamically.
Ensure architecture aligns with organizational cost targets.

These responsibilities could be fulfilled by the following or similar roles in your organisation:
Cloud Architect, Solutions Architect, DevOps Engineer, AWS Solutions Architect, Cloud Administrator

Governance, Analytics & Operational Responsibilities

Provide actionable cost reporting and analysis.
Track usage against KPIs and optimize based on data trends.
Enforce data retention and decommissioning policies.
Configure tagging, account structure, and billing tools.
Ensure compliance with internal cost governance standards.

These responsibilities could be fulfilled by the following or similar roles in your organisation:
Data Analyst, IT Operations Manager, Project Manager, Product Owner, Compliance Officer, Data Governance Officer, Department Head, Support Staff

Strategic Planning & Procurement Responsibilities

Align cloud spending with business value and objectives.
Drive initiatives that embed cost optimization into planning.
Negotiate third-party contracts and optimize licensing terms.
Advocate for cross-functional collaboration on cost decisions.

These responsibilities could be fulfilled by the following or similar roles in your organisation:
Business Stakeholder, Business Unit Leader, Operations Manager, Procurement Specialist, Team Lead

Performance Efficiency

Architecture and Resource Optimization Responsibilities

Select cloud services, regions, and architectures based on performance and sustainability trade-offs.
Benchmark and evaluate architecture decisions using performance data.
Use guidance from cloud providers and partners to inform design patterns.
Regularly review and update architecture to adapt to changes in usage and technology.

Roles:
Cloud Architect, Solutions Architect, Performance Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Technical Consultant, Project Manager

Compute and Storage Efficiency Responsibilities

Select and configure compute resources to match workload requirements.
Use dynamic scaling and right-sizing to optimize resource utilization.
Collect and analyze compute-related metrics to support decision-making.
Apply hardware acceleration and managed services where beneficial.
Align compute and storage strategies with sustainability goals.

Roles:
Cloud Architect, DevOps Engineer, Application Developer, Systems Administrator, Financial Analyst, Cost Management Analyst

Data Access and Management Responsibilities

Use purpose-built data stores for workload-specific access and storage patterns.
Minimize data movement and evaluate caching or replication strategies.
Collect performance metrics and manage the data lifecycle effectively.
Implement shared access where possible to reduce redundancy and overhead.

Roles:
Data Architect, Database Administrator, Cloud Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Data Analyst, Application Developer

Networking Efficiency Responsibilities

Evaluate and configure networking components for performance and reliability.
Implement load balancing, optimized routing, and appropriate network protocols.
Select the best connectivity options (e.g., VPN, Direct Connect) based on workload requirements.
Monitor and improve network configuration based on observed metrics.

Roles:
Network Architect, Cloud Network Architect, Network Engineer, Security Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Cloud Solutions Architect

Performance Monitoring and Tuning Responsibilities

Define KPIs and use monitoring tools to track workload performance.
Review metrics regularly to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
Implement automation to remediate performance issues proactively.
Conduct load testing and performance testing to validate system responsiveness.

Roles:
Performance Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Cloud Architect, Product Manager, QA Engineer, Data Analyst, SRE

Reliability

Quotas, Constraints, and Capacity Planning Responsibilities

Monitor and manage service quotas across accounts and regions.
Design architectures that account for service limits and fixed constraints.
Automate quota monitoring and management where possible.
Ensure sufficient buffer between usage and limits to support failover.

Roles:
Cloud Architect, DevOps Engineer, Compliance Officer, Infrastructure Manager, AWS Administrator, Project Manager, Operations Manager, Technical Support Engineer

Network Design and Topology Responsibilities

Design resilient network topologies for high availability.
Plan IP subnets to support future growth and avoid overlap.
Use redundant connectivity between cloud and on-prem environments.
Prefer hub-and-spoke over mesh network designs for simplicity and control.

Roles:
Network Architect, Cloud Engineer, Security Engineer, IT Operations Manager, DevOps Engineer

Service Architecture and Dependency Responsibilities

Segment workloads into independent components.
Design APIs with contracts and enforce idempotency.
Apply fault isolation through bulkheads and stateless designs.
Limit retries, control timeouts, and fail fast where necessary.

Roles:
Cloud Architect, Solution Architect, Software Developer, API Developer, DevOps Engineer, Product Owner, QA Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)

Monitoring, Alerts, and Recovery Responsibilities

Define and monitor workload metrics and key indicators.
Implement distributed tracing, logging, and alerting.
Automate responses to reduce recovery time.
Use analytics to detect anomalies and trigger remediation.

Roles:
DevOps Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), Cloud Operations Engineer, Data Analyst, Incident Response Team Member

Demand Adaptation and Auto Scaling Responsibilities

Scale workloads dynamically based on load and demand.
Test for performance degradation under high load.
Detect impairments and provision failover automatically.
Validate autoscaling configuration in production-like conditions.

Roles:
Cloud Architect, DevOps Engineer, Product Owner, Systems Administrator, SRE, Project Manager

Change Management and Resilience Testing Responsibilities

Use automation, playbooks, and runbooks for predictable changes.
Integrate testing (functional, scaling, resilience) into CI/CD pipelines.
Deploy immutable infrastructure and validate rollback strategies.
Conduct game days and post-incident reviews to improve readiness.

Roles:
DevOps Engineer, QA Engineer, System Administrator, Release Manager, SRE, Incident Response Manager, Communication Lead

Backup and Disaster Recovery Responsibilities

Identify data to back up or reconstruct from source.
Secure and validate backup integrity regularly.
Define and test disaster recovery plans with clear objectives.
Automate recovery to reduce RTO and configuration drift.

Roles:
Disaster Recovery Manager, Cloud Architect, Backup Administrator, System Administrator, Compliance Officer, Business Continuity Planner, Network Engineer

Security

Secure Operation Responsibilities

Separate workloads using appropriate AWS accounts or organizational units.
Secure root account credentials and apply strict access control policies.
Keep up to date with security threats and recommendations.
Identify, implement, and validate security control objectives.
Establish cost-effective, automated methods for maintaining security posture.

Roles:
Cloud Security Architect, DevOps Engineer, Compliance Officer, Security Analyst, Security Operations Analyst, Incident Response Team Member, IT Manager

Identity and Access Management Responsibilities

Enforce strong sign-in mechanisms and MFA.
Use temporary credentials and centralized identity providers.
Securely store and manage secrets.
Define access requirements and implement least privilege principles.
Audit and rotate credentials regularly and manage permissions through lifecycle.
Define permission guardrails and secure cross-account or third-party sharing.

Roles:
IAM Administrator, Cloud Security Architect, Security Architect, DevOps Engineer, Compliance Officer, Security Administrator, Application Developer, IT Operations Manager

Security Monitoring and Event Response Responsibilities

Implement actionable security events and alerting systems.
Analyze logs, metrics, and findings centrally.
Automate responses to detected threats.
Conduct incident detection, triage, and escalation effectively.
Maintain a security operations center or dedicated response team.

Roles:
Security Analyst, DevOps Engineer, Cloud Security Engineer, Incident Response Manager, Compliance Officer, IT Operations Manager, SOC Analyst

Network and Compute Protection Responsibilities

Design network layers and control traffic at all levels.
Implement inspection and automated protection mechanisms.
Reduce attack surface and validate software integrity.
Secure compute with managed services, automation, and remote administration.

Roles:
Network Architect, Security Engineer, Cloud Security Specialist, DevOps Engineer, System Administrator, IT Security Engineer

Data Classification and Protection Responsibilities

Classify data and define data protection policies.
Automate identification and lifecycle management of data.
Secure data at rest using encryption and access controls.
Secure data in transit through encryption and authentication.
Minimize unnecessary data movement and visibility.

Roles:
Data Owner, Data Architect, Data Steward, Security and Compliance Manager, Cloud Architect, Data Analyst, Systems Administrator, Compliance Officer

Incident Preparedness and Recovery Responsibilities

Identify key personnel and establish external support agreements.
Develop and test incident response plans and playbooks.
Prepare forensic capabilities and pre-deploy response tools.
Run simulations and tabletop exercises.
Establish feedback loops and a culture of learning from incidents.

Roles:
Incident Response Manager, Security Analyst, Forensic Specialist, Legal Advisor, Communications Officer, IT Operations Team, Training Coordinator, Executive Sponsor

Secure Development Lifecycle Responsibilities

Embed security training and practices into development teams.
Programmatically deploy secure and validated software.
Automate testing and manual reviews throughout the pipeline.
Centralize software dependency and artifact management.
Assign security ownership within workload teams.

Roles:
DevOps Engineer, Software Developer, Security Analyst, Security Engineer, QA Engineer, Application Security Trainer, Security Champion, Compliance Officer, Project Manager

Sustainability

Region and Workload Placement Responsibilities

Choose AWS Regions based on sustainability goals as well as business and latency requirements.
Optimize geographic placement of workloads to reduce networking overhead and environmental impact.

Roles:
Cloud Architect, Business Analyst, Sustainability Officer, DevOps Engineer, Sustainability Lead, Infrastructure Architect, Network Engineer

Demand and Resource Alignment Responsibilities

Dynamically scale infrastructure to align resource use with actual demand.
Implement throttling or buffering strategies to flatten resource spikes.
Stop creation or maintenance of unused assets and shadow resources.
Align service-level agreements (SLAs) with sustainability objectives.

Roles:
Cloud Architect, DevOps Engineer, Operations Manager, Finance Manager, Product Owner, IT Procurement Manager, Governance and Compliance Lead, Data Analyst, Application Owner

Team and Process Efficiency Responsibilities

Optimize team resourcing and activity alignment to sustainability goals.
Use managed services and tools to reduce overhead and carbon footprint.
Increase utilization of build environments and shared resources.
Keep workloads and infrastructure up to date to avoid waste.

Roles:
Sustainability Program Manager, Procurement Specialist, IT Administrator, Infrastructure Team, Solutions Architect, Cloud Architect, DevOps Engineer, Application Developer

Software and Architecture Optimization Responsibilities

Refactor or remove underused workload components.
Optimize code to reduce compute cycles and improve efficiency.
Design asynchronous or scheduled workloads to run during low-impact times.
Consider the sustainability impact of devices, hardware, and client-side performance.

Roles:
Solutions Architect, Software Developer, DevOps Engineer, Product Owner, Business Analyst, Systems Engineer, Sustainability Specialist, Product Manager

Data Management and Storage Responsibilities

Classify data to ensure efficient lifecycle management.
Remove redundant or obsolete data to minimize storage needs.
Use shared storage systems for common datasets.
Back up data only when difficult to recreate or when required.
Use elasticity and automation to scale storage based on demand.
Minimize unnecessary data movement across regions and networks.

Roles:
Data Architect, Data Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Compliance Officer, Cloud Administrator, Data Steward, Storage Engineer, Product Manager, Security and Compliance Manager, Data Classification Owner

Hardware and Service Efficiency Responsibilities

Use the minimum amount of hardware required to meet workload needs.
Select instance types and hardware accelerators with lower environmental impact.
Prefer managed services to reduce operational and infrastructure overhead.

Roles:
Chief Technology Officer, Solutions Architect, DevOps Engineer, Infrastructure Manager, IT Operations Manager, Cloud Architect, Sustainability Manager

Continuous Improvement and Organizational Support Responsibilities

Adopt agile methods that support rapid sustainability enhancements.
Centralize sustainability practices in day-to-day operations.
Conduct regular reviews to identify areas for operational efficiency.
Use managed device farms and shared environments to reduce impact of test operations.

Roles:
Sustainability Lead, Product Owner, QA Specialist, Cloud Architect, DevOps Engineer, Sustainability Champion, Sustainability Manager, Quality Assurance Engineer