A Cloud Engineer is an IT professional, involved in various responsibilities under cloud computing. Cloud Engineers plan, maintain, design, develop, install, manage and support the cloud infrastructure. A cloud engineer may vary in position depending upon the vertical they serve. As a cloud engineer, you should have a strong understanding about various operating systems.

1.Understanding the ins and outs of building and running software in the cloud
2.Ensuring compatibility across Windows, Linux, and IOS systems
3.Protecting an organization's information over the cloud
4.Developing and monitoring strategies that align to company goals
5.Updating firmware and drivers
6.Designing remote platforms where data and files can be saved and accessed
7.Building remote networks to share and communicate data, conduct big data analysis, store back-up data, and even test and develop applications

You should have a bachelors degree in computer science, management information system or engineering in a related field. You can also become a cloud engineer if you have certification or diploma in cloud services. Google and Amazon also offer their own Certifications which are acknowledged by the industry.

Business communication, leadership and project management:
You will handle long-term projects involving multiple disciplines or business units. You will provide direction to high priority or special projects undertaken by the business and high-level specialized technical support and consultation to business and IT management.

Vendor relationship and negotiating skills :
You will be responsible for vendor negotiation, building relationship, tracking, troubleshooting and reporting of all technology related contract within the information services and various other departments. You may also be required to track and monitor data to ensure compliance to negotiated contracts.

Business architectural, analysis and planning skills:
You will build an architect that should be in place, based on enterprise and service-oriented architecture in which IT and the business sit down together.

Technical proficiency:
You should be familiar with programming languages including Java, Pythonand Ruby. Many companies looking to hire cloud engineers seek experience with OpenStack, Linux, Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, Google compute engine, Microsoft Azure or Docker. Experience API, orchestration, automation, DevOps and databases like NoSQL are also important.

Average salary for a fresher would be between Rs. 3,00,000 to 6,00,000 per annum. The pay scale should increase with a few years of experience to over Rs. 12,000,00.

There is huge potential for growth with the demand for Cloud increasing rapidly. Salary and designations will constantly increase. Since this is a relatively new field, one has to constantly acquire and update their skills in order to be successful!

Jyoti Bansal , Click here to read more about her