SDLC Transformation: Cloud Dev Environment, Source Control & Release Management

================================================================================ UPWORK JOB POSTING — EMPOWER HR SDLC Transformation: Cloud Dev Environment, Source Control & Release Management ================================================================================ ABOUT THE PROJECT ----------------- We are EMPOWER HR, a technology-driven HR solutions company. We are seeking an experienced ALM / DevOps / Cloud Development Environment consultant to help us modernize our software development lifecycle from the ground up. Our core application is a large enterprise PHP web application — over 200,000 lines of code, 15+ years in production, hosted on AWS — and we are ready to move from a manual, SFTP-based development process to a fully governed, cloud-native development pipeline. This is a well-scoped engagement backed by detailed documentation. We have prepared two reference documents for your review before applying: * SUMMARY (PowerPoint): EMPOWER HR SDLC Transformation - Summary.pptx A 9-slide executive overview covering current state, challenges, future state, implementation roadmap, security & governance, and expected outcomes. * FULL DETAIL (Word): EMPOWER HR SDLC Transformation - Detail.docx An 18-section technical document covering every aspect of the project in full detail — current environment, all 9 future-state process stages, source control strategy, cloud dev environment requirements, selective promotion requirements, release management, AWS integration, consultant scope of work, and success criteria. Please review both documents before submitting your proposal. ================================================================================ WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR ================================================================================ We need a consultant who can guide us through a structured, phased transformation covering the following areas: * Cloud Development Environment * Migrate developers from local machines to secure, browser-accessible cloud workspaces (e.g., AWS Cloud9, Gitpod, GitHub Codespaces, or equivalent) * Individual, isolated workspaces per developer — no local source code storage * Standardized tooling, secure authentication (MFA/SSO), and role-based access * Source Control & Version Control * Introduce Git-based source control where none currently exists * Define a practical branching strategy (feature branches, dev branch, release branches, hotfix branches, main/production branch) * Implement pull request and code review workflows * Link every commit to a requirement, task, or ticket * CI/CD & Deployment Pipeline * Automate deployment from approved commits into our DEV, QA, Beta, and Production AWS-hosted environments * Replace our current manual SFTP upload process * Preserve or improve our existing ability to promote complete files OR specific approved lines of code (selective promotion) * Release Management & Governance * Implement structured approval gates at each environment stage * Ensure full audit trail from commit to production deployment * Support automated generation of release notes and deployment documentation * AWS Integration * All solutions should run in or integrate natively with our existing AWS infrastructure * Relevant AWS services may include EC2, S3, RDS, IAM, CloudWatch, Systems Manager, Secrets Manager, and CodePipeline ================================================================================ PROJECT SCOPE & PHASES ================================================================================ The engagement is structured in six phases: * Phase 1 — Discovery & Assessment Review our current SDLC, environments, transport system, and approval workflows. Identify risks and define final future-state requirements. * Phase 2 — Architecture & Tool Selection Evaluate and recommend the right cloud dev environment, source control platform, and CI/CD tooling. Define branching strategy, governance model, and security model. * Phase 3 — Proof of Concept Stand up a pilot cloud workspace, configure source control, validate traceability and deployment to DEV, and review with stakeholders. * Phase 4 — Pilot Rollout Run a small developer group through the new process end-to-end on a real module. Capture lessons learned before full rollout. * Phase 5 — Full Migration Onboard all developers, migrate all repositories, and implement the full promotion and release workflow. * Phase 6 — Optimization Refine automation, documentation, monitoring, audit reporting, and governance processes. Review KPIs. ================================================================================ IDEAL CANDIDATE ================================================================================ * Proven experience with ALM, DevOps, and cloud development environment setup * Hands-on experience with Git, GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket, and branching strategies * Experience designing CI/CD pipelines for AWS-hosted environments * Familiarity with cloud-based IDEs and developer workspace platforms * Strong understanding of software release management and governance practices * Experience working with PHP applications is a plus * Clear communicator who can work with both technical developers and non-technical functional reviewers * Able to produce documentation, operating guides, and training materials ================================================================================ WHAT WE WILL PROVIDE ================================================================================ * Full access to our current environment and development team * Detailed project documentation (see PowerPoint summary and Word document above) * Dedicated point of contact and release owner throughout the engagement * AWS environment access as needed for configuration and testing ================================================================================ HOW TO APPLY ================================================================================ Please include the following in your proposal: * A brief summary of your relevant experience with similar SDLC transformation or DevOps modernization projects * Your recommended approach or preferred tooling for cloud development workspaces and CI/CD in an AWS environment * An outline of how you would handle our selective promotion requirement (the need to promote specific approved lines of code across environments) * Estimated timeline and rate We have done the work of defining the problem clearly. We are looking for the right expert to help us execute the solution. We look forward to hearing from you. — EMPOWER HR Technology Team ================================================================================