Core AWS Migration Skills

AWS Migration Framework Deep understanding of the Assess Mobilize Migrate & Modernize phases and the 7 R's migration strategies (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase, Retire, Retain, Relocate)
AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) Primary tool for lift-and-shift rehosting of VMware VMs and physical servers to EC2; experience with replication agents, launch templates, and cutover workflows
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) Hands-on experience with DMS for SQL Server migrations, including Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) for heterogeneous migrations
AWS Migration Hub Familiarity with tracking migration progress across multiple tools and integrating partner tools
VMware-to-AWS migration Experience with AWS MGN, VM Import/Export, and optionally AWS Transform for VMware workloads

Infrastructure & IaC Skills

Terraform Strong proficiency for provisioning landing zones, VPCs, subnets, security groups, IAM roles, and target-state infrastructure on AWS
AMI management Creating, customizing, and managing Amazon Machine Images for standardized deployments (Optional)
Networking VPC design, Direct Connect/VPN setup, security groups, NACLs, Route 53 DNS cutover, and hybrid connectivity between on-prem/Azure and AWS (Optional)

Microsoft & Windows Workload Expertise

.NET application migration Experience migrating .NET Framework apps to AWS (EC2 rehost or refactoring to .NET Core/Linux)
SQL Server on AWS Knowledge of SQL Server on EC2, Amazon RDS for SQL Server, and Aurora PostgreSQL as refactoring targets
Windows Server administration Managing Windows workloads on EC2, licensing (BYOL vs. License Included), Active Directory integration
Azure-to-AWS migration Experience with VM Import/Export from Azure VHDs, understanding Azure resource mapping to AWS equivalents, and handling Azure-specific dependencies (optional)

Database Migration Skills

DMS configuration Setting up replication instances, source/target endpoints, and migration tasks for SQL Server
Schema conversion Using AWS SCT for schema analysis and conversion when refactoring databases
Database performance tuning Post-migration optimization and validation
Data validation Ensuring data integrity during and after migration

Project & Methodology Skills

Large-scale migration experience Proven track record with 100+ server migrations
Wave planning Ability to group and sequence 115 applications into migration waves based on dependencies, complexity, and business criticality
Application discovery & dependency mapping Using AWS Application Discovery Service or similar tools to map application interdependencies
Cutover planning Designing rollback plans, minimizing downtime, and coordinating maintenance windows
RACI and stakeholder management Defining roles across customer, partner, and AWS teams

Certifications (Recommended)

Experience Requirements

Minimum 5 years infrastructure administration (Windows, networking, storage, virtualization)

Minimum 2 3 years hands-on AWS migration delivery experience

Experience with at least one datacenter exit or large-scale migration (100+ servers)

Familiarity with MAP (Migration Acceleration Program) milestones and deliverables

Nice-to-Have Skills

AWS Transform For automated .NET modernization and VMware migration acceleration
Containerization (ECS/EKS) If any refactoring targets containers
CI/CD pipelines For modernized application deployment
Cost optimization Right-sizing EC2 instances, Reserved Instances/Savings Plans planning

Security best practices AWS Well-Architected Framework, IAM, encryption, compliance

AWS Migration Engineer

Key skills