Job Title: Azure Architect
Location: Dallas, TX
Position Type: Long Term Contract
We are seeking an experienced Azure Architecture / Engineering Resident to lead the design, governance, and implementation of enterprise Azure infrastructure solutions. The ideal candidate will define and maintain Azure landing zones, establish cloud architecture standards, review workload requirements, and translate business needs into scalable, secure, and highly available Azure IaaS solutions.
This role requires deep expertise in Azure architecture, networking, identity, security, governance, monitoring, and operational excellence. The candidate will work closely with application teams, infrastructure teams, security teams, and business stakeholders to ensure Azure environments align with enterprise standards and best practices.
Key Responsibilities
- Define, implement, and maintain Azure Landing Zone architecture and cloud governance frameworks.
- Review application and infrastructure requirements and translate them into Azure IaaS designs and architecture solutions.
- Establish and maintain Azure standards for networking, identity, security, backup, monitoring, and governance.
- Design scalable, secure, resilient, and cost-effective Azure infrastructure solutions.
- Develop reference architectures, technical standards, implementation guidelines, and best practices.
- Architect and manage Azure networking components including Virtual Networks (VNets), VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, Private Endpoints, DNS, NSGs, Load Balancers, and Azure Firewall.
- Implement identity and access management solutions using Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), RBAC, Conditional Access, and Privileged Identity Management (PIM).
- Design and implement backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions using Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery.
- Establish governance controls through Azure Policy, Management Groups, tagging standards, compliance frameworks, and cost management practices.
- Implement monitoring and observability solutions using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, and alerting mechanisms.
- Support architecture reviews, change planning, risk assessments, and technical governance activities.
- Create and maintain runbooks, SOPs, architecture diagrams, and operational documentation.
- Collaborate with security, operations, and engineering teams to ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements.
- Provide technical leadership and guidance during cloud migrations, modernization initiatives, and infrastructure transformation projects.
- Support automation and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) initiatives using Terraform, Bicep, ARM Templates, PowerShell, and Azure CLI.
Required Qualifications
- 8+ years of IT Infrastructure and Cloud Engineering experience.
- 5+ years of hands-on experience designing and implementing Microsoft Azure solutions.
- Strong experience with Azure Landing Zones and enterprise-scale Azure environments.
- Deep understanding of Azure IaaS services and cloud architecture best practices.
- Experience designing Azure networking solutions including VNets, ExpressRoute, VPNs, Azure Firewall, NSGs, and Private Endpoints.
- Strong knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), RBAC, PIM, Conditional Access, and identity governance.
- Experience implementing Azure governance frameworks using Azure Policy, Management Groups, and resource tagging strategies.
- Hands-on experience with Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery, and disaster recovery planning.
- Experience with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, and operational monitoring.
- Strong documentation, architecture review, and stakeholder communication skills.
- Experience creating technical standards, runbooks, and operational procedures.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Terraform, Bicep, ARM Templates, PowerShell, and Azure CLI.
- Experience with Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions.
- Knowledge of cloud security frameworks and compliance standards.
- Experience leading Azure migration and cloud transformation initiatives.
- Microsoft Azure certifications such as:
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate