Azure Cloud Architect

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Azure Cloud Architect with 10 years of experience in cloud infrastructure enterprise architecture and Azure platform engineering. The role requires strong hands-on experience designing and implementing Azure infrastructure with the ability to lead architecture discussions and present technical solutions to clients.

The ideal candidate has practical implementation experience with Azure Landing Zones Azure networking Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) security identity high availability disaster recovery monitoring DevOps and Infrastructure as Code. Strong hands-on experience with Azure Bicep and ARM templates is required. Terraform knowledge is useful but must not be the sole Infrastructure as Code experience.

Key Responsibilities

Design enterprise Azure infrastructure aligned with Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework and Azure Well-Architected principles.

Design and review Azure Landing Zones including management groups subscriptions resource groups governance RBAC Azure Policy and tagging standards.

Design Azure networking using Azure Virtual WAN Virtual Hubs Hub-Spoke architecture VNets subnetting NSGs route tables Private Link Private Endpoints Private DNS ExpressRoute VPN BGP and NAT Gateway.

Architect secure and scalable AKS environments including private AKS Azure CNI Overlay system and user node pools autoscaling Kubernetes networking namespace isolation workload identity managed identity ingress and multi-region deployment patterns.

Design high availability and disaster recovery architectures across Azure regions and availability zones including RTO RPO backup replication and failover strategies.

Design security architecture using Microsoft Entra ID Managed Identity Workload Identity RBAC PIM Conditional Access Key Vault Defender for Cloud Azure Policy private networking and zero-trust principles.

Design secure ingress and egress patterns using Application Gateway API Management WAF DDoS protection private networking and NAT.

Design Azure data and storage components including Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server and Azure Blob Storage with appropriate availability replication backup and recovery patterns.

Design and implement monitoring and observability using Azure Monitor Log Analytics Application Insights and integration with enterprise security monitoring platforms.

Design and review private Azure Container Registry deployments image security and regional resiliency patterns.

Drive FinOps architecture practices including resource tagging AKS namespace-level cost allocation chargeback/showback resource sizing and cost optimization.

Work with engineering and DevOps teams to translate architecture into implementable infrastructure and deployment patterns.

Review technical implementation against approved HLD LLD security networking and governance requirements.

Infrastructure as Code and DevOps

Strong hands-on implementation experience is required. The candidate must have previously designed developed maintained and deployed Azure infrastructure using:

Azure Bicep for reusable and modular Infrastructure as Code.

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates including parameterized templates and deployment automation.

Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure and application deployment.

Workload Identity Federation and managed identities for secure pipeline authentication.

Infrastructure deployment validation parameter management environment promotion and deployment governance.

Terraform is considered an additional skill. Candidates whose IaC experience is limited to Terraform without hands-on Bicep and ARM template experience are not the target profile.

Required Technical Skills

10 years of experience in IT infrastructure cloud engineering solution architecture or cloud architecture.

5 years of hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure enterprise environments.

Strong Azure infrastructure architecture and implementation experience.

Strong knowledge of Azure networking and hybrid connectivity.

Hands-on Azure Kubernetes Service architecture and implementation experience.

Hands-on Bicep and ARM template development and deployment experience.

Strong understanding of Azure security identity governance and zero-trust architecture.

Experience with Azure Monitor Log Analytics Application Insights and operational monitoring.

Experience designing high availability multi-region backup disaster recovery and business continuity solutions.

Experience with Azure DevOps and DevSecOps practices.

Understanding of Azure Database for PostgreSQL Blob Storage Azure Container Registry Key Vault and related Azure platform services.

Knowledge of FinOps practices Azure cost management tagging and workload-level cost allocation.

Strong understanding of enterprise architecture documentation HLD/LLD architecture diagrams technical decisions assumptions risks and dependencies.

Client Communication and Architecture Presentation

Lead client workshops to understand business technical security networking and operational requirements.

Present Azure architecture and solution designs to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Explain architecture decisions design trade-offs assumptions risks dependencies and implementation considerations in clear business language.

Create and present HLDs LLDs architecture diagrams migration approaches implementation plans and technical recommendations.

Participate in architecture reviews and respond to client technical questions with practical implementation guidance.

Work effectively with onshore and offshore engineering security networking DevOps and application teams.

Architecture Deliverables

Azure solution architecture and target-state architecture.

Azure Landing Zone architecture and governance design.

Network and connectivity architecture.

AKS platform architecture and deployment design.

Security and identity architecture.

High availability and disaster recovery design.

Infrastructure as Code design and reusable Bicep/ARM templates.

HLD LLD architecture diagrams deployment patterns and technical decision records.

Implementation guidance and architecture review documentation.

Preferred Certifications

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate.

Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert.

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or equivalent Kubernetes certification.

Experience and Professional Skills

10 years of overall IT infrastructure and architecture experience.

Strong enterprise Azure architecture and hands-on implementation background.

Proven experience working across distributed onshore and offshore teams.

Strong client-facing communication and presentation skills.

Ability to independently lead technical discussions and architecture decisions.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Ability to convert complex infrastructure requirements into practical secure scalable Azure solutions.

Strong documentation skills with attention to technical accuracy and implementation detail.

Role Fit

This role is best suited for an Azure Cloud Architect who combines architecture leadership with hands-on engineering experience. The successful candidate should be comfortable moving from client discussions and architecture presentations into detailed Azure infrastructure design Bicep/ARM implementation technical reviews and delivery support.