SME – AWS SME – MS

3. Position Descriptionand Job Skill Set  Descriptionofthejobfunctionsthecontractorwillbeexpectedtoperform. The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) is the central IT organization for the state of Mississippi, and acts as a service provider and/or service broker for agencies. Over the last two years, ITS has implemented an Azure Landing Zone and an Azure Gov Cloud Landing Zone, and is working to build cloud expertise internallytosupportthis environmentandfuture agency

Azureprojects. ITSisseekingahighlyskilledandwell-rounded Azureexperttoassistin maintainingthisenvironment, working withagencies on troubleshooting,andhelpingtomentor staff.

Thispositionwillbecrucialtothelong-term success of thisprojectforITS as weworkto buildour

Cloud Center of Excellence.

• Azure Environment Management–Overseeandmaintaintheexisting Azuretenantsand Management Groupswhile  ensuring adherence to industry best practices.
• Cloud Architecture–For both ITS and agencies, design, review, and implement Azure solutions that meet performance, security, and scalability requirements.
• Troubleshooting and Support–Serve as a senior point of contact for complex Azure-related issues, including network connectivity. Thiswillrequirecoordinationwithinternalteamsandagenciestodeterminerootcauseand remediation strategies.
• Vendor Relationships–Workwith Microsoftandotherthird-partyvendorstointegratevariousproductsintothe overall Azure ecosystem.
• Mentorship and Training–Provide knowledge transfer, training, and coaching to staff members to build internal cloud expertise. Help with the creation and maintenance of technical documentation, standards, and playbooks.
• Governance and Security–Work with ITS and agency security teams to ensure industry best practices (such as Azure Policy and Microsoft Defender for Cloud) and various compliance requirements are met.

• Deep knowledge of key Azure services (VMs, Azure Storage, Azure SQL/CosmosDB, VNet, Microsoft Entra , Azure Functions, Azure Resource Manager templates, etc.).
• Experience leading cloud migrations or implementations in a complex multi-tenant/subscription environment.
• Strong network troubleshooting abilities to help resolve connectivity issues both inside the Azure cloud environment and ingress/egress to the State’s on-premises environment (e.g., Express Route, VPN).
• Familiarity with Azure Landing Zone implementations and management using Azure Landing Zone reference architectures or ALZ deployment tools.
• Proficiency within infrastructure as code (ARM templates, Bicep, Terraform) and CI/CD pipelines (Azure Dev Ops, Git Hub Actions).
• Experience implementing security best practices (e.g., Azure RBAC, encryption, network segmentation, and Azure Policies).
• Familiarity with Dev Ops principles, containerization (Docker, AKS, Azure Container Apps), and serverless architectures.
• Strong troubleshooting abilities across networking, storage, and compute layers in Azure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven experience mentoring staff and fostering a collaborative, learning-focused environment.
• Effective problem-solving skills and the ability to remain calm and focused under pressure.
• Strong organizational skills, capable of managing multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to lead architectural reviews and navigate ambiguity in designing solutions to complex business problems.

• Microsoft Azure Expert-level certification (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Dev Ops Engineer Expert).
• Experience in a governance or highly regulated environment (e.g., HIPAA, CJIS, IRS
  1075 compliance).
• Knowledge of ITIL, project management methodologies (e.g., PMP, Agile), and enterprise IT governance frameworks.
• Familiarity with other public cloud providers and hybrid-cloud environments (e.g., Azure Arc).
• Working knowledge of common scripting/programming languages (Python, Bash, Power Shell).