Azure Cloud Architect; Local to MS

Required Skills/Experience

Provide the minimum required skills and/or experience the contractor must possess to qualify for this position. These requirements will be transferred to the Score Sheet and candidates without these requirements reflected on their resume will NOT be presented to the manager for consideration.

• Deep knowledge of key Azure services (VMs, Azure Storage, Azure SQL/Cosmos DB, 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 ingressing/egressing 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 with 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.

• Provide any skills/experience that would be helpful for the candidate to possess but not required. Examples:
  Previous supervisory experience, Web Logic experience helpful, etc.
• Microsoft Azure Expert-level certification (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Dev Ops Engineer Expert).
• Experience in a government 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, Powerhell).