Senior Cloud Solutions Architect; Azure

Remote opportunity. Blue Flag is seeking an ambitious, senior-level Cloud Solutions Architect specializing in Azure to join our dynamic team. As a key player in our cloud infrastructure initiatives, you'll architect, implement, and optimize cloud solutions for large enterprise environments, including a data and analytics platform for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• Lead cloud architecture design and solutioning for a large data and analytics platform, focusing on Azure-based services including Azure Databricks, Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, Azure Kubernetes Service, and Azure Cognitive/ML Services
• Drive the migration of large, complex workloads from legacy warehouses and on-premises VA systems into the cloud-based platform, ensuring security, compliance, and performance optimization
• Architect data ingestion, processing, and integration patterns using batch, near-real-time (Golden Gate), streaming (Event Hubs), SFTP, and API-based ingestion methods
• Support data preparation, wrangling, transformation, enrichment, normalization, and integration pipelines leveraging Databricks, Synapse, and Starburst
• Define and implement solution accelerators (e.g., Databricks notebooks, ingestion patterns, reporting and ML workspace templates) to support repeatable, scalable implementations across work streams
• Partner with customer success teams to support onboarding of VA customers, including migration of work groups with extensive and complex VM/application footprints
• Provide architectural guidance for system-to-system integrations using APIs, SHIR (Self-Hosted Integration Runtime), and various API frameworks
• Ensure Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) models are consistently applied across Azure Entra (Active Directory), service principals, managed identities, and data lake ACLs
• Work closely with platform engineers, data governance engineers, data management engineers, and application development teams to design, review, and improve deployment patterns
• Align architecture decisions with VA security and compliance requirements, including FISMA, NIST 800-53, FIPS 199/200, VA Handbook 6500, and the VA Authority to Operate (ATO) boundary constraints
• Provide architectural input into platform roadmap planning, ensuring that Dev Ops initiatives and customer projects are aligned with VA's strategic priorities and capacity planning processes
• Document all solution architectures in the platform's unified architecture framework within Confluence, ensuring traceability across enterprise, platform, data, integration, and consumption layers
• Mentor engineers, data scientists, and other technical staff in cloud-native architecture best practices, automation, and data product development
• Research and evaluate emerging cloud technology trends and best practices to enhance company offerings

At Blue Flag, we're passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technology to make a real difference. You'll be at the forefront of cloud innovation, working on projects that directly impact people's lives. We offer a high-growth, entrepreneurial environment that values fresh ideas and authentic teamwork. If you're ready to take your cloud engineering career to new heights and contribute to meaningful projects that push the boundaries of technology, we want to hear from you.

Join Blue Flag and be part of a team that's shaping the future of cloud solutions!

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in cloud architecture, with at least 5 years focused on Microsoft Azure.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale cloud migration projects, including VM and application migrations from on-premises environments to Azure.
• Proven expertise in data engineering and analytics workloads, with hands-on experience in:
  Azure Databricks (data processing, ML pipelines, advanced analytics);
  Azure Synapse Analytics (SQL Pools, big data analytics, enterprise data warehouse);
  Azure Data Factory and Event Hubs (batch, near real-time, and streaming ingestion);
  Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, Neo4J, and SQL databases

• Strong background in cloud-native solution architecture within multi-cloud environments (Azure Gov, AWS).
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Git Hub Actions) for provisioning and deployment automation.
• Deep understanding of data governance frameworks (Collibra, Immuta for ABAC, RBAC group models in Azure Entra).
• Knowledge of system security and compliance requirements in a federal environment, including NIST 800-53, FISMA, FedRAMP High, and VA Handbook 6500.
• Familiarity with disaster recovery, system integrity, and secure communications controls (e.g., Contingency Planning, System and Information Integrity, System and Communications Protection SOPs).

• Experience leading cross-functional teams (architecture, Dev Ops, data…