Cloud Azure Engineer

Job#: 2075390

Job Description:

Job Description

JOB TITLE: Lead Architect, Cloud

CAREER LEVEL: P4

DEPARTMENT: Advisor Platform Engineering

REPORTS TO: Head of Solution Architecture

FLSA STATUS: Exempt

SUMMARY:

The Lead Architect, Cloud is a senior thought leader responsible for designing and driving the adoption of modern,

secure, and cost-effective Azure solutions across Kestra. Working closely with engineering, security, infrastructure,

data, and product teams, the Cloud Architect sets architectural direction, develops reference implementations, and

promotes best practices that enable high-performing, reliable, and compliant cloud workloads.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: To perform this job successfully, this individual must be able to

perform each essential duty satisfactorily:

Champion Azure architecture best practices (Well Architected Framework pillars: security, reliability,

performance efficiency, cost optimization, and operational excellence) across all teams.

Design scalable and secure reference architectures, patterns, and deployment blueprints for application, data,

and integration workloads in Azure.

Provide business continuity planning (BCP) guidance and develop mechanisms for auditing configuration and

testing failover/fail-back scenarios.

Collaborate with DevOps, infrastructure, and development teams to guide solution design, CI/CD pipelines,

and infrastructure as code (Bicep/Terraform/ARM).

Lead cloud governance initiatives, including cost management, tagging standards, policy as code, and

guardrails.

Evaluate emerging Azure services and third-party tools, develop proof of concepts, and provide

recommendations for adoption.

Assist with incident post?mortems and architectural reviews to identify systemic improvements.

Produce clear architecture documentation, decision records, and knowledge sharing sessions.

Mentor engineers and architects, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.

Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on cloud strategy and technology roadmaps.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND/OR ABILITIES: To perform this job successfully, individuals should have the

following skills and abilities:

Deep expertise in designing and operating workloads on Microsoft Azure (compute, networking, storage,

security, identity, databases, and PaaS services).

Strong understanding of cloud networking (VNet design, Private Link, ExpressRoute, firewalls, DNS, load

balancing).

Proficiency with infrastructure as code and CI/CD tooling (Bicep, Terraform, GitHub Actions/Azure DevOps

YAML pipelines).

Working knowledge of security and compliance frameworks relevant to financial services (SOC 2, ISO

27001, PCIDSS, FINRA, SEC, etc.).

Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and to communicate complex ideas to technical and

nontechnical audiences.

Passion for operational excellence, automation, and cost optimization.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: No

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent experience.

8+ years of hands-on experience architecting and delivering solutions on Azure.

Experience in financial services or other regulated environments is a plus.

CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ?305) or equivalent certification strongly preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMAND: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an

employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to

enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Ability to sit or stand at a computer workstation for extended periods while using a keyboard, mouse, and

multiple monitors.

Frequent, repetitive hand-finger motions for typing, writing, and handling small peripherals or cables.

Near-vision sufficient to read electronic documents, review code, and distinguish basic on-screen colors (e.g.,

for UI verification).

Clear spoken communication and active listening for in-person and virtual meetings, incident bridges, and

phone calls.

Ability to walk short distances, navigate a standard office environment, climb one flight of stairs, and stand

during white-boarding or presentations. Sit-stand desks and other ergonomic furniture are available upon

request.

Ability to lift and move equipment or boxed materials weighing up to 20 lbs (e.g., laptops, small servers,

office supplies).

Hybrid roles: Primary work performed on-site at the Encino Trace campus (Southwest Austin, TX) Monday-

Thursday; optional remote work on Fridays.

Fully remote roles: Primary work performed from the employee's home office within approved locations;

reliable high-speed internet and an ergonomically safe workspace are required.

Participation in overnight or weekend on-call rotations and critical production releases may require work

outside standard business hours.

OTHER DUTIES: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a complete comprehensive

listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and

activities may change at any time with or without notice.

EEO Employer

Apex Systems is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate or allow discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, disability, status as a crime victim, protected veteran status, political affiliation, union membership, or any other characteristic protected by law. Apex will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law. If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation in using our website for a search or application, please contact our Employee Services Department at or Job Description

JOB TITLE:

Platform Engineer

DEPARTMENT:

Technology

REPORTS TO:

Head of IT Infrastructure

FLSA STATUS:

Exempt

SUMMARY:

Kestra is a growing leader in the financial services industry and has recently completed a transition of its flagship web application, Advisor Complete, into Azure. Now that we are running fully in Azure, we are looking for capable and engaged Senior Platform Engineer to assist our cloud infrastructure team in continuing to support and grow the platform. Additionally, Kestra is rapidly acquiring other firms in the financial services arena, at least multiple per quarter, further expanding the number of assets we need to either move to or manage in the cloud.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: To perform this job successfully, individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily:

Design, develop, and deploy highly scalable and secure applications, data, and integration workloads in Microsoft Azure, aligning technical solutions with long-term business goals.

Audit and clean up AAD role assignments & Azure RBAC assignments.(Critical for implementing least privilege principle)

Deliver Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery strategies for critical enterprise systems, ensuring high availability and minimal disruption through multi-region architectures and cost-effective recovery plans.

Build and maintain automated governance frameworks using policy-as-code and tagging standards to support compliance, cost optimization, and operational consistency across the cloud landscape.

Drive cloud efficiency by leading initiatives around cost optimization, regulatory compliance, and platform hygiene-putting smart controls in place that enable innovation rather than restrict it.

Act as a hands-on cloud advisor and mentor, sharing deep Azure expertise to guide engineering teams in shaping architecture, improving platform resilience, and evolving cloud-native practices.

Collaborate closely with DevOps, software, and infrastructure teams to implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Bicep, Terraform, and ARM templates-ensuring secure, repeatable, and scalable environment provisioning; assist in keeping core/shared infrastructure IaC up-to-date at all times, also collaborating SRE

Automate key operational processes through scripting and runbooks, reducing manual effort, increasing deployment velocity, and improving day-to-day platform reliability.

Continuously evaluate the cloud ecosystem to identify technical debt, performance bottlenecks, and improvement opportunities-introducing architectural enhancements to support growth, agility, and efficiency.

Provide strategic input and trusted technical counsel to senior leadership on cloud adoption, modernization efforts, and the broader technology roadmap.

Develop & maintain basic automation scripts/runbooks to streamline operational tasks and environment provisioning.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND/OR ABILITIES: To perform this job successfully, the individual should have the following skills and abilities.

Extensive understanding and experience with the following Azure functionality:

o Identity and Access Management

Azure AD

Application Registrations/Enterprise Applications

RBAC

PIM

Azure Policy

o Network

Azure Firewall

Virtual WAN/Hubs

Express Routes

Azure Front Door/App Gateway

Peering

Route Tables

Private DNS Zones

Network Watcher

Host Files

o Cloud Data Storage

Databricks

ETL solutions

Storage Accounts/S3

Azure SQL/RDS

o Compute

Elasticsearch

Virtual Machine Management

Backup

Familiarity with the general concepts and basic administration of:

o FTP Servers

o Internet Information Server (IIS)

o SQL Server 2017

o Windows Server 2016 & 2019

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: None

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

2+ years managing Azure tenants and resources

5+ years working in a Developer capacity OR 3+ years working in Systems Administrator capacity

CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator

Exam AZ-700: Designing and Implementing Microsoft Azure Networking Solutions

Exam AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions - Highly Desired

AWS/Google Cloud Platform Certifications can be had in lieu of Microsoft Certifications

PHYSICAL DEMAND: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to sit at a computer for long periods of time in office environment well lit.
• Position is located in the Austin, TX office. Must be able to work in the office during scheduled work hours.

OTHER DUTIES: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a complete comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Apex Systems is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom and Mexico.

Apex Benefits Overview: Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our 'Welcome Packet' as well, which an Apex team member can provide.