Sr Azure Administrator/Lead Windows Engineer

Key Responsibilities
Windows & Active Directory Leadership
Lead architecture, design, and management of enterprise Windows Server and Active Directory environments.
Own Active Directory design, health, and lifecycle management:

Forest/domain design
Trusts, replication, FSMO roles
Group Policy design and troubleshooting

Lead AD modernization initiatives including:
Domain consolidation
Legacy AD cleanup
Hybrid AD integration

Azure Administration & Engineering
Act as Azure Administrator for Windows workloads, including:
Azure IaaS (VMs, storage, networking)
Azure Active Directory / Entra ID
RBAC, conditional access, MFA

Design and maintain hybrid infrastructure:
Azure AD Connect / Cloud Sync
On‑prem AD + Azure AD integration

Implement and manage Azure monitoring, logging, and security controls.

Migration & Modernization
Lead and execute migration projects:
On‑prem Windows servers to Azure
Active Directory to Azure AD / Hybrid AD
File servers and application workloads

Plan and execute cutover strategies, risk mitigation, and rollback plans.
Collaborate with application teams to ensure migration readiness and performance.

Automation & Scripting
Develop automation using PowerShell to manage AD, Windows, and Azure resources.
Enforce configuration standards and desired state configurations.
Improve operational efficiency through scripting and automation frameworks.

Security & Compliance
Implement Windows and AD security hardening best practices.
Manage identity security including:

Privileged access (PIM/PAM)
Role‑based access control
Conditional Access policies

Support audits, vulnerability remediation, and incident response activities.

Operational Excellence
Oversee patching, backups, DR, and high availability for Windows workloads.
Lead troubleshooting of complex Windows, AD, and Azure issues.
Participate in change management, capacity planning, and architecture reviews.

Leadership & Collaboration
Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior and senior engineers.
Serve as escalation point for critical Windows and Azure issues.
Work closely with Network, Security, Cloud, and DevOps teams.

Required Skills & Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
8+ years of Windows infrastructure experience.
3+ years in a Lead / Senior Engineer role.

Deep expertise in:
Windows Server (2016/2019/2022)
Active Directory (design, migration, troubleshooting)
DNS, DHCP, Group Policy

Strong Azure Administration experience:
Azure VMs, networking, storage
Azure AD / Entra ID
Azure AD Connect

Proven experience leading AD and Windows migrations.
Advanced PowerShell scripting skills.
Experience with VMware or Hyper‑V.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have
Azure migration tools (Azure Migrate, ASR).
Endpoint management (Intune, MECM).
Microsoft Defender and security tooling.
Infrastructure as Code (ARM, Bicep, Terraform).
ITIL process familiarity.
Microsoft certifications:

AZ‑104 (Azure Administrator)
AZ‑305 (Azure Architect)
Windows/AD certifications

Soft Skills
Strong technical leadership and documentation skills.
Excellent troubleshooting and analytical abilities.
Clear communication with technical and business stakeholders.
Ability to manage multiple migration and operational priorities.