Azure SME (Hybrid - One week per month)

Scoring Method - Must equal 100%

• Experience and Skills - 60%
• Cost - 30%
• Interview - 10%

Position Description and Job Skill Set

• 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 internally to support this environment and future agency Azure projects. ITS is seeking a highly skilled and well-rounded Azure expert to assist in maintaining this environment, working with agencies on troubleshooting, and helping to mentor staff. This position will be crucial to the long-term success of this project for ITS as we work to build our Cloud Center of Excellence.

Job Functions Overview:

• Azure Environment Management – Oversee and maintain the existing Azure tenants and Management Groups while 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. This will require coordination with internal teams and agencies to determine root cause and remediation strategies.
• Vendor Relationships – Work with Microsoft and other third-party vendors to integrate various products into the 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.

Required Skills/Experience

• Deep knowledge of key Azure services (VMs, Azure Storage, Azure SQL/Cosmos DB, VNet, Microsoft Entra ID, 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., ExpressRoute, 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 DevOps, GitHub Actions).
• Experience implementing security best practices (e.g., Azure RBAC, encryption, network segmentation, and Azure Policies).
• Familiarity with DevOps 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.

Preferred/Not Required

• Microsoft Azure Expert-level certification (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure DevOps 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).

“Cleo Consulting is an equal opportunity employer (Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled)”