Azure Engineer

Location: Jackson, MS

Work Arrangement: 100% Remote

Employment Type: Contract

Interview Mode: Either In-person or Webcam

Position Overview

We are seeking three (3) Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to join the Office of Technology and Strategic Services as Azure Engineers. These positions are critical for the Mississippi Department of Education, focusing on the sophisticated design, deployment, and optimization of cloud infrastructure.

The ideal candidates will be forward-thinking engineers dedicated to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and the implementation of landing zone architectures to ensure a secure, scalable, and high-performing cloud environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Landing Zone Architecture: Implement and manage landing zone architectures using Terraform to administer the Microsoft Azure environment.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Develop IaC scripts via Terraform to automate consistent platform deployments and manage the infrastructure lifecycle.
• DevOps Integration: Deploy IaC utilizing Azure DevOps pipelines and leverage GIT for robust source code management.
• Governance & Security: Manage security and access controls for cloud-based solutions; oversee provisioning, configuration, and policy governance.
• Process Optimization: Analyze existing operational standards and governance to identify and implement continuous improvements.
• Monitoring: Ensure environment health through performance monitoring and logging using cloud-native Azure services.
• Mentorship: Act as a technical leader, mentoring teammates and cross-functional partners on cloud best practices.

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience: Minimum of 7 years of qualified experience in Azure Engineering.
• Azure Mastery: Proven track record in Microsoft Azure design, deployment, configuration, and optimization.
• Automation: Advanced experience deploying IaC through Azure DevOps and development with Terraform.
• Version Control: Proficiency with GIT for source code management.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills with high attention to detail.
• Education: Bachelor's Degree in a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF): Strong foundational knowledge of the Microsoft CAF for Azure.
• Networking: Expertise in Network CIDR block and IP address planning, as well as VNet gateway for transit routing.
• Identity Management: Solid understanding of Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) and integration with on-premises systems.
• Security: Deep understanding of cloud security concepts, including governance and granular access control.