Azure Cloud Systems Administrator

A large government agency located in downtown Los Angeles is looking for a Systems Administrator for Cloud Environment (Azure IaaS). This will be a 12-month contract and will be fully onsite, 5 days a week.

Objective:

The Systems Administrator will be asked to support, manage, and secure systems hosted in the Azure IaaS Cloud environment, while also supporting web development and integration efforts. The contractor will work closely with internal teams and external vendors to implement, secure, and maintain cloud-based solutions and related infrastructure.

Responsibilities:

1. Cloud Systems Support & Administration
1. Manage and support organization systems in Microsoft Azure IaaS environment, including setup, configuration, and deployment of infrastructure components.
2. Provide security hardening, access control implementation, and operational support for cloud assets.
3. Collaborate with internal and external development teams to deploy cloud-hosted solutions with secure configurations.
4. Ensure proper integration of cloud services with on-premises infrastructure using tools such as Azure Arc and ExpressRoute.
2. Access Management & Security Architecture
1. Design and implement secure access architectures for both cloud and on-prem environments.
2. Enforce role-based access control (RBAC), auditing, and authorization practices for administrative and user-level access.
3. Implement logical access controls to regulate data flow between systems and ensure compliance with security policies.
4. Configure and maintain access for privileged users including administrators and security personnel.
3. Web Application Development & Support
1. Provide architectural support for the design and deployment of secure web applications.
2. Support application development platforms and frameworks (Java, IIS, Apache, Tomcat, WordPress).
3. Ensure web applications align with org's security and performance requirements.
4. Participate in the setup of application backends (SQL, Azure SQL, MSSQL) and frontend design (UI/UX).
4. Systems & Infrastructure Administration
1. Provide system administration support for a mixed environment (Windows/Linux VMs).
2. Assist in Active Directory management, SCCM deployment, DHCP/DNS setup, and Exchange configuration.
3. Manage software and endpoint distribution through tools such as Intune and SCCM.
4. Support deployment and maintenance of network routing, firewalls, and security tools.
5. Project Coordination
1. Work collaboratively with project managers and stakeholders to execute infrastructure or application-related tasks on schedule.
2. Provide technical documentation, updates, and knowledge transfer as required.

Required Skills and Tools Expertise:

• Cloud Technologies (Azure IaaS): Subscription, Tenant, VNet, Blob Storage, Azure Arc, Intune, Entra, Virtual Machines (Windows/Linux), Azure WAF, Microsoft Front Door, Azure Firewall, ExpressRoute, Private Endpoint, Azure Key Vault
• Security & Identity Tools: SAML, OAuth, OIDC, PKI, One Identity, ForgeRock, Access Control Design
• Application Development: Azure SQL, MSSQL, Power BI, Power Gateway, Power Apps, AD Sync, IIS, Apache, Tomcat, Java, WordPress
• Systems Administration: SCCM, DNS, DHCP, VMware, Active Directory, Exchange, Networking & Routing, Web development platforms, Microsoft Copilot

Deliverables:

• Cloud infrastructure diagrams and documentation
• Access control matrix and policies
• Web application deployment plans
• Technical support logs and issue resolutions
• Progress and status reports as requested