Azure Platform Architect

Cognitive Group | Part of the Focus Cloud Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognitive Group | Part of the Focus Cloud Group is seeking an experienced Azure Platform Architect to lead enterprise Azure designs and delivery for public-sector and enterprise clients.

You will combine hands-on Azure engineering with consulting leadership, shaping cloud strategy, modernising infrastructure and guiding large-scale transformations in a hybrid client-facing role.

Qualifications

• 8+ years IT infrastructure experience with 5+ years Azure focus.
• Current UK Government Security Clearance.
• Proven leadership of engineering teams and large-scale migrations.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Deep knowledge of CAF, Well-Architected and security controls.

Responsibilities

• Define enterprise Azure architectures from strategy to implementation.
• Lead design reviews and governance for secure, scalable platforms.
• mentor platform engineering teams and run workshops.
• drive migration-readiness and data-centre exit programmes.
• engage with clients, bids and pre-sales as part of the cloud practice.

Skills

Azure platform engineering

Leadership

Stakeholder management

English communication

Cloud governance

FinOps

Zero Trust

Well-Architected

Azure certifications

Tools

Bicep

Terraform

Azure Landing Zones

Virtual WAN

ExpressRoute

Azure Firewall

Application Gateway

Microsoft Entra ID

RBAC

PIM

Azure Policy

Azure Migrate

Defender for Cloud

Sentinel

KQL

GitHub Copilot

Job description

Azure Platform Architect

Location: UK

Working Pattern: Hybrid / Client-facing

Security Clearance: UK Government Security Clearance required

We’re looking for an experienced Azure Platform Architect to join a growing cloud and infrastructure practice, taking a leading role in the design and delivery of secure, scalable Azure platforms for enterprise and public-sector customers.

This is a hands‑on architecture position with significant client exposure. You’ll combine deep Azure platform expertise with strong consulting and leadership skills, helping organisations shape their cloud strategy, modernise infrastructure and deliver large-scale transformation programmes.

The RoleYou’ll be responsible for defining and overseeing enterprise Azure architectures, from initial strategy and design through to implementation and ongoing optimisation.

Key areas of responsibility will include:

• Architecting and designing enterprise-scale Azure platforms.
• Defining and evolving Azure Landing Zone strategies and shared-service architectures.
• Establishing Infrastructure as Code standards and automation-led engineering practices.
• Providing technical leadership and mentoring to infrastructure and platform engineering teams.
• Facilitating cloud strategy sessions, technical workshops and migration-readiness assessments.
• Designing and overseeing major infrastructure transformation initiatives, including data‑centre exit and re‑platforming programmes.
• Carrying out Azure Well-Architected Framework reviews and establishing appropriate governance and security controls.
• Ensuring solutions align with UK Government requirements, security classifications and relevant industry standards.
• Communicating complex architectural concepts to senior technical stakeholders and C-suite audiences.
• Supporting bids, proposals and pre‑sales activity while helping to develop the wider cloud architecture capability.

What We’re Looking For

You’ll ideally bring:

• 8+ years’ experience in IT infrastructure, including at least 5 years focused on Azure platform engineering/architecture .
• Current UK Government Security Clearance.
• Proven experience leading and mentoring engineering teams.
• Strong experience delivering large-scale cloud migrations and data‑centre exit programmes.
• Expert knowledge of the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework and Azure Well-Architected Framework.
• Experience providing guidance around the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Confidence working directly with clients and operating within consulting environments.
• Strong written and verbal English.
• Relevant Azure certifications, particularly AZ-305.

Technical Expertise

Strong hands‑on knowledge across the following areas is essential:

• Bicep and Terraform
• Azure Landing Zones
• Hub-and-spoke and Virtual WAN networking
• ExpressRoute, Azure Firewall and Application Gateway
• Microsoft Entra ID, RBAC and PIM
• Azure Policy, Management Groups and subscription architecture
• Azure Migrate and associated discovery tooling
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel
• Azure Monitor, Log Analytics and KQL
• Zero Trust architecture
• High availability and disaster recovery
• FinOps and cloud cost optimisation
• Use of GitHub Copilot to accelerate Infrastructure as Code development

The Person

We’re looking for someone who is both an architect and an engineer — someone who can set the technical direction while remaining close enough to delivery to understand what works in practice.

You’ll be:

• A hands‑on technical leader who leads by example.
• Comfortable taking ownership of complex technical challenges.
• Pragmatic, commercially aware and focused on achieving outcomes.
• A confident communicator who can engage equally well with engineers, architects and senior executives.
• Comfortable operating in customer‑facing environments and translating business requirements into practical technical solutions.

If you’re an experienced Azure architect looking for the opportunity to shape enterprise cloud platforms, lead technical teams and work on complex transformation programmes, we’d be keen to hear from you.