Azure Cloud & DevOps Engineer

Sprocket Sports; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with company match

Comprehensive medical and dental

Mission-driven team environment

Job summary

A fast-growing technology company based in Chicago is seeking an Azure Cloud & DevOps Engineer. You will be responsible for optimizing cloud infrastructure, ensuring security and performance, and collaborating with software teams. The ideal candidate has 3+ years of experience in Cloud Engineering, particularly with Microsoft Azure, and a passion for youth sports. We offer a mission-driven environment and comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and a 401(k) with company match.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional experience in Cloud Engineering, DevOps, or a similar role.
• Hands-on experience with core Azure services and strong networking fundamentals.
• Proficiency in PowerShell scripting.

Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain Azure resources (App Services, VMs, etc.).
• Optimize cloud costs and implement security best practices.
• Monitor application performance and conduct load testing.

Skills

Cloud Engineering

DevOps principles

PowerShell scripting

Monitoring and observability (DataDog)

SQL performance optimization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Microsoft Azure

Azure DevOps

Job description

At Sprocket Sports, We are currently seeking an Azure Cloud & DevOps Engineer to join our Team. The ideal candidate has a passion for youth sports and managing a best‑in‑class software platform that will be used by thousands of youth sports club administrators, coaches, parents and players.

About Sprocket

Sprocket Sports is a fast‑growing technology company based in Chicago and a national leader in the youth sports space. Our software and services help clubs streamline operations, reduce costs, and grow faster, so they can focus on what really matters: kids playing sports. We’re also proud to be a certified Great Place to Work® 2024, with a culture that balances high standards, accountability, and fun.

What you'll do:

As an experienced DevOps / cloud engineer you will help us scale and maintain a high‑performing, reliable, and cost‑effective cloud infrastructure. As an Azure Cloud Engineer, you will be the backbone of our cloud infrastructure, ensuring our platform is always available, fast, and secure for our users. You will manage our resources in Microsoft Azure, focusing heavily on performance optimization, cost control, and proactive system health monitoring. This role is perfect for someone passionate about cloud technology, DevOps principles, and continuous improvement. In this role you will interact with our software engineers, product managers and occasionally with operational stakeholders. We are seeking individuals who like to think creatively and have a passion for continually improving the platform.

Responsibilities:

• Resource & Cost Optimization:
• Manage, provision, and maintain our complete suite of Azure resources (e.g., App Services, Azure Functions, AKS, VMs).
• Proactively manage and reduce cloud costs by identifying and implementing efficiencies in resource utilization and recommending right‑sizing strategies.
• Security and Compliance:
• Ensure security best practices are implemented across all Azure services, including network segmentation, access control (IAM), and patching.

Performance & Reliability Engineering (SRE Focus)

• System Health and Monitoring:
• Ongoing monitoring of application and system performance using Azure and DataDog to detect and diagnose issues before they impact users.
• Review system logs, metrics, and tracing data to identify areas of concern, bottlenecks, and opportunities for performance tuning.
• Performance Testing
• Lead efforts to conduct load testing and performance testing on the system.
• Database Performance Tuning:
• Review and optimize SQL performance by analyzing query plans, identifying slow‑running queries, and recommending improvements (indexing, schema changes, stored procedures).
• Manage and monitor our Azure SQL Database resources for optimal health and throughput.
• Incident Response: Participate in on‑call rotation to provide 24/7 support for critical infrastructure incidents and drive root cause analysis (RCA).

DevOps Automation

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC):
• Implement Infrastructure‑as‑Code (ARM, Bicep, or Terraform) to maintain consistent, auditable deployments.
• Work closely with the development team to automate and streamline deployment pipelines (CI/CD) using Azure DevOps, ensuring fast and reliable releases.
• Configuration Management: Implement and manage configuration for applications and infrastructure.

What We're Looking For:

• Bachelor's degree in a Computer Science or related field.
• 3+ years of professional experience in Cloud Engineering, DevOps, or a similar role, with a strong focus on Microsoft Azure.
• Deep hands‑on experience with core Azure services and strong networking fundamentals.
• Solid experience with monitoring and observability platforms, specifically DataDog.
• Scripting proficiency in PowerShell.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and optimize relational database performance (SQL/T‑SQL).
• Strong problem‑solving skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to analytically defend design decisions and take feedback without ego.
• Strong attention to detail and accountability.

Why Join Us?

• 🤝 Mission‑driven team with a big vision
• 🚀 Fast‑growing startup with room to grow
• 📊 401(k) with company match
• 🩺 Comprehensive medical and dental
• 🎉 A culture built on Higher Standards, Greater Accountability, and More Fun