Senior Azure Cloud Architect

Piper Companies; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

PTO and paid holidays

Job summary

Zachary Piper Solutions seeks a Senior Azure Cloud Architect to design secure, scalable Azure environments for a high-visibility federal mission. The role requires a Secret clearance and Security+, with hands-on Azure, networking, and IaC skills.

Hybrid work in Washington, DC is expected three days per week, with collaboration across cybersecurity and government stakeholders. The candidate will lead migrations, define governance, and mentor engineering teams, delivering robust cloud solutions

Qualifications

• Active Secret Clearance
• CompTIA Security+ certification
• 5+ years hands-on Azure experience in DoD IL5/IL6 or equivalent
• Experience designing Azure architectures for enterprise/federal environments
• Experience with Azure networking (VNets, NSGs, ExpressRoute, VPN)
• Experience with IaC tools (Terraform, Bicep, ARM) and CI/CD pipelines

Responsibilities

• Design, architect, and implement secure, scalable Microsoft Azure environments for federal requirements
• Develop enterprise cloud architecture across compute, storage, networking, identity, security, and governance
• Architect and optimize Azure networking, Entra ID RBAC, and Conditional Access
• Lead on-prem to Azure migrations with planning, replication, failover, cutovers and validation
• Develop IaC using Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates and automate deployments

Skills

Azure architecture

Cloud security

Networking

IaC automation

Scripting (PowerShell, Ansible)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Terraform

Bicep

ARM templates

PowerShell

Ansible

Azure DevOps

GitHub Actions

Microsoft Visio

Job description

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Senior Azure Cloud Architect to support a high-visibility federal mission focused on designing, securing, and modernizing enterprise cloud infrastructure within a highly regulated environment. The Senior Azure Cloud Architect will serve as a senior technical leader supporting Azure architecture, cloud migrations, networking, identity, infrastructure automation, and cybersecurity initiatives. This position requires an Active Secret Clearance and Security+ certification and is hybrid in Washington, D.C.!

Responsibilities of the Senior Azure Cloud Architect:

• Design, architect, and implement secure, scalable Microsoft Azure environments supporting federal mission requirements
• Develop enterprise cloud architecture solutions across compute, storage, networking, identity, security, monitoring, and governance
• Design and troubleshoot complex Azure networking environments, including VNets, subnets, NSGs, routing, Azure Firewall, VPN, ExpressRoute, and load balancing
• Architect and implement Microsoft Entra ID solutions, including RBAC, Conditional Access, identity governance, authentication, and enterprise identity integrations
• Lead and support on-premises to Azure cloud migrations, including migration planning, dependency mapping, replication, failover testing, cutovers, and post-migration validation
• Utilize Azure Site Recovery (ASR) to support disaster recovery, workload replication, and migration initiatives
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions using Terraform, Bicep, and/or ARM templates
• Automate cloud infrastructure deployment, configuration, and operational processes using PowerShell, Ansible, Azure DevOps, and/or GitHub Actions
• Develop and maintain cloud architecture diagrams, network diagrams, and technical documentation using Microsoft Visio
• Ensure Azure environments comply with applicable federal security requirements and DISA STIGs
• Collaborate with government stakeholders, engineers, system administrators, cybersecurity teams, and other technical personnel to develop and implement cloud solutions
• Lead technical discussions, architecture reviews, design sessions, and customer-facing presentations
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to engineering teams while serving as a senior subject matter expert for Azure cloud architecture
• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure, networking, identity, security, and cloud connectivity issues
• Support the continuous modernization, optimization, and hardening of enterprise cloud environments

Qualifications for the Senior Azure Cloud Architect:

• 10+ years of professional IT, infrastructure, cloud, or engineering experience
• 5+ years of hands-on Azure experience within DoD IL5/IL6 or comparable high-security government environments
• Extensive experience designing and implementing Azure cloud architectures in enterprise or federal environments
• Strong hands-on experience with Azure networking, including VNets, subnets, NSGs, routing, Azure Firewall, VPN, ExpressRoute, and load balancing
• Strong experience with Microsoft Entra ID, including RBAC, Conditional Access, identity governance, and enterprise identity architecture
• Experience with Azure Site Recovery and enterprise cloud migration initiatives
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform, Bicep, and/or ARM
• Experience with Azure DevOps and/or GitHub Actions for infrastructure automation and CI/CD
• Strong scripting and automation experience using PowerShell and/or Ansible
• Experience securing and hardening cloud environments in accordance with DISA STIGs and federal security requirements
• Active Secret Clearance
• CompTIA Security+ certification
• Experience creating and maintaining technical architecture and network diagrams using Microsoft Visio
• Ability to work onsite in Washington, D.C. at least 3 days per week
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to interact directly with government customers and technical stakeholders
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to troubleshoot complex cloud, networking, identity, and infrastructure challenges

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience architecting Azure Government environments
• Azure Solutions Architect Expert or other relevant Microsoft Azure certifications
• Experience supporting federal or high-security government cloud programs
• Experience with Azure landing zones, governance, policy, and enterprise-scale cloud implementations
• Experience with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, or other Azure security and monitoring capabilitiesExperience with cloud disaster recovery and business continuity planning
• Experience with database or data management environments
• Familiarity with Agile development and engineering methodologies
• Experience leading technical teams or serving as a cloud architecture SME
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear recommendations for customers and leadership
• Experience leading architecture reviews, customer meetings, and technical presentations

Compensation for the Senior Azure Cloud Architect includes:

• Salary: $200,000 - $230,000
• Comprehensive Benefits Package including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), PTO, and Paid Holidays