Senior DevOps Engineer

The National Research Center for College and University Admissions, Inc; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement contributions

Paid time off

Other programs that support employee-w

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

Encoura is seeking a Senior Azure DevOps Engineer to partner with product and tech teams to enhance our Azure cloud environment, focusing on monitoring, automation, data maintenance, and security tooling. You will work on CI/CD, Azure networking, and real-time systems for users.

The role requires 5+ years in DevOps with 3+ years on Azure core services, Terraform, and Kubernetes. A BS in CS or equivalent is expected, with on-call duties and a strong scripting background.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of DevOps experience with 3+ years using Azure core services (VMs, VNet, Load Balancer, Blob Storage, Bicep/ARM, Azure SQL, App Service, API Management)
• Experience with database platforms and Azure-managed services (Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, MongoDB Atlas)
• Proficient in Terraform, Azure Bicep, and ARM templates for IaC and automation
• Strong scripting and automation capabilities
• Solid understanding of Azure billing and cost modelling
• Experience with build & release automation tools; TeamCity a plus
• Ability to design, deploy, monitor and manage Kubernetes-based systems
• Familiar with microservice architecture in Azure and IaC transformations
• Hands-on experience securing and optimizing Azure environments
• Experience with Agile/Scrum/Kanban environments

Responsibilities

• Build and manage infrastructure on Azure using automation tools like Terraform
• Provide day-to-day operational support for applications on Azure
• Collaborate with development teams to integrate projects into production Azure environments
• Lead security, reliability, and scalability initiatives in the development lifecycle
• Architect and implement scalable, reliable Azure infrastructure from ground up
• Participate in on-call rotation for critical production issues
• Continuously improve tooling and automation to streamline production workloads
• Stay current with Azure services and apply best practices

Skills

Azure core services

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Terraform

Azure Bicep/ARM

Azure SQL Database

Azure App Service

Azure API Management

Scripting

Security tooling

On-call rotation

TeamCity

GitHub

JIRA/Confluence

Education

BS in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Terraform

Azure Bicep

ARM templates

TeamCity

GitHub

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

Role OverviewWe are looking for an experienced Senior Azure DevOps Engineer who will partner up with our product and technology teams to design and develop processes and systems that enhance our Azure cloud environment in areas like monitoring, optimization, automation, data maintenance, and security tooling to make us more scalable, more secure, and help us deliver more real-time systems for our users. If you are experienced with Azure networking (i.e. VNet, Subnets, NSGs, and ASGs) and CI/CD then you're the right candidate.

A Day in the Life

• You’ll get to work with a tech stack that includes Azure Core Services, Azure App service, Kubernetes, API Management Gateway, Azure Functions, Docker, Linux, Windows, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, PowerShell, Python, GitHub, JIRA & Confluence
• Build and manage infrastructure using automation tools such as Terraform
• Provide day-to-day operational support of our applications on Azure
• Work closely with development teams to integrate their projects into the production and test Azure environments and ensure their ongoing support
• Be a DevOps champion working closely with other internal teams to lead efforts on security, reliability, and scalability into the development lifecycle
• Provide input on design and Azure-related considerations / options
• Gain functional knowledge of the applications you support
• Dive deep into the product stack to troubleshoot as needed
• Build engineering automation and productivity tools to streamline and scale applications in the production environment
• Troubleshoot and resolve application development, deployments and operations issues
• Architect and implement reliable infrastructure services on Azure, from the ground up, to deliver highly scalable services
• Serve in an on-call rotation as an escalation contact for critical production issues

Role Progression

Within 1 month, you'll: Learn about our business, our Azure environment, and how we work. You will be working hands-on with our technology and getting to know your teammates.

Within 3 months, you’ll: Work with our development teams to stand up our technology stack and looking for opportunities to make improvements. You will have several technologies or products that you are becoming responsible for. You will help diagnose and resolve operational issues in our systems.

Within 6 months, you’ll: Be looking to the future across our technologies and crafting the strategic roadmap when it comes to architecture, operations, and capabilities. You will continue to develop your Azure toolbelt with relative technology certifications and education and to inform the development of team members.

About you

• You hold a BS in Computer Science, Software Engineering or equivalent, or a Bachelor's in an unrelated field with at least 5 years of professional experience
• You have 5+ years of experience in DevOps with 3+ years using Azure core services (Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Virtual Network, Azure Load Balancer, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Bicep/ARM templates, Azure SQL Database, Azure App Service, Azure API Management, etc.)
• Experience installing, configuring, and managing database platforms and Azure-managed database services, including Azure SQL Database, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and MongoDB Atlas
• Demonstrated expertise in using configuration management tools such as Terraform, Azure Bicep and Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates
• You have a strong understanding of Azure billing and cost modelling
• Experience with build & release automation tools and methodologies. Experience with TeamCity is a plus
• Ability to design, deploy, monitor and manage Kubernetes based systems
• You are familiar with the concepts of microservice architecture and how those concepts are implemented in Azure
• You champion Infrastructure as Code mentality and can take the lead in transformation from manual "hands-on" in Azure to Infrastructure as Code
• You have very strong scripting and automation skills – you believe you can automate just about everything
• You know how to use AI tools to vet ideas, validate work, and help automate tasks
• You strive to learn new technologies and look for ways to stay up to date in this rapidly changing industry
• Hands-on experience with troubleshooting, securing, and improving manually configured Azure environments
• Experience with Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and log aggregation at scale.
• Experience supporting application development teams who work in an iterative-based development environment using Agile/Scrum/Kanban
• You have an appreciation for pragmatism and simplicity in systems architecture
• Background in working with multi-cloud operations between AWS and Azure preferred
• Current and relevant Azure cloud certifications preferred
• Successful candidates will be required to complete and pass a CLEAR identity verification as part of the pre-employment screening process. CLEAR Candidate FAQ

The annual base salary range for this exempt position is $140,000-$155,000 and reflects the midpoint through maximum of the established range for this role. Encoura establishes compensation using national market data, internal equity considerations, and organizational budget factors to ensure fairness and consistency across the organization. Certain roles may also be eligible for variable compensation in addition to base salary.

Employees in this role are eligible for Encoura's comprehensive benefits package, which includes:

• health insurance
• retirement contributions
• paid time off
• other programs that support employee well-being

About Us

Encoura's mission is to empower students and institutions to create meaningful connections so everyone can make the most informed decisions to achieve their goals. Since 1972, the Company has evolved its products and services to better represent the link between students and higher education institutions and to create the highest probability of student success.

Encoura's expertise now spans enrollment, research, marketing, student success, and advancement and provides an unmatched combination of higher education experience and innovative solutions for colleges and universities. The Company also offers Encourage- the nation's largest free college and career planning program used by millions of high school students and educators nationwide.

It is the policy of the Company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. All applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

Encoura endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability and need an alternative method for applying, please contact the Talent Team.

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