Sr. Azure Cloud Engineer - Durham, NC/Remote

1.5 year contract (possible contract to hire) SMART IT People is seeking an experienced Senior Azure Cloud Engineer to lead the configuration of a new landing zone following Microsoft's Cloud Adoption Framework and best practices. Preference for someone local to Durham, NC but will consider remote candidates. Requirements: o 5+ years of experience as a cloud engineer/architect working with Microsoft Azure o Deep understanding of Azure services, security, and networking o Hands on experience designing and implementing Azure landing zones o Proficiency in infrastructure as code tools o Experience with Azure DevOps and CI/CD best practices o Strong scripting skills in PowerShell, Bash, or Python o Knowledge of security best practices, compliance standards (NIST, CIS, etc.) o Excellent problem solving and analytical skills o Strong communication and documentation abilities Preferred Qualifications: o Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification o Experience with multi-cloud or hybrid cloud architectures o Familiarity with containers and Kubernetes on Azure (AKS) o Knowledge of Azure Sentinel, Azure Purview, or other advanced Azure services o Design and implement a secure, scalable, and highly available landing zone architecture on Microsoft Azure o Configure the core Azure infrastructure components following the Azure landing zone conceptual architecture o Implement networking topology including hub/spoke network, Azure Virtual WAN, network security groups, Azure Firewall, etc. o Set up identity and access management using Azure Active Directory, role based access control, and Azure AD Privileged Identity Management o Ensure security, governance, and compliance by applying Azure policies and security baselines o Provide documentation and knowledge transfer to the operations team

#J-18808-Ljbffr