Azure Cloud Architect

Role Title: Azure Cloud Architect/Engineer Employment Type: Contract Duration: Up to 12 months, potential to extend or convert Preferred Location: Richardson, TX area for hybrid onsite Role Description: We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Azure Cloud Engineer / Architect to design, build, secure, operate, and continuously improve Microsoft Azure infrastructure supporting a global, multi-site organization. This is a senior-level, hands-on technical role requiring broad expertise across the entire Azure cloud stack, including networking, compute, identity and access management, security, storage, backup and disaster recovery, monitoring, governance, automation, and cost optimization. Key responsibilities include: Design and manage multi-region Azure architecture, Landing Zones, subscriptions, governance, and deployment standards.Build and support Windows/Linux compute, storage, backup, and disaster recovery solutions.Implement and troubleshoot Azure networking, including hub-and-spoke, Virtual WAN, firewalls, private endpoints, ExpressRoute, VPNs, DNS, and hybrid connectivity.Administer Entra ID, RBAC, PIM, Conditional Access, managed identities, and Zero Trust security controls.Establish Azure Policy, security baselines, monitoring, alerting, and operational guardrails.Drive Infrastructure as Code, automation, documentation, and standardized deployment practices.Improve resiliency, security, performance, compliance, and cost efficiency across the Azure environment. Requirements: Top 3 requirements: Azure Architecture & InfrastructureAzure NetworkingHybrid Global Infrastructure &* Cloud Operations Additional 8+ years of enterprise infrastructure, cloud engineering, systems engineering, or related experience.5+ years of hands-on Microsoft Azure experience supporting enterprise environments.Advanced knowledge of Azure networking, including VNets, peering, routing, firewalls, load balancing, private endpoints, VPNs, DNS, and ExpressRoute.Advanced knowledge of Azure Virtual Machines, compute, storage, availability, and performance optimization.Strong knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID, IAM, RBAC, PIM, Conditional Access, Managed Identities, and Service Principals.Strong understanding of Azure security architecture, including Defender for Cloud, Azure Firewall, WAF, Key Vault, Azure Policy, and Zero Trust principles.Experience with Azure Landing Zones, management groups, subscriptions, resource groups, governance, and enterprise cloud standards.Experience with Azure Backup, Site Recovery, Azure Monitor, and Log Analytics.Strong understanding of enterprise networking technologies, including TCP/IP, routing, DNS, DHCP, firewalls, VPNs, and load balancing.Strong Windows Server knowledge and working knowledge of Linux.Demonstrated experience troubleshooting complex, business-critical production environments.Strong communication skills and experience working with globally distributed technical teams.Preferred QualificationsMicrosoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect ExpertMicrosoft Certified: Azure Administrator AssociateMicrosoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer AssociateMicrosoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer AssociateTerraform Associate or equivalent Infrastructure as Code experienceExperience with Azure DevOps, Azure SQL, Azure Virtual Desktop, and CI/CD.Experience supporting large multinational organizations, manufacturing environments, global data centers, and hybrid cloud architectures.