Azure AI Gateway Consultant

12+ Years (Cloud, Platform Engineering, AI Platform Architecture, AIOps) Role Summary We are seeking an experienced Azure AI Gateway & Platform Architect (AIOps Lead) to establish and operationalize an enterprise-scale AI platform on Azure. The role will be responsible for designing and implementing AI governance frameworks, Azure AI Gateway architecture, secure AI service consumption, observability, reliability engineering, and AI-driven operations (AIOps). The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Azure Cloud, Azure OpenAI, API Management, AI platform engineering, monitoring, automation, and large-scale enterprise platform deployment. The individual will drive the creation of a secure, scalable, and governed AI consumption model while enabling business teams to build and deploy GenAI solutions efficiently. Key Responsibilities Azure AI Platform Establishment Design and establish an enterprise-grade Azure AI Platform.Define architecture standards, landing zones, governance controls, and reference architectures for AI workloads.Create reusable platform patterns for GenAI, RAG, Agentic AI, and AI-assisted automation solutions.Enable secure onboarding of business units and development teams onto the AI platform.Define enterprise AI operating model, platform lifecycle, and service management framework.Azure AI Gateway Architecture Design and implement Azure AI Gateway strategy leveraging Azure API Management.Establish centralized routing, throttling, cost management, security, monitoring, and policy enforcement for AI services.Build abstraction layers for Azure OpenAI, third-party LLMs, embedding models, vector databases, and AI services.Implement AI service catalog and model management framework.Enable multi-model orchestration and model governance.AI Governance & Security Define enterprise AI governance standards.Implement responsible AI controls, security guardrails, auditability, and compliance requirements.Establish identity management, RBAC, secrets management, and access controls.Drive implementation of data protection, AI risk management, and regulatory compliance practices.Partner with security teams to review AI workloads and platform architecture.AIOps & Intelligent Operations Establish enterprise AIOps framework using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, and OpenTelemetry.Implement AI-driven anomaly detection, predictive analytics, root cause analysis, and automated remediation.Design self-healing operational workflows and intelligent incident management processes.Build operational dashboards, observability platforms, and reliability metrics.Reduce MTTR, improve service availability, and automate operational response activities.Platform Engineering & Automation Develop Infrastructure-as-Code solutions using Terraform/Bicep.Automate deployment, configuration, governance, and compliance validation.Enable CI/CD integration for AI services and platform components.Implement platform monitoring, health checks, capacity planning, and performance optimization.Stakeholder Management Work closely with Enterprise Architecture, Cloud Engineering, Security, Data, and AI Engineering teams.Establish architecture review processes and platform governance councils.Present roadmap, architecture, and operational metrics to leadership and customer stakeholders.Mentor engineering teams on AI platform best practices. Required Skills Azure Cloud Azure Landing ZonesAzure Resource ManagerAzure NetworkingAzure Kubernetes Services (AKS)Azure FunctionsAzure App ServicesAzure Storage ServicesAzure Identity & Access ManagementAI & GenAI Azure OpenAI ServiceAgentic AI ArchitectureAI Gateway PatternsPrompt EngineeringRAG ArchitectureVector DatabasesAI Model GovernanceLLM Deployment & OperationsAPI & Integration Azure API Management (APIM)REST APIsEvent-Driven ArchitectureMicroservicesService MeshEnterprise Integration PatternsAIOps & Observability Azure MonitorApplication InsightsLog AnalyticsOpenTelemetryPrometheus / GrafanaIntelligent AlertingIncident AutomationRoot Cause AnalysisSelf-Healing AutomationDevSecOps Azure DevOps / GitHubCI/CD PipelinesTerraform / BicepPolicy as CodeSecurity AutomationInfrastructure as Code Preferred Qualifications Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect ExpertMicrosoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer AssociateAzure DevOps Expert CertificationExperience implementing Azure OpenAI platforms for Banking or Financial Services clients.Experience establishing enterprise AI Centers of Excellence (CoE).Experience with GitLab Duo, GitHub Copilot, MCP, Agentic AI, and Enterprise AI Governance.