Infrastructure / Cloud Operations Lead:

Job Description Job Description INFRASTRUCTURE AND CLOUD OPERATIONS LEAD Location; City of Industry, CA JOB DESCRIPTION The company is seeking an Infrastructure and Cloud Operations Lead to provide hands-on ownership and directional leadership of our hybrid IT environment across all offices nationally. As a lean IT organization, this role combines direct technical execution with responsibility for guiding the evolution of our cloud and infrastructure strategy. The individual will actively manage day-to-day operations while helping define, standardize, and mature our infrastructure / cloud posture over time. This position establishes durable operational accountability, strengthens reliability, and ensures disciplined execution across cloud, on-premises, and end-user environments. This role aims to provide accountable, hands-on leadership across infrastructure, cloud direction, service delivery, and asset management, ensuring reliability, operational discipline, and scalable cloud maturity within a lean IT organization. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Hybrid Infrastructure and Cloud Leadership (Hands-On) Directly administer public cloud and on-premises systems. Operate and optimize Microsoft-centric cloud stack (Entra, Intune, Azure IaaS/PaaS). Lead evaluation, direction, and optimization of cloud architecture and platform strategy. Define infrastructure standards and configuration baselines. Ensure system availability, scalability, and performance. Perform troubleshooting, optimization, and lifecycle improvements. Maintain current infrastructure documentation and architecture diagrams. Operational Governance and Change Discipline Implement and enforce structured change management processes. Establish monitoring, alerting, and operational visibility standards. Reduce configuration drift and unmanaged system variance. Ensure disciplined patching, maintenance, and upgrade cycles. Maintain clear documentation of system changes and infrastructure state. Security Implementation and Infrastructure Hardening Partner with fractional CISO to execute infrastructure security initiatives. Implement identity, access, and endpoint security controls (Entra, Conditional Access, EDR/NDR). Maintain secure configuration baselines across cloud and on-prem systems. Remediate vulnerabilities and support audit requirements. Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity Maintain and optimize backup and recovery architecture. Conduct periodic disaster recovery testing. Refine recovery procedures and improve recovery time performance. Strengthen infrastructure resiliency across locations. IT Service Delivery and End-User Support Oversee and actively support service desk operations. Provide escalation support for complex technical issues. Coordinate desktop support across offices. Track service metrics and identify recurring issue trends. Drive root-cause resolution to improve stability. IT Asset Management and Technology Lifecycle Maintain accurate tracking of hardware, software, and cloud resource utilization. Support technology lifecycle planning and replacement forecasting. Provide visibility into asset inventory and infrastructure-related spend. Identify redundant or underutilized resources. Vendor and Partner Coordination Serve as operational lead for infrastructure-related vendors. Evaluate managed services and cloud providers as needed. Ensure effective knowledge transfer from modernization initiatives. Align vendor performance with internal operational standards. QUALIFICATIONS 7+ years of progressive, hands-on infrastructure engineering experience. Strong experience designing and operating hybrid cloud environments (Azure and OCI a primary focus). Experience guiding cloud architecture decisions in small-to-mid-sized organizations. Comfort operating in lean IT environments requiring direct execution. Working knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) frameworks (e.g., ITIL). Familiarity with IT Asset Management best practices. Solid networking fundamentals (firewalls, VPNs, SD-WAN). Experience supporting multi-site organizations preferred. TECHNICAL SKILLS Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) administration. Conditional Access policy design and enforcement. Microsoft Intune (device management, compliance, endpoint configuration). Azure Infrastructure (Virtual Machines, networking, resource governance). Azure Virtual Desktop (general understanding and support). Azure hybrid infrastructure and networking (on-prem to cloud integration). Windows Server administration and Active Directory management. Multi-site network architecture, routing, and subnet design. Branch connectivity technologies (SD-WAN concepts and operations). Firewall platforms (Palo Alto preferred). SECURITY AND MONITORING TOOLING (PREFERRED EXPERIENCE) Threat and Vulnerability Management (e.g., Tenable). Network Monitoring (e.g., WhatsUp Gold or equivalent). Endpoint Detection and Response (e.g., Cortex or equivalent). Network Detection and Response (e.g., Darktrace or equivalent). PREFERRED CERTIFICATIONS (At least one strongly desired, in priority order) MD-101 – Modern Desktop Administrator (Entra / Intune focus) AZ-800 – Windows Server Hybrid Administrator AZ-104 – Azure Administrator (core infrastructure) MS-102 – Microsoft 365 Administrator Company Description Platinum Resource Group is a professional level consulting firm, providing resources to Fortune 1000 client companies in the areas of technology, human resources, accounting, finance, business systems and supply chain, on a contract and interim basis. PRG has operations in Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. As a W-2 employer we offer our consultants direct deposit bi-weekly payroll, health, dental, vision benefits, and referral bonuses. Company Description Platinum Resource Group is a professional level consulting firm, providing resources to Fortune 1000 client companies in the areas of technology, human resources, accounting, finance, business systems and supply chain, on a contract and interim basis. PRG has operations in Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. As a W-2 employer we offer our consultants direct deposit bi-weekly payroll, health, dental, vision benefits, and referral bonuses.