Azure Architect

Azure Architect Hybrid position with travel requirements Location: Minneapolis, MN or Louisville, KY This position is responsible for defining, designing, and governing cloud architecture standards across the organization to ensure scalable, secure, resilient, and cost-effective solutions. This role provides technical leadership across infrastructure, networking, identity, security, and platform services, translating business and application requirements into enterprise-grade cloud architectures. The Azure Architect partners closely with Infrastructure Engineering, Security, Applications, and external vendors to establish cloud best practices and guide complex Azure initiatives, including migrations, modernization efforts, and new cloud-native solutions. Key Responsibilities Architecture & Design Design and document Azure architectures aligned with enterprise standards for security, scalability, resiliency, and performance. Define reference architectures, landing zones, and reusable design patterns for Azure workloads. Translate business and application requirements into end-to-end Azure solutions across compute, networking, storage, identity, and platform services. Azure Platform & Services Architect and govern Azure services including IaaS, PaaS, networking, identity (Azure AD), monitoring, and automation. Provide architectural guidance for Azure networking designs including VNets, routing, VPN/ExpressRoute, firewalls, and load balancing. Guide secure identity and access management designs, including SSO and integration with enterprise directory services. Cloud Transformation & Projects Lead and support on-premises to Azure migration initiatives, modernization programs, and hybrid cloud architectures. Review and approve solution designs to ensure adherence to architectural principles and operational best practices. Partner with Infrastructure Engineers and Operations teams to ensure architectures are operationally supportable. Security, Governance & Compliance Embed security-by-design principles into all Azure architectures. Ensure Azure solutions align with governance, compliance, and audit requirements for regulated environments. Define standards for monitoring, logging, backup, disaster recovery, and cost management. Leadership & Collaboration Act as a technical authority and mentor for Infrastructure and Cloud Engineering teams. Collaborate with application teams, security, compliance, and external partners to deliver enterprise Azure solutions. Communicate architecture decisions clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders. Qualifications Required Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent experience. 8–12+ years of experience in infrastructure, cloud, or systems engineering roles with significant focus on Microsoft Azure. Deep hands-on experience designing and implementing Azure architectures at enterprise scale. Strong understanding of Azure IaaS and PaaS services, networking, security, and identity (Azure AD, SSO). Compensation $130k-$180k, depending on experience. This role is also eligible for an annual performance-based bonus. Black Bear Energy Inc.