Solutions Architect Principal

Solutions ArchitectSyms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking a talented Solutions Architect. Location: Remote. Department: Veterans Affairs (VA). Type: Full Time. Min. Experience: Experienced. Security Clearance Level: Public Trust (MBI). Salary Range: $109,623 - $126,790.Essential Duties and Responsibilities:Leverage domain expertise to develop a comprehensive understanding of customer requirements. Lead the development of a complete solution meeting all requirements resulting in a price competitive proposal. Collaborate with business development, capture, proposal, and other team members to optimize the proposed solutions. Identify technical staff needs to support Pre-Bid and Proposal (B&P) and B&P activities. Coordinate assignment of technical personnel to proposal efforts. Coordinate with team member technical leadership and technical contributors on solution development, proposal writing, and estimating. Provide subject matter expertise to meet customer technical, schedule, and cost requirements within applicable risk parameters. Work closely with the Enterprise Architect to design, implement, and govern secure, scalable, and highly available Azure cloud architectures, ensuring alignment with enterprise technology standards, business objectives, security requirements, and cloud government best practices. Contribute to the development of new concepts, techniques, and standards. Receive assignments in the form of objectives and establish goals to meet objectives. Provide guidance to the team members to achieve goals in accordance with established policies. Develop solutions to complex problems, which require the regular use of ingenuity and innovation. Ensure solutions are consistent with organizational objectives. Determine technical objectives of assignment.Required Skills and Experience:A proven track record of designing, deploying, and managing Azure infrastructure and services. Experience with large-scale, high-availability, and scalable cloud architecture. Extensive experience in core Azure services, including Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Storage, Azure Structured Query Language (SQL) Database, Azure Virtual Network (VNet), Azure Functions, Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, Azure Monitor, and Azure Domain Name System (DNS). Experience implementing Azure security services and best practices, including Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection, Azure Firewall, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and Web Application Firewall (WAF). A strong understanding of Azure networking capabilities, including VNet peering, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Private Link, and hybrid connectivity architectures. A proven ability to design, deploy, and manage secure, scalable, and highly available Azure cloud solutions that support enterprise business requirements. Experience establishing and governing multi-subscription Azure environments using Azure Management Groups, Azure Policy, and Azure Landing Zones. Knowledge of cloud financial management practices, including Azure Cost Management, budgeting, resource optimization, and cost governance strategies. Proficiency in scripting and automation using Python, PowerShell, Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI), and other automation frameworks. Expertise with monitoring, logging, and observability solutions such as Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Microsoft Sentinel, and third-party monitoring platforms. Experience troubleshooting and optimizing the performance, availability, and reliability of Azure resources and workloads. A strong understanding of Azure security architecture, governance, compliance, and regulatory frameworks, including Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and industry-specific standards. Experience implementing encryption, key management, identity management, and privileged access controls using Azure Key Vault and Microsoft Entra ID. Knowledge of Azure data platform services, including Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos Database (DB), Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Lake Storage. Experience with database performance optimization, high-availability configurations, backup and recovery planning, and disaster recovery strategies. A familiarity with modern continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) methodologies and DevOps practices using Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, and related deployment tools. Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies, including Docker, Kubernetes, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Container Apps, and Azure Container Instances. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose and resolve complex cloud infrastructure, networking, and application issues. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business-focused recommendations for stakeholders and executives. A demonstrated ability to prioritize competing initiatives, manage multiple workstreams effectively, and consistently deliver high-quality outcomes within established timelines. Strong attention to detail to ensure operational excellent, system reliability, security, and data integrity. A proven ability to mentor engineers, architects, and technical teams while fostering knowledge sharing and technical growth. Experience leading cloud transformation initiatives and collaborating with cross-functional teams across infrastructure, security, development, and business organizations. Strong documentation and architectural design skills, including the creation and maintenance of solution designs, standards, operational procedures, and governance documentation. An ability to manage and contribute to multiple complex projects simultaneously while ensuring successful delivery and adherence to architectural standards. A commitment to continuous learning and staying current with emerging Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, security trends, and industry best practices. Knowledge of best practices and strategies for cloud cost management and optimization. Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, Bash, PowerShell, or NodeJS for automation. Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to troubleshoot complex cloud-related issues. An ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Skilled in prioritizing tasks, managing time effectively, and meeting deadlines. Strong attention to detail to ensure system stability, security, and data integrity. An ability to lead technical projects and collaborate with cross-functional teams. Strong documentation skills for creating and maintaining system configurations, processes, and procedures. A commitment to staying current with emerging Azure and cloud technologies, tools, and industry trends.Professional Certifications - n/aYears of Professional Experience - 10+ years of software testing, quality assurance, or system validation experienceDesired experience - Deep hands-on EDIFECS experience in Electronic Data Interchange X.12 (EDI) Transactions Standards involving key X12 workflows involving the following transactions: X.12 medical claims (837, 834, 835, 277, etc) 270/271 and 278/275 transactions 999 transactions Advanced Azure certifications, including (1) Microsoft Certified DevOps Engineer Expert, (2) Azure Administrator Associate, and (3) Azure Security Engineer AssociateFormal Education - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or related technical disciplineCitizenship Requirement - U.S. Citizenship required for this specific opportunitySecurity Clearance Requirements - Must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI)CRITICAL NOTES: - SSG will not make assumptions regarding your qualifications. Your answers to the mandatory screening questions must be supported by the information on your resume. Applications with inconsistencies will not be considered. Recruiters or Third parties will not be considered. This is a 100% U.S. based remote position. However, candidates from CA, CO, IL, MN, NJ, NY, OR, or WA will not be considered. This is a W-2 position. All interviews will be conducted on Microsoft Teams with your camera on; there will be no exceptions. As part of our screening process, you will be requested to provide a link to your LinkedIn profileU.S Citizenship is required for this specific opportunity. Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information and be able to obtain a government-granted security clearance. Individuals may also be subject to a background investigation including, but not limited to criminal history, employment and education verification, drug testing, and creditworthiness. Syms Strategic Group, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or genetic information.