Cloud Engineer

Medica is a nonprofit health plan with more than a million members that serves communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, and beyond. We deliver personalized health care experiences and partner closely with providers to ensure members are genuinely cared for.

We're a team that owns our work with accountability, makes data-driven decisions, embraces continuous learning, and celebrates collaboration - because success is a team sport. It's our mission to be there in the moments that matter most for our members and employees. Join us in creating a community of connected care, where coordinated, quality service is the norm and every member feels valued.

We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Azure Platform Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of our cloud infrastructure on Microsoft Azure, ensuring optimal performance, scalability, and security for our applications and services. This role will be responsible for guiding the team in leveraging Azure services effectively, architecting robust cloud solutions, and driving continuous improvement across our cloud infrastructure.

The Engineer works closely with multiple teams at Medica, including IT development, quality assurance, business analysis, systems support, information security, database analysis, business partners, and outside vendors. Agile development experience is necessary.

Broad technical knowledge is required, including Terraform, Azure Kubernetes, Azure Dev OPS, Power Shell Scripting, Java/J2EE applications and application servers, Oracle databases, Unix/Linux systems and scripting, and infrastructure automation. Health care background is a plus. Performs other duties as assigned.

Key Accountabilities

• Cloud Architecture and Engineering

• Architect and design complex Azure solutions, including compute, storage, networking, database, and security components, aligning with business requirements and best practices

• Lead the evaluation and selection of appropriate Azure services based on performance, cost, and scalability needs

• Develop comprehensive cloud architecture diagrams and documentation to ensure clarity and understanding across teams

• Implementation and Deployment

• Oversee the implementation of Azure infrastructure, including provisioning, configuration, and deployment of cloud resources

• Lead the migration of existing applications to Azure, ensuring seamless transition and minimal downtime

• Automate infrastructure management tasks through Azure DevOps pipelines, PowerShell scripting, and other tools

• Performance Optimization

• Monitor and analyze Azure resource utilization to identify performance bottlenecks and optimize cloud infrastructure for cost-efficiency

• Implement scaling strategies to handle fluctuations in application traffic and ensure system responsiveness

• Continuously evaluate and implement new Azure features and services to enhance performance and reliability

• Security and Compliance

• Establish and maintain robust security policies and practices within the Azure environment, including identity management, access controls, and data encryption

• Ensure compliance with industry regulations and security standards related to cloud infrastructure

• Proactively identify and address potential security vulnerabilities

• Collaboration and Integration

• Inspire and mature the Medica Cloud Engineering and Site Reliability practices through participation in Medica's Centers For Enablement (C4E) forums

• Mentor and guide junior Azure engineers on best practices, technical development, and problem-solving

• Foster a collaborative team environment, promoting knowledge sharing and continuous learning

• Provide technical leadership on cloud initiatives and guide the team through complex technical challenges

• Work with Medica and vendor teams to ensure Cloud Hosted solutions are incorporated into Medica's performance targets and goals

• Work with Business Enablement teams to identify end user-centric measurement points and establish KPI's related to performance

• Create performance tuning strategies for IT and business partners

• Work with IT and business teams to carry out application performance assessments

• Drive the tactical plans to achieve the long term vision, which is maximizing the experience for Medica customers

• Help evaluate software and hardware vendors targeted for possible integration into Medica's systems

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, or equivalent experience in related field
• 7 years of work experience beyond degree

Technical Skills and Abilities

• Required

• Deep Expertise in Microsoft Azure - minimum 6 years

• Proven experience in designing, implementing, and managing a wide range of Azure services including Compute (VMs, AKS), Storage, Networking, Databases (SQL, Cosmos DB), and Security

• Proficiency in Azure DevOps pipelines, PowerShell scripting, and infrastructure as code (IaC) practices.

• Experience with Ant and Maven build and version control tools

• Experience with version control tools like SVN and Git

• Solid understanding of cloud security best practices, including identity management, access controls, and data encryption

• Experience with SSL, HTTPS, and digital certificates

• Experience with Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates and Azure CLI

• Experienced with Web Services (SOAP and REST)

• Desired

• Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools such as Terraform, Azure Bicep, or ARM templates

• Strong understanding of containerization and orchestration, specifically with Docker and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

• Experience with scripting and automation technologies like PowerShell, Python, or Azure CLI

• Expertise in Azure security principles and services, including Azure Active Directory, Key Vault, and security governance

• Demonstrated ability to design and implement robust cloud solutions, including migration strategies and cost optimization

• Familiarity with monitoring and logging tools such as Azure Monitor and Log Analytics

• Nice-to-have

• Multi-cloud experience: Knowledge of other cloud platforms like AWS, Snowflake or OCI for organizations with hybrid or multi-cloud environments.

• Data platform experience: Familiarity with Azure data services, such as Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Synapse Analytics, or Azure SQL.

• Advanced security and governance: Expertise in advanced security practices, including specific compliance frameworks and threat protection strategies.

• AI and Machine Learning: Experience with Azure's AI and Machine Learning services, such as Azure Cognitive Services, to build advanced solutions.

• Willing to recommend system solutions by comparing advantages and disadvantages of custom development and purchase alternatives

• Health care background is a plus

Skills and Abilities

• Strong analytical, interpersonal, problem solving, organizational, and time management skills
• Can work independently; is self-motivated and deadline driven
• Able to work on multiple concurrent tasks, both administrative and project-based
• Strong written skills for developing and maintaining system documentation
• Flexible team player, able to work collaboratively with and through others, supportive of a cooperative work environment
• Easy to work with; calm under pressure
• Ability to communicate effectively with team members
• Background working on Agile/Scrum methodology teams
• Willing to recommend system solutions by comparing advantages and disadvantages of custom development and purchase alternatives
• Health care background is a plus

This position is an Office role, which requires an employee to work onsite, on average, 3 days per week. We are open to candidates located near one of the following office locations: Minnetonka, MN, Madison, WI, Omaha, NE, or St. Louis, MO.

The full salary grade for this position is $113,100 - $193,900. While the full salary grade is provided, the typical hiring salary range for this role is expected to be between $113,100 - $153,520. Annual salary range placement will depend on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, education, work experience, applicable certifications and/or licensure, the position's scope and responsibility, internal pay equity and external market salary data.  In addition to base compensation, this position may be eligible for incentive plan compensation in addition to base salary. Medica offers a generous total rewards package that includes competitive medical, dental, vision, PTO, Holidays, paid volunteer time off, 401K contributions, caregiver services and many other benefits to support our employees.

The compensation and benefits information is provided as of the date of this posting. Medica's compensation and benefits are subject to change at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.

Eligibility to work in the US: Medica does not offer work visa sponsorship for this role. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application. Employment is contingent on verification of identity and eligibility to work in the United States.

We are an Equal Opportunity employer, where all qualified candidates receive consideration for employment indiscriminate of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic.