Senior Azure Devops & Cloud Engineer

Senior Azure DevOps & Cloud EngineerLocation: Mechanicsville, VA Employment Type: Hybrid  Term: 8-month contract with possible extensions Interview Process: 1 - Video InterviewWork Authorization/Location: US Citizen or Green Card HolderPay Rate: $65.00 to $70.00 per hour on W2Position OverviewWe are seeking an experienced Senior Azure DevOps & Cloud Engineer to support a large-scale enterprise modernization initiative. This role will focus on building secure, automated deployment processes, standardizing CI/CD practices, improving cloud reliability, and supporting highly available Azure-based applications and services.The ideal candidate brings strong hands-on experience with Azure DevOps, Azure cloud services, CI/CD automation, Infrastructure as Code, Key Vault, SQL deployment automation, monitoring, and production support.You will work closely with architects, developers, database engineers, and infrastructure teams to create reliable, repeatable, secure, and compliant cloud deployment solutions.Key ResponsibilitiesAzure DevOps & CI/CD

• Design, build, and maintain Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines using both YAML and Classic pipelines.
• Develop reusable pipeline templates, deployment standards, and automated guardrails.
• Automate deployments for applications, APIs, microservices, and databases.
• Integrate DACPAC, SQLCMD, and database migration processes into CI/CD pipelines.
• Implement blue/green deployment, automated rollback, and other strategies designed to minimize downtime and deployment risk.
• Establish consistent release and deployment processes across development, QA, and production environments.

Azure Cloud Engineering

• Deploy and support Azure services including App Services, Function Apps, APIs, API Management, containers, and related cloud services.
• Support highly available and fault-tolerant cloud architectures.
• Implement Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, Bicep, and/or ARM templates.
• Support containerized workloads using Docker, Kubernetes, and AKS where applicable.
• Assist with cloud configuration, environment provisioning, and production readiness.

Security, Identity & Governance

• Implement secure secrets and key management using Azure Key Vault.
• Support Entra ID, RBAC, managed identities, and least-privilege access controls.
• Help establish Azure governance standards using Azure Policy, RBAC standards, and deployment guardrails.
• Ensure cloud deployments follow enterprise security and regulatory requirements.
• Support environments operating under PCI or comparable compliance frameworks.

Monitoring & Production Reliability

• Monitor Azure applications, infrastructure, and deployment processes for performance and availability.
• Build dashboards, alerts, and operational monitoring using Application Insights, Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and pipeline logging.
• Troubleshoot complex deployment and production issues.
• Participate in incident response, root-cause analysis, and production maintenance activities.
• Document findings and recommend improvements to reliability, performance, and deployment processes.

Automation & Optimization

• Develop automation using PowerShell and/or Python.
• Standardize configuration and provisioning across Dev, QA, and Production environments.
• Identify opportunities to improve deployment speed, reliability, and operational efficiency.
• Contribute to Azure cloud cost analysis and optimization initiatives.

Collaboration

• Partner with architects, developers, DBAs, security teams, and infrastructure engineers.
• Ensure deployments align with application, network, database, identity, and security requirements.
• Communicate technical issues and recommendations clearly to both technical and business stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of hands-on Azure DevOps CI/CD experience, including YAML and Classic pipelines.
• 3+ years deploying and supporting Azure App Services, Functions, APIs, containers, or similar Azure application services.
• 3+ years working with Azure Key Vault, RBAC, managed identities, and secure secrets management.
• 3+ years supporting standardized Dev/QA/Production cloud environments.
• 3+ years working with Azure monitoring and observability tools such as Application Insights, Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, dashboards, and alerts.
• 2+ years of Infrastructure as Code experience using Terraform, Bicep, and/or ARM templates.
• Experience automating SQL deployments using DACPAC, SQLCMD, or CI/CD-integrated database migrations.
• Experience with Entra ID and least-privilege IAM practices.
• Hands-on scripting and automation experience with PowerShell and/or Python.
• Experience administering and supporting Azure services in production environments.
• Experience working within PCI or similar security/compliance frameworks.
• Strong troubleshooting, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing enterprise CI/CD standards or DevOps frameworks for microservices.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
• Experience with Azure Policy, governance automation, RBAC standards, and pipeline guardrails.
• Experience supporting API Management and microservices architectures.
• Experience with cloud cost analysis and optimization.
• Experience supporting highly available, business-critical enterprise systems.
• Azure certifications such as AZ-104, AZ-305, or AZ-400 are highly preferred.

Additional Requirements

• Candidates must physically reside within the United States for the duration of the assignment.
• The selected candidate must successfully complete a fingerprint-based background check.
• Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to continued professional development and staying current with Azure, DevOps, cloud security, and automation technologies.

Ideal CandidateThe strongest candidate will be a hands-on Azure DevOps engineer who can do more than simply maintain pipelines. We are looking for someone who understands the full deployment lifecycle—from Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD automation through security, database deployments, monitoring, troubleshooting, governance, and production reliability.This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Azure DevOps professional to contribute to a highly visible, enterprise-scale modernization program while working remotely.