Azure Infra Support - Lead Engineer

Azure Infrastructure Support Engineer

Experience: 10+ Years

Location: Hyderabad

Shift: US Pacific Business Hours (Night Shift)

Employment Type: 2-3 months contract, Freelancing/Remote will work

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced Azure Infrastructure Support Engineer with 10+ years of experience in infrastructure operations and cloud engineering, including strong hands-on expertise in Microsoft Azure. The candidate will be responsible for managing and maintaining Azure infrastructure, ensuring high availability, security, performance, and operational reliability while working closely with US-based stakeholders.

The ideal candidate should demonstrate strong technical ownership, advanced troubleshooting capabilities, and the ability to independently manage critical infrastructure operations and incidents.

Key Responsibilities

• Identity and Access Management: Manage Microsoft Entra ID, users, groups, licenses, MFA, Conditional Access, Privileged Identity Management (PIM), and access reviews.
• Azure Networking: Configure and troubleshoot VNets, subnets, VNet peering, hub-and-spoke architecture, NSGs, Azure Firewall, VPN gateways, and DNS.
• Azure Infrastructure Management: Administer Azure Virtual Machines, storage accounts, App Services, and other Azure infrastructure and PaaS services.
• Patching and Maintenance: Manage OS patching through Azure Update Manager, monitor compliance, troubleshoot patch failures, and coordinate maintenance activities.
• Cloud Security: Monitor security posture using Microsoft Defender for Cloud, investigate security alerts, manage Key Vault secrets and certificates, and implement least-privilege access.
• Monitoring and Backup: Configure Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, Azure Backup, restore testing, and Azure Site Recovery for disaster recovery.
• Incident and Problem Management: Lead troubleshooting for complex infrastructure incidents, perform root cause analysis, implement corrective actions, and escalate critical issues when required.
• Automation and Optimization: Use PowerShell and Azure CLI to automate routine tasks and improve operational efficiency.
• Documentation and Reporting: Maintain operational runbooks, architecture diagrams, infrastructure inventories, and reports covering incidents, patching, security, availability, and cloud costs.
• Stakeholder Management: Work directly with US-based stakeholders, communicate technical issues clearly, and ensure timely resolution of infrastructure requests and incidents.
• Operational Ownership: Proactively identify risks, recommend improvements, and maintain reliable, secure, and compliant Azure environments.

Required Skills And Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, cloud operations, infrastructure engineering, or systems administration.
• Strong hands-on experience administering Microsoft Azure environments.
• Expertise in Microsoft Entra ID, MFA, Conditional Access, PIM, and identity governance.
• Strong knowledge of Azure networking, including VNets, subnets, NSGs, peering, VPN, DNS, and Azure Firewall.
• Experience managing Windows and Linux servers, Azure Virtual Machines, and storage services.
• Hands-on experience with Azure Update Manager, Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Azure Backup, and Azure Site Recovery.
• Experience with Microsoft Defender for Cloud and cloud security best practices.
• Strong scripting skills in PowerShell and/or Azure CLI.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot complex infrastructure and networking issues.
• Experience with incident management, root cause analysis, change management, and operational documentation.
• Ability to independently manage day-to-day infrastructure operations and prioritize critical incidents.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to work directly with international stakeholders.

Good to Have

• Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform or Bicep.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Intune and Microsoft 365 administration.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Sentinel or other SIEM platforms.
• Experience with ServiceNow or Jira Service Management.
• Knowledge of Azure governance, cost optimization, and compliance frameworks.
• Experience designing and improving enterprise cloud infrastructure.

Certifications

• Mandatory: Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104).
• Preferred: Azure Security Engineer…