Senior Azure Engineer – Cloud Infrastructure, APIM & Security

This is a remote position.

**Senior Azure Engineer – Cloud Infrastructure, APIM & Security**

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Azure Engineer to build, harden, automate, and operate the Azure cloud infrastructure supporting enterprise Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectivity, gateway policies, and Microsoft Foundry model access.

The ideal candidate will have extensive hands-on experience in Azure API Management (APIM), networking, Microsoft Entra ID security, Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/Bicep), and production operations, ensuring resilient, observable, and compliant cloud foundations across both phases of the programme.

Programme Context & Phased Effort Allocation

The engagement is structured as a 22-week sequential programme divided into two delivery phases, assuming a five-day working week:

• Phase 1: MCP Gateway and Governance (Weeks 1–10 / 10 Weeks): Full-time allocation (1.0 FTE) configuring Azure APIM, gateway routing policies, private networking, secrets management, and automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Phase 2: Model Access through Microsoft Foundry (Weeks 11–22 / 12 Weeks): Full-time allocation (1.0 FTE) supporting Microsoft Foundry deployments, model endpoint connectivity, failover testing, and production handover.

Key Responsibilities

• APIM Gateway Configuration: Configure Azure APIM, gateway policies, routing, authentication, mutual TLS, and role-based access controls.
• Networking & Security Integration: Implement secure networking (VNets, Private Endpoints, NSGs), Microsoft Entra ID integration, managed identities, secrets management (Azure Key Vault), and environment configuration.
• Infrastructure as Code & CI/CD: Build reusable Infrastructure as Code (Terraform or Bicep) and multi-stage CI/CD pipelines for automated, repeatable deployment.
• Monitoring & Telemetry: Configure Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, diagnostic logs, metric alerts, and operational health dashboards.
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery: Implement high availability and disaster recovery arrangements, and test deployment, capacity, and failover under load.
• Microsoft Foundry & Operational Release: Support Microsoft Foundry deployments, model endpoint connectivity, production release validation, and operational handover to platform teams.

Required Skills & Experience

• 7–10+ years of experience as an Azure Cloud Engineer, Platform Engineer, or DevOps / Site Reliability Engineer.
• Azure APIM Expertise: Strong hands-on experience configuring Azure API Management (APIM), XML policy definitions, rate-limiting, authentication delegation, and gateway routing.
• Identity & Access Management: Deep knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), managed identities, RBAC, service principals, and Key Vault integration.
• Azure Networking: Hands-on experience with VNet peering, Private Endpoints, Private Link, DNS, and Application Gateways.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) & CI/CD: Proficiency with Terraform or Bicep, alongside Azure DevOps pipelines or GitHub Actions for automated zero-downtime releases.
• Monitoring & Diagnostics: Hands-on expertise with Azure Monitor, Application Insights, Log Analytics (KQL queries), and alert automation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Regulated Financial Services Experience: Familiarity with financial services compliance, data residency, private cloud perimeter controls, and audit trails.
• AI Infrastructure Exposure: Experience provisioning infrastructure for AI/ML workloads, Azure OpenAI Service, or Microsoft Foundry endpoints.
• Azure Certifications: Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, Azure Security Engineer Associate, or DevOps Engineer Expert.
• Container & Container Apps: Experience with Azure Container Apps (ACA), AKS, or Docker-based microservices deployments.

Key Competencies

• Azure API Management (APIM) Engineering
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform / Bicep)
• Microsoft Entra ID & Zero-Trust Cloud Security
• Azure Private Networking & Perimeter Defense
• CI/CD Pipeline Automation (Azure DevOps / GitHub)
• Telemetry, Logging & Diagnostic Dashboards (KQL)
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery Drills
• Operational Handover & Production Support

Requirements

Required Skills & Experience

• 7–10+ years of experience as an Azure Cloud Engineer, Platform Engineer, or DevOps / Site Reli…