Cloud Platform Engineering - Azure Security, AVP

Charles River Development is seeking an experienced Assistant Vice President (AVP), Cloud Platform Engineering to lead strategic cloud security, identity and governance initiatives across enterprise-scale Azure environments. This role combines deep technical leadership with people management responsibilities, driving cloud modernization, security transformation, governance automation, and platform engineering excellence.

The AVP will be responsible for defining and executing cloud security and identity strategies, managing high-performing engineering teams, influencing enterprise architecture decisions, and partnering closely with senior technology and business leaders. The role requires strong expertise in Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Security, Azure Policy, Azure IAM, Azure AD B2C/External Identity, cloud governance, IAC, automation, and AI-enabled engineering solutions.

This lead will oversee the full employee lifecycle, including hiring, onboarding, mentoring, performance management, career development, succession planning, and talent retention while ensuring delivery of secure, scalable, and compliant cloud platform services.

Key Responsibilities Azure Cloud Security

• Define and execute enterprise identity and access management strategies leveraging Microsoft Entra ID
• Lead design and implementation of Azure Identity Governance, Privileged Identity Management (PIM), Conditional Access, Identity Protection, Access Reviews, and Zero Trust security controls
• Drive enterprise adoption of Azure IAM best practices, RBAC models, least-privilege access, federated identity solutions, and authentication services basis business decisions
• Lead architecture and governance of Azure AD B2C / External Identity solutions for client-facing and partner-facing applications
• Partner with security, risk, compliance, and audit teams to ensure adherence to regulatory and security requirements

Azure Governance & Platform Engineering

• Define enterprise cloud governance frameworks using Azure Policy, Management Groups, Landing Zones, and subscription governance models
• Lead implementation of Policy-as-Code, Governance-as-Code, and Security-as-Code capabilities using modern engineering practices
• Establish automated compliance validation, remediation, and continuous governance processes across Azure environments
• Collaborate with architecture, security, application, and infrastructure teams to define cloud standards and guardrails
• Drive platform engineering initiatives focused on self-service capabilities, standardization, scalability, and operational excellence

Automation & AI Enablement

• Champion automation-first engineering practices using Terraform, PowerShell, Python, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, and other cloud-native tooling
• Identify and implement AI-driven solutions to improve engineering productivity, governance automation, operational efficiency, compliance monitoring, and developer experience
• Lead adoption of intelligent operational workflows leveraging Generative AI, Copilot technologies, and engineering automation frameworks

Stakeholder & Client Engagement

• Collaborate with internal technology teams, enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, operations, product management, and executive leadership.
• Partner with external clients, vendors, and strategic partners to understand requirements and deliver secure cloud solutions.
• Influence and negotiate across multiple stakeholder groups to drive alignment on priorities, standards, and platform roadmaps.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on cloud strategy, identity modernization, security posture, and governance transformation.

Leadership & People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of cloud platform, security, and identity engineers.
• Manage the end-to-end employee lifecycle including workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, performance management, compensation discussions, talent development, succession planning, promotions, and retention strategies.
• Conduct year-end performance reviews, goal setting, career development planning, and ongoing performance coaching.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Effectively manage employee relations, conflict resolution, difficult conversations, and stakeholder escalations.
• Provide executive-level reporting and updates to senior technology leadership, engineering leadership, and business stake…