Principal Azure Data & Cloud Solutions Architect
Posted 1 day ago by 1764268427
Negotiable
Outside
Remote
USA
Summary: The Principal Azure Data & Cloud Solutions Architect will lead the design and optimization of enterprise data ecosystems on Microsoft Azure for an Energy & Utilities client. This senior role requires a blend of technical expertise in data architecture and cloud engineering, along with strong leadership skills to drive automation, security, and cost optimization. The ideal candidate will mentor engineering teams and align data strategies with business objectives. This position is fully remote and offers a contract-to-hire opportunity.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implement enterprise-scale Azure data architectures, including Data Lakes, Data Warehouses, and Data Integration platforms.
- Lead the development and optimization of data pipelines, ETL/ELT workflows, and business intelligence solutions.
- Architect solutions using Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake, and Azure SQL.
- Define and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models for both OLTP and OLAP systems.
- Enable modern data architectures including Data Mesh, Data Marts, Data Hubs, and Lakehouse frameworks.
- Design and implement CI/CD pipelines for data platforms.
- Lead Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) initiatives using Terraform, ARM Templates, GitHub Actions, and Azure DevOps.
- Embed DevSecOps practices, including Identity & Access Management (IAM), secure secrets management, encryption & policy enforcement, and vulnerability scanning.
- Establish and enforce enterprise data governance standards.
- Ensure compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and enterprise security policies.
- Implement data cataloging, lineage, metadata management, and Data Dictionary governance.
- Drive a culture of data stewardship and secure data usage across the organization.
- Lead cloud cost governance and optimization strategies.
- Implement FinOps frameworks, including cost modeling & forecasting, usage analysis & budget enforcement, and optimization of analytics and AI workloads.
- Partner with business, IT, security, finance, and executive leadership to align data architecture with business goals.
- Translate business and regulatory requirements into scalable technical solutions.
- Mentor engineers, architects, and analysts.
- Communicate architecture strategies clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Contribute directly to the company’s enterprise data and cloud transformation roadmap.
Key Skills:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field.
- 10+ years of total IT experience, with 5+ years in Data Architecture, Data Engineering, or Cloud Architecture.
- Hands-on expertise with Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse, Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake, Azure SQL/SQL Server.
- Advanced experience in Data Warehousing, Data Lakes, ETL/ELT, Big Data technologies (Spark, Kafka, Hadoop), and relational & NoSQL databases (SQL Server, MongoDB).
- Strong proficiency in OLTP & OLAP data modeling and experience with data formats such as Parquet and Avro.
- Strong expertise in Data Governance & Data Security and cybersecurity principles in cloud environments.
- Proven experience leading DevOps / DevSecOps initiatives and CI/CD implementation for data platforms.
- Demonstrated experience in Azure FinOps / Cost Optimization and cloud cost monitoring and financial governance.
- Deep understanding of Azure Cloud Architecture, including networking, monitoring & logging, high availability & disaster recovery.
- Strong leadership, consulting, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Salary (Rate): undetermined
City: undetermined
Country: USA
Working Arrangements: remote
IR35 Status: outside IR35
Seniority Level: undetermined
Industry: IT
Job Details:
Client: Energy & Utilities Client
Job Title: Principal Azure Data & Cloud Solutions Architect
Location: Remote
Contract Length: 6 Months (Contract to Hire)
Work Mode: 100% Remote
Interview Mode: Video Interview
Years of experience: 12+ Years
Required Certifications: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, or FinOps Certified Practitioner. At least one valid Azure certification is mandatory for this role.
Job Description:
Client is seeking a highly experienced Principal Solutions Architect Data Platform & Cloud Engineering to lead the design, modernization, and optimization of its enterprise data ecosystem on Microsoft Azure. This is a senior, hands-on architecture leadership role responsible for delivering scalable, secure, high-performance cloud data solutions that enable data-driven decision-making across the organization.
This role sits at the intersection of Data Architecture, Cloud Engineering, DevOps/DevSecOps, and FinOps, requiring both deep technical expertise and strong business leadership. The ideal candidate will define enterprise data standards, drive automation through Infrastructure-as-Code and CI/CD, enforce security and governance, optimize cloud costs, and mentor high-performing engineering teams.
Key Responsibilities
Data Platform Architecture & Engineering
- Design and implement enterprise-scale Azure data architectures, including Data Lakes, Data Warehouses, and Data Integration platforms.
- Lead the development and optimization of data pipelines, ETL/ELT workflows, and business intelligence solutions.
- Architect solutions using Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake, and Azure SQL.
- Define and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models for both OLTP and OLAP systems.
- Enable modern data architectures including Data Mesh, Data Marts, Data Hubs, and Lakehouse frameworks.
DevOps, DevSecOps & Cloud Automation
- Design and implement CI/CD pipelines for data platforms.
- Lead Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) initiatives using Terraform, ARM Templates, GitHub Actions, and Azure DevOps.
- Embed DevSecOps practices, including:
- Identity & Access Management (IAM)
- Secure secrets management
- Encryption & policy enforcement
- Vulnerability scanning and secure deployments
Cloud Security, Governance & Compliance
- Establish and enforce enterprise data governance standards.
- Ensure compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and enterprise security policies.
- Implement data cataloging, lineage, metadata management, and Data Dictionary governance.
- Drive a culture of data stewardship and secure data usage across the organization.
FinOps & Cloud Cost Optimization
- Lead cloud cost governance and optimization strategies.
- Implement FinOps frameworks, including:
- Cost modeling & forecasting
- Usage analysis & budget enforcement
- Optimization of analytics and AI workloads
- Utilize tools such as Azure Cost Management, Cloudability, or similar platforms.
Leadership & Business Alignment
- Partner with business, IT, security, finance, and executive leadership to align data architecture with business goals.
- Translate business and regulatory requirements into scalable technical solutions.
- Mentor engineers, architects, and analysts.
- Communicate architecture strategies clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Contribute directly to the company s enterprise data and cloud transformation roadmap.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field.
- 10+ years of total IT experience, with 5+ years in Data Architecture, Data Engineering, or Cloud Architecture.
- Hands-on expertise with:
- Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse, Azure Databricks
- Azure Data Lake, Azure SQL/SQL Server
- Advanced experience in:
- Data Warehousing, Data Lakes, ETL/ELT
- Big Data technologies (Spark, Kafka, Hadoop)
- Relational & NoSQL databases (SQL Server, MongoDB)
- Strong proficiency in OLTP & OLAP data modeling.
- Experience with data formats such as Parquet and Avro.
- Hands-on experience with Erwin, PowerDesigner, or equivalent data modeling tools.
- Strong expertise in:
- Data Governance & Data Security
- Cybersecurity principles in cloud environments
- Proven experience leading:
- DevOps / DevSecOps initiatives
- CI/CD implementation for data platforms
- Terraform & IaC
- Demonstrated experience in:
- Azure FinOps / Cost Optimization
- Cloud cost monitoring and financial governance
- Deep understanding of Azure Cloud Architecture, including:
- Networking
- Monitoring & Logging
- High Availability & Disaster Recovery
- Strong leadership, consulting, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master s Degree.
- Azure Certifications:
- Azure Solutions Architect Expert
- Azure DevOps Engineer Expert
- FinOps Certified Practitioner
- Experience applying SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) principles within data platforms.
- Strong background in performance tuning and large-scale analytics optimization.