Senior Azure Cloud Engineer

LightFeather is seeking a Senior Cloud Engineer specializing in Microsoft Azure to design, implement, and manage secure cloud solutions for federal IT environments. You’ll play a key role in supporting Azure infrastructure, automation, and security, applying DevOps best practices to drive performance, strengthen compliance, and improve operational efficiency.

• Location: Hybrid, On-site 4 days/week in Washington, D.C. 20006 and 1 day Telework
• Job Type: Full-time
• Salary: $130,000–$170,000 annually, based on experience level.
• Clearance Requirement: U.S. citizenship is required for this position due to federal contract requirements and the need to obtain and maintain a Secret-level security clearance

Key Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and maintain Azure cloud infrastructure including VMs, VNets, Storage, Azure AD, and PaaS services.
• Manage and optimize Azure networking components (VNets, NSGs, Load Balancers, VPN/ExpressRoute connectivity).
• Develop and maintain Terraform templates as the primary IaC tool (critical requirement emphasized by hiring managers).
• Support automation via PowerShell, Bash, YAML/JSON, and GitLab pipelines.
• Deploy, configure, and manage AVD environments including host pools, session hosts, FSLogix profile containers, and Azure AD/M365 integrations.
• Provide troubleshooting and performance optimization for AVD users (explicit customer requirement).
• Build, maintain, and troubleshoot CI/CD pipelines in GitLab.
• Automate cloud operations, system configuration, and monitoring tasks.
• Implement secure cloud practices aligned with federal requirements (RBAC, Key Vault, IAM, encryption standards).
• Ensure compliance with NIST, RMF, FedRAMP, and agency-specific controls.
• Use Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and related tools to analyze system health, diagnose issues, and enforce SLAs.
• Work with engineering, security, and program staff to support ongoing cloud modernization efforts.
• Support onsite collaboration with customer stakeholders (note: role cannot be performed remotely long-term).

Required Qualifications

• Active Secret or higher clearance
• 3+ years of experience with Azure Cloud Engineering
• 3+ years of experience with CI/CD pipelines
• 3+ years of experience using Terraform for IaC
• 3+ years of experience using GitLab
• Minimum of 4 years experience with PowerShell scripting
• 5+ years of experience in Cloud Engineering, DevOps, or Systems Engineering (mid-level target).
• Strong hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure core services and architecture.
• Proficiency with Terraform (high priority), PowerShell, and GitLab CI/CD.
• Experience supporting Azure networking (VNets, routing, NSGs, VPN/ExpressRoute).
• Hands-on experience with Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) in production environments.
• Understanding of federal cloud security frameworks (FedRAMP, NIST, RMF).
• Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC four days per week.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting DoD or federal agency cloud environments.
• Experience with Docker/Kubernetes (AKS).
• Azure serverless tools (Functions, Logic Apps, Event Grid).
• Cost optimization using Azure Cost Management / FinOps practices.