Principal Software Engineer - Azure Admin

The Azure Administrator is responsible for administering, monitoring and optimising Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure and services. The role focuses on maintaining the availability, scalability, performance and security of enterprise cloud environments through effective infrastructure operations, identity and access management, networking, monitoring, backup and disaster recovery, automation and troubleshooting. The role works closely with infrastructure, application, DevOps and Security teams to support reliable cloud operations and ongoing cloud transformation initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Administer and support Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure and services.
• Manage Azure subscriptions, resource groups, virtual networks, virtual machines, storage accounts and Azure-native services.
• Configure and maintain Azure networking components, including VNets, VPNs, NSGs, Azure Firewall, Load Balancers and Application Gateways.
• Implement and manage identity and access controls using Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID).
• Monitor infrastructure health, performance and availability using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics and Application Insights.
• Perform backup, disaster recovery and business continuity activities using Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery.
• Automate operational tasks using PowerShell, Azure CLI, ARM Templates, Bicep or Terraform.
• Implement and maintain security controls, governance policies, RBAC, Azure Policy, Microsoft Defender for Cloud and applicable compliance standards.
• Troubleshoot and resolve infrastructure, networking, storage and application-hosting issues.
• Support cloud migration, deployment and modernisation initiatives.
• Collaborate with DevOps, Security and Application teams to ensure seamless cloud operations.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and architecture diagrams.

Mandatory Skills:

• Azure infrastructure: Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Storage, API Management (APIM), Application Gateway, Azure Resource Manager (ARM), Availability Sets and Availability Zones, Azure App Services; knowledge of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) preferred.
• Identity and security: Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), RBAC, Azure Policy, Conditional Access, MFA, Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Key Vault.
• Networking: Virtual Networks (VNets), subnets, Network Security Groups (NSGs), Azure Firewall, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, Load Balancer, Application Gateway and DNS.
• Monitoring and operations: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery and Azure Cost Management.
• Automation and scripting: PowerShell, Azure CLI, ARM Templates and Bicep; Terraform experience preferred.
• Strong troubleshooting and performance optimisation skills, with experience supporting enterprise-scale cloud environments.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with CI/CD tools such as Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.
• Exposure to Kubernetes (AKS) and container technologies.
• Knowledge of Windows Server, Linux administration and Active Directory.
• Experience in cloud cost optimisation and governance.
• Terraform Associate certification or practical Infrastructure as Code experience.

Requirements

Qualification and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or a related field.
• 5–8 years of IT Infrastructure / Cloud Administration experience, including a minimum of 3 years of hands-on experience administering Microsoft Azure environments. Experience working in enterprise-scale cloud environments is required.

Job Specific Skills:

• Hands-on Azure administration covering virtual machines, storage, subscriptions, resource groups and Azure-native services.
• Azure networking: VNets, subnets, NSGs, Azure Firewall, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, Load Balancer, Application Gateway and DNS.
• Identity and security management using Microsoft Entra ID, RBAC, Azure Policy, Conditional Access, MFA, Defender for Cloud and Key Vault.
• Monitoring and operations using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery and Azure Cost Management.
• Automation and scripting using PowerShell, Azure CLI, ARM Templates and Bicep; Terraform preferred.
• Strong troubleshooting, performance optimisation, security awareness and enterprise cloud operations experience.
• Working knowledge of cloud migration, CI/CD, container technologies and Windows/Linux administration is advantageous.