Microsoft BizTalk Integration & Support Lead

We are seeking a Senior Microsoft BizTalk Integration & Support Lead with deep expertise in BizTalk integration platforms, L2/L3 support, and enterprise operations. This senior role requires not only strong technical knowledge but also proven ability to manage teams, engage multiple customer stakeholders, and provide timely updates to senior management. The ideal candidate will combine hands-on BizTalk administration and troubleshooting skills with leadership, communication, and stakeholder management capabilities. The role demands immediate availability and willingness to support in the South Africa time zone.

The candidate will have responsibilities across the following functions:

Leadership and Stakeholder Management:

• Lead BizTalk support teams across multiple customer accounts.
• Manage stakeholder expectations, provide regular status updates, and ensure transparent communication with management.
• Act as the primary escalation point for critical incidents and customer queries.
• Drive collaboration across business, infrastructure, and vendor teams.

Incident and Problem Management:

• Provide L2/L3 support for BizTalk Server environments.
• Analyse, troubleshoot, and resolve production incidents within SLA.
• Perform RCA for recurring incidents and major outages.
• Lead Major Incident Management (MIM) and War Room activities.

Application and Platform Support:

• Monitor BizTalk applications, interfaces, and message processing.
• Investigate failed transactions, perform resubmissions, and ensure recovery.
• Support EDI, XML, SOAP, REST, FTP/SFTP, MQ, and API-based integrations.
• Ensure smooth operation of integrations between internal and external systems.

Environment and Administration:

• Manage BizTalk environments (Dev, Test, UAT, Production).
• Deploy BizTalk applications and configuration changes.
• Perform health checks, platform maintenance, and upgrades.
• Monitor Host Instances, Receive Locations, Send Ports, and Orchestrations.

Performance and Availability:

• Monitor system performance and capacity utilisation.
• Identify bottlenecks and recommend improvements.
• Ensure high availability and reliability of integration services.
• Support disaster recovery and business continuity testing.

Change and Release Management:

• Lead release planning and deployment activities.
• Validate deployment packages and implementation plans.
• Ensure compliance with ITIL processes and organisational standards.

Documentation and Knowledge Management:

• Maintain support documentation, SOPs, and runbooks.
• Document incident resolutions and troubleshooting procedures.
• Drive continuous service improvement initiatives.

Requirements:

• Strong experience in Microsoft BizTalk Server (2013/2016/2020 or later).
• Knowledge of BizTalk Administration Console, BTDF, SSO, Orchestrations, Pipelines, BAM.
• Integration Technologies: XML, XSD, XSLT, SOAP/REST APIs, WCF, FTP/SFTP, MSMQ/IBM MQ, EDI (X12/EDIFACT), AS2
• Database: SQL Server, query writing, performance analysis, SQL Agent Jobs.
• Monitoring Tools: SCOM, Splunk, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, Azure Monitor.
• Scripting: PowerShell, Windows Batch.

Preferred Skills:

• Hybrid integration support (BizTalk + Azure Integration Services)
• Azure Logic Apps, Service Bus, API Management
• DevOps/CICD practices
• ITSM tools (ServiceNow)
• ITIL certification preferred

Key Competencies:

• Strong BizTalk integration platform knowledge.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Team leadership and mentoring abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple customer accounts simultaneously.
• Strong documentation and reporting skills.
• Customer-focused approach with proactive updates to management.
• Ability to work under pressure during critical incidents.

Success Measures:

• SLA compliance and timely incident resolution.
• Reduction in recurring incidents through RCA.
• High platform availability and service reliability.
• Positive stakeholder feedback and management satisfaction.
• Effective team performance and knowledge transfer.

Mandatory Skills:

• L2/L3 Application Support
• Microsoft BizTalk Server (2013/2016/2020)
• BizTalk Administration Console
• BizTalk Deployment Framework (BTDF)
• BizTalk Orchestrations and Pipelines
• Azure Integration and Cloud Services (Service Bus, Logic Apps, API Management)
• Integration Technologies (XML, XSD, XSLT, REST, SOAP APIs)
• Messaging & Adapters (IBM MQ, FTP/SFTP, EDI)
• SQL Server Database Management
• Monitoring Tools and ITIL Processes
• DevOps and CI/CD, ServiceNow and ITSM Tools
• Team Leadership and Stakeholder Com.

Skills

BizTalk, BizTalk Server, EDI, application support, integration, integrations, middleware, support