Senior Azure Cloud Engineer

LightFeather is seeking a Senior Cloud Engineer specializing inMicrosoft 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.

Why Join LightFeather?

At LightFeather, you're not just taking a job-you're joining a purpose-driven team that delivers innovative, mission-critical solutions to make a real difference. You'll work on diverse, meaningful projects that challenge and inspire you, alongside some of the best minds in the industry.

LightFeather is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.