Lead Infrastructure & Cloud Engineer
Qode
Job Description - Lead Infrastructure & Cloud Engineer
Position Title: Lead Infrastructure & Cloud Engineer
Experience Level: 5-8 Years
Location: Dubai
Department: Information Technology (IT)
Job Summary
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Lead Infrastructure & Cloud Engineer to manage, support, secure, and optimize the organization’s on-premises and cloud infrastructure.
The ideal candidate will possess strong L2 and L3 support expertise across Microsoft technologies, Windows Server, Microsoft 365, identity management, virtualization, storage, backup solutions, and cloud platforms, including Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
The role is responsible for ensuring the availability, performance, security, scalability, and reliability of the organization’s IT infrastructure and cloud environments. The successful candidate will also support business-critical systems and lead infrastructure modernization, cloud migration, automation, and digital transformation initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
Infrastructure Administration
Manage and maintain enterprise IT infrastructure environments.
Administer Windows Server environments and related services.
Monitor infrastructure performance, availability, capacity, and system health.
Manage operating system upgrades, security patching, and infrastructure lifecycle activities.
Ensure adherence to IT governance, security, compliance, and operational standards.
Provide advanced L2 and L3 support for infrastructure-related incidents and service requests.
Plan and implement infrastructure upgrades, migrations, and modernization initiatives.
Coordinate with application, cybersecurity, database, and network teams to maintain service availability.
Active Directory and Identity Management
Administer Active Directory, Organizational Units, DNS, DHCP, DFS, and Group Policies.
Manage Microsoft Entra ID and Microsoft Entra Connect.
Implement and support Identity and Access Management controls.
Support Single Sign-On and Multi-Factor Authentication.
Manage user provisioning, access permissions, privileged accounts, and identity security policies.
Implement Conditional Access policies and identity protection controls.
Monitor directory synchronization and resolve authentication-related issues.
Conduct periodic reviews of user access, administrative privileges, and inactive accounts.
Microsoft 365 Administration
Administer and support:
Exchange Online
Microsoft Teams
SharePoint Online
OneDrive for Business
Microsoft Intune
Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Purview (preferred)
Additional responsibilities include:
Manage Microsoft 365 licensing and group-based licence allocation.
Troubleshoot mail flow, collaboration, synchronization, access, and security-related issues.
Support Microsoft 365 security, compliance, retention, and governance initiatives.
Manage Exchange Online policies, mailboxes, distribution groups, and shared mailboxes.
Configure and maintain Microsoft Teams and SharePoint administrative policies.
Support data-loss prevention, information protection, and eDiscovery requirements.
Monitor Microsoft 365 service health and coordinate resolution of service-impacting incidents.
Cloud Infrastructure Administration
Microsoft Azure
Administer Azure Virtual Machines, Storage Accounts, Virtual Networks, and related resources.
Configure Network Security Groups, VPN Gateways, private endpoints, and hybrid cloud connectivity.
Manage Azure subscriptions, resource groups, role-based access controls, and governance policies.
Administer Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery.
Support Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, and infrastructure monitoring.
Implement Azure security controls, policies, and recommended cloud governance practices.
Optimize Azure resource utilization, licensing, and operational costs.
Support Azure landing zones and standardized cloud architecture.
Participate in cloud migration, modernization, and workload transformation projects.
Implement high-availability and disaster-recovery solutions for Azure workloads.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
Administer OCI Compute, Storage, Networking, Database connectivity, and Security services.
Manage Virtual Cloud Networks, subnets, route tables, security lists, and load balancers.
Configure and manage OCI Identity and Access Management.
Administer OCI compartments, policies, user groups, and access controls.
Support OCI Backup, Monitoring, Logging, and Disaster Recovery solutions.
Manage hybrid connectivity between OCI and on-premises environments.
Monitor OCI resource performance, availability, security, and cost.
Participate in OCI migration, modernization, and infrastructure deployment projects.
Implement high-availability and business-continuity solutions for OCI workloads.
Virtualization and Datacenter Management
Manage VMware vSphere and ESXi environments.
Administer Microsoft Hyper-V environments.
Provision, configure, and maintain virtual machines.
Manage virtual infrastructure capacity, availability, and performance.
Support high-availability, replication, and disaster-recovery configurations.
Manage host upgrades, firmware updates, and virtual infrastructure patching.
Perform datacenter capacity planning and resource optimization.
Support physical servers, racks, power, cooling, and datacenter-related infrastructure.
Coordinate with vendors for hardware maintenance and warranty support.
Storage and Backup Administration
Administer enterprise storage solutions, including:
NetApp
QNAP
HPE MSA
SAN and NAS platforms
Manage backup and recovery platforms, including:
Veeam Backup & Replication
Azure Backup
Microsoft 365 backup solutions
OCI Backup and Recovery
Additional responsibilities include:
Monitor backup jobs and resolve failures.
Perform regular backup validation and restoration testing.
Conduct disaster-recovery exercises.
Define and maintain retention, replication, and recovery policies.
Maintain recovery documentation, runbooks, and operating procedures.
Ensure recovery objectives align with business requirements.
Monitor storage capacity, utilization, and performance.
Endpoint Management
Manage Microsoft Intune and modern device-management solutions.
Configure and deploy security baselines, compliance policies, and endpoint controls.
Manage Windows Autopilot and automated device provisioning.
Administer Windows device lifecycle and patch-management activities.
Manage application deployment and endpoint configuration policies.
Support desktop and laptop infrastructure.
Monitor device compliance and remediate non-compliant endpoints.
Support mobile device management and mobile application management requirements.
Infrastructure and Cloud Security
Implement infrastructure and cloud security controls.
Apply cybersecurity best practices and system-hardening standards.
Manage privileged access, administrative accounts, and role-based access controls.
Investigate and resolve infrastructure and cloud security incidents.
Manage system vulnerabilities, patch compliance, and configuration risks.
Support compliance assessments, security audits, and governance initiatives.
Work closely with cybersecurity teams to implement security recommendations.
Maintain secure configuration standards for servers, cloud platforms, storage, backup, and virtualization environments.
Support Microsoft Defender for Cloud and other relevant cloud security solutions.
Monitoring and Troubleshooting
Monitor infrastructure and cloud environments using:
SolarWinds
Azure Monitor
Log Analytics
OCI Monitoring
VMware monitoring tools
Microsoft 365 administrative and security portals
Additional responsibilities include:
Perform root-cause analysis for major incidents.
Resolve escalated L2 and L3 infrastructure and cloud issues.
Monitor system health, service availability, resource utilization, and performance.
Maintain incident, problem, and change-management records.
Develop preventive measures based on recurring incidents and performance trends.
Coordinate with vendors, service providers, and internal technical teams for complex issue resolution.
Participate in critical incident and service-restoration activities.
Automation and Infrastructure as Code
Develop PowerShell scripts to automate routine administrative activities.
Automate user provisioning, system reporting, health checks, and maintenance tasks.
Support infrastructure deployment through automation tools and standardized templates.
Implement Infrastructure as Code practices where applicable.
Maintain scripts, automation documentation, and version controls.
Identify opportunities to improve efficiency through automation and orchestration.
Projects, Documentation and Compliance
Lead infrastructure and cloud deployment projects.
Lead server, virtualization, storage, backup, and cloud migration initiatives.
Support new office and datacenter infrastructure deployments.
Maintain infrastructure and cloud architecture diagrams.
Develop and maintain technical documentation, operating procedures, and support runbooks.
Participate in business-continuity and disaster-recovery planning.
Support internal and external audits.
Evaluate and recommend new infrastructure and cloud technologies.
Manage project deliverables, technical risks, timelines, and vendor coordination.
Provide technical guidance and mentoring to infrastructure support team members.
Ensure all infrastructure changes follow the organization’s change-management processes.
Required Technical Skills
Microsoft Technologies
Windows Server 2016, 2019, and 2022
Active Directory
Microsoft Entra ID
Microsoft Entra Connect
DNS
DHCP
DFS
Group Policy
PowerShell
Windows Failover Clustering
Certificate Services
Microsoft 365
Exchange Online
SharePoint Online
OneDrive for Business
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Intune
Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Purview (preferred)
Microsoft Azure
Azure Administration
Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Storage
Azure Virtual Networks
VPN Gateways
Network Security Groups
Azure Backup
Azure Site Recovery
Azure Monitor
Log Analytics
Azure Policy
Role-Based Access Control
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Cost Management
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
OCI Compute
OCI Storage
OCI Networking
OCI Identity and Access Management
OCI Backup and Recovery
OCI Monitoring and Logging
OCI Security
OCI Load Balancing
OCI Disaster Recovery
Virtualization
VMware vSphere
VMware ESXi
VMware vCenter
Microsoft Hyper-V
High Availability and Replication
Backup and Storage
Veeam Backup & Replication
NetApp
QNAP
HPE MSA
SAN and NAS technologies
Microsoft 365 backup solutions
Cloud backup and disaster recovery
Endpoint Management
Microsoft Intune
Windows Autopilot
Windows Update for Business
Endpoint compliance and configuration management
Application packaging and deployment
Automation
PowerShell scripting
Task automation
Infrastructure automation
Infrastructure as Code knowledge
Azure Resource Manager templates or Bicep (preferred)
Terraform knowledge (preferred)
Supporting Infrastructure Knowledge
TCP/IP
DNS and DHCP
Cloud connectivity
VPN technologies
Load balancing
Firewalls and security controls
Hybrid cloud architecture
Required Qualifications
Education
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Cloud Computing, or a related discipline.
Experience
5-8 years of experience in infrastructure and cloud engineering.
Strong L2 and L3 infrastructure troubleshooting experience.
Experience supporting enterprise and multi-site IT environments.
Hands-on experience administering Windows Server and Active Directory.
Strong Microsoft 365 administration experience.
Hands-on experience managing Microsoft Azure and OCI environments.
Experience with virtualization, storage, backup, disaster recovery, and endpoint-management technologies.
Experience leading infrastructure and cloud implementation or migration projects.
Experience supporting business-critical enterprise systems.
Working knowledge of cloud security, governance, and cost-optimization practices.
Preferred Certifications
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert
Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
Oracle
OCI Architect Associate
OCI Architect Professional
OCI Cloud Operations Professional
Virtualization and Backup
VMware Certified Professional
Veeam Certified Engineer
Other Preferred Certifications
ITIL Foundation
Certified Cloud Security Professional
Terraform Associate
Key Competencies
Strong infrastructure and cloud troubleshooting skills.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Strong leadership, communication, and documentation skills.
Ability to manage critical incidents under pressure.
Infrastructure and cloud project implementation experience.
Strong customer service and stakeholder-management skills.
Ability to work independently and within cross-functional teams.
Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
Strong understanding of infrastructure security, governance, and compliance.
Ability to mentor technical team members and provide technical direction.
Commercial awareness of cloud consumption, licensing, and cost optimization.