We are seeking an experienced Cloud & FinOps / Azure Architect to lead the governance, architecture, security, and cost optimization of our Microsoft Azure environment.
Key Responsibilities:
Azure Architecture & Governance
- Lead the architecture, governance, and strategic direction of the Microsoft Azure environment.
- Design scalable, secure, resilient, and cost-effective cloud solutions.
- Establish and maintain Azure governance standards, policies, and best practices.
- Review and approve technical designs to ensure architectural consistency, security, and cost efficiency.
- Promote cost optimization as a core architectural principle across all cloud initiatives.
Azure & FinOps Optimization
- Define and implement an enterprise-wide Azure FinOps framework.
- Drive cloud cost transparency, budgeting, forecasting, and financial accountability through showback and chargeback models.
- Establish cost guardrails, budgets, and anomaly detection processes.
- Optimize Azure spending across:
- Storage tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive)
- Compute resources (Reserved Instances, Autoscaling, Shutdown Policies)
- Backup and disaster recovery strategies
- Licensing and reserved capacity
- Partner closely with Finance and business stakeholders to maximize cloud ROI.
Azure Data Strategy & Lifecycle Management
- Develop and implement an enterprise data lifecycle strategy for more than 20 years of historical data.
- Define data classification policies for active, inactive, and archival data.
- Design tiered Azure storage strategies aligned with business and compliance requirements.
- Lead data rationalization initiatives by identifying redundant, obsolete, trivial (ROT), and duplicate data.
- Optimize backup strategies by aligning recovery objectives (RPO/RTO) with business criticality.
- Implement data compression, partitioning, pruning, and lifecycle policies to reduce long-term storage costs.
Azure Data Platform Architecture
- Own the architecture of enterprise Azure data platforms, including:
- Azure Data Lake
- Azure Databricks
- Customer Data Platforms (CDP) such as Amperity
- Integration platforms (iPaaS)
- Design efficient and scalable data pipelines.
- Optimize batch and real-time processing workloads.
- Minimize unnecessary data movement across platforms.
- Establish reusable data product architectures that reduce duplication across business teams.
- Ensure effective separation of compute and storage for maximum performance and cost efficiency.
Azure Data Cost Reduction Program
Lead enterprise-wide initiatives to optimize Azure data costs through:
- Comprehensive assessment of Azure infrastructure and storage utilization.
- Identification of high-cost storage accounts, redundant backups, and unused datasets.
- Implementation of storage lifecycle management policies.
- Archiving cold data and optimizing backup strategies.
- Redesigning cloud architecture to improve long-term efficiency.
- Developing real-time cost dashboards and continuous optimization processes.
Vendor & Stakeholder Management
- Collaborate with Microsoft and cloud partners to identify cost optimization opportunities.
- Evaluate licensing, reserved capacity, and commercial optimization strategies.
- Work closely with Engineering, Data, Security, and Finance teams to align cloud investments with business priorities.
Required Qualifications:
- Extensive experience designing and managing enterprise Microsoft Azure environments.
- Proven experience leading Azure FinOps or large-scale cloud cost optimization initiatives.
- Strong expertise in:
- Microsoft Azure
- Azure Governance
- Azure Storage and Lifecycle Management
- Azure Data Lake
- Azure Databricks
- Enterprise Cloud Architecture
- Cloud Security
- Experience managing large-scale historical data estates (10+ years of enterprise data).
- Strong understanding of cloud financial management, budgeting, forecasting, and cost optimization.
- Experience designing scalable and cost-efficient enterprise data platforms.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
- FinOps Foundation Certification (or equivalent).
- Experience with Customer Data Platforms (CDP), including Amperity.
- Knowledge of Master Data Management (MDM) and data governance frameworks.
- Experience with enterprise analytics and large-scale data ecosystems.