Cloud Engineer

Job Title: Infrastructure Engineer - Aerospace Background Company: Avance Consulting Location: Remote Employment Type: Contract Salary: $50-55/hour Experience Level: Senior (5-7 years) Education Level: Associate Role Overview We are seeking a highly skilled Platform Engineering & DevOps professional to support our Azure Commercial Cloud ecosystem. This role focuses on building, deploying, securing, and maintaining scalable cloud platforms, with a strong emphasis on infrastructure reliability, database support, DevOps automation, and production operations. The ideal candidate will collaborate with cloud, application, data, and security teams to implement and manage modern cloud solutions using Azure services, SQL Server, Snowflake, and CI/CD pipelines. This role requires a strong hands-on approach to troubleshooting, performance optimization, secure access management, and operational excellence. Key Responsibilities • Design, deploy, and maintain Azure cloud infrastructure and platform services. • Manage and support Azure Virtual Machines (VMs), including configuration, patching, and troubleshooting. • Administer and monitor Azure SQL Database and SQL Server environments. • Support Snowflake platform, including schemas, warehouses, roles, and access control. • Implement and manage CI/CD pipelines using GitHub, GitLab, or Azure DevOps. • Configure and troubleshoot Azure Linked Services and integrations. • Ensure infrastructure and data security, including: • Networking, firewall rules, and private endpoints. • Service principals and managed identities. • Azure Key Vault integration. • Manage user access, permissions, and role-based access control (RBAC). • Perform database backup, recovery, restoration, and disaster recovery procedures. • Monitor system performance across cloud infrastructure, databases, and applications. • Troubleshoot issues across infrastructure, deployments, access, and performance. • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure platform stability and scalability. Must-Have Skills (Core Requirements) • More hands-on front-end web development experience who can support the current Azure services and also help propose future Azure service improvements. • Strong experience with Azure Commercial Cloud infrastructure. • Hands-on expertise with: • Azure VMs (creation, configuration, troubleshooting). • Azure SQL Database (setup, performance tuning). • SQL Server administration. • Snowflake database support. • Experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipeline implementation. • Proficiency with GitHub, GitLab, or Azure DevOps. • Strong knowledge of: • Infrastructure security and networking. • Data security and RBAC. • User access and identity management. • Experience with backup, recovery, and disaster recovery processes. • Ability to monitor and optimize cloud and database performance. • Excellent troubleshooting skills across infrastructure, database, and deployment layers. Preferred / Nice-to-Have Skills • Azure AI Foundry or Azure Machine Learning. • Infrastructure-as-Code tools (Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates). • Scripting/automation using PowerShell or Python. • Azure Data Factory, Databricks experience. • Knowledge of data governance, cataloging, and lineage. • Experience supporting web applications, APIs, and backend services. • Familiarity with monitoring tools: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights. Ideal Candidate Profile • Strong hands-on cloud and DevOps engineer with a platform mindset. • Comfortable working in production environments with operational responsibilities. • Proactive problem-solver with attention to security, reliability, and performance. • Excellent collaboration and communication skills. Soft Skills & Competencies • Strong communication skills with ability to work across technical and business teams. • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. • Detail-oriented with a focus on quality and reliability. • Proactive mindset with a strong sense of ownership. • Ability to work independently and within a team.