Azure Platform Architect

The Azure Platform Architect establishes and maintains the enterprise standards, reference architectures, and Infrastructure as Code foundations that enable Four Hands teams to build on Microsoft Azure securely, consistently, and cost-effectively. This is a hands-on senior level individual contributor role - the architect writes the reference implementations, publishes reusable templates, and serves as the trusted advisor for teams delivering Azure workloads. Four Hands is at the beginning of its cloud maturity journey. Today, most Azure workloads are provisioned through the portal. This role will lead the transition to a codified, template-driven delivery model - without introducing friction that slows teams down. As the platform matures, the architect provides operational depth on Azure administration, serving as a peer and backup to the existing Azure Administrator to ensure continuity of service during planned absences and incident response. In This Role Platform Standards and Governance • Establish and maintain the Azure landing zone architecture - subscriptions, management groups, network topology, and Microsoft Entra ID integration • Define and publish enterprise standards for resource naming, tagging, subscription organization, and workload lifecycle • Own the Architecture Decision Record (ADR) process for platform-level decisions and maintain the decision history • Chair the periodic architecture review forum and set the agenda for platform standards evolution Infrastructure as Code • Select and maintain the enterprise Infrastructure as Code standard (Bicep, Terraform, or hybrid), including the rationale for the choice • Build and maintain a reusable module library for the Azure workload patterns Four Hands deploys most often • Establish CI/CD patterns for infrastructure delivery, including linting, policy-as-code, drift detection, and secure secrets handling • Lead the practical migration from portal-based provisioning to codified delivery, prioritizing workloads where the return is highest Reference Architectures and Templates • Publish reference architectures for the workload archetypes Four Hands deploys, such as web application with SQL, containerized workload, data pipeline, integration service, and static site • Maintain a template library that delivery teams can consume with minimal customization • Document opinionated patterns for cross-cutting needs including secrets management, private networking, hybrid connectivity, monitoring, and backup Advisory and Architecture Review • Serve as the primary technical advisor for teams designing new Azure workloads, engaging during design phase rather than after deployment • Operate in an advisory capacity by default. Formal approval is reserved for a narrow set of high-impact decisions, including new subscription creation, workloads touching PCI-scoped data, cross-tenant integration, and deployments exceeding defined cost thresholds • Partner with the Security and Compliance team on identity, network, and data control architecture within Azure workloads • Escalate policy exceptions and cross-team architectural conflicts to the VP of Infrastructure Operational Backup and Azure Administration • Provide backup coverage for the Azure Administrator during planned time off, holidays, and incident response - with sufficient operational proficiency to execute without a ramp period • Maintain day-to-day working knowledge of Azure administrative tasks including subscription management, RBAC assignments, resource provisioning, cost review, and platform-level break-fix support • Cross-train continuously with the Azure Administrator to ensure no single point of failure on operational knowledge and to keep documentation current • Participate in the platform on-call rotation as needed for cloud-level incidents Adjacent Platform Collaboration • Partner with the Enterprise Data and Governance team on Microsoft Fabric and Power Platform architecture , providing platform-level guidance while respecting data team ownership of workspace design and content governance • Collaborate with the Identity and Access Management function on Entra ID architecture as it applies to Azure resource access • Contribute to FinOps standards, tagging discipline, resource optimization patterns, and budget guardrails - in partnership with the FinOps function. Not accountable for FinOps program execution Other Duties • Other duties as assigned, in accordance with training and qualifications • Uphold the Core Values and be a valuable member of the Four Hands team • Be open and honest • Reach for excellence • Act with responsibility • Value the whole person • Enjoy the journey The Ideal Person • 7+ years of enterprise IT experience, with 4+ years in hands-on Azure architecture and administration roles • Deep production experience with Azure infrastructure services: compute, networking, storage, identity, and governance • Demonstrated production use of Infrastructure as Code (Bicep, Terraform, or ARM) at enterprise scale, including module design and CI/CD integration • Proven track record of establishing standards, reference patterns, and reusable templates in an environment maturing from ad hoc to codified delivery • Working knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID architecture, Azure RBAC, Azure Policy, and management group hierarchies • Ability to serve as an operational Azure administrator without a ramp period - comfortable executing day-to-day administrative tasks under time pressure • Strong written communication - this role produces standards documents, reference architectures, and decision records that teams need to actually use • Demonstrated ability to influence and drive adoption without formal authority • AZ-305 (Solutions Architect Expert), AZ-400 (DevOps Engineer Expert), or AZ-104 (Administrator Associate) Certifications preferred