Azure Architect

About the role

The selected candidate may work at our HQ in Chicago, or in any of our district office locations. Please see the job announcement on USAJOBS.GOV for the list of locations. The salary range indicated in the job announcement will be adjusted to include locality payment once a candidate is selected.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the organization's senior Azure Architect and recognized subject matter expert (SME) for cloud systems engineering, providing authoritative guidance on the design, development, implementation, and governance of Microsoft Azure solutions.
• Advise senior leadership on cloud strategy, investment planning, and long-term modernization initiatives, influencing the agency's overall IT direction.
• Design and engineer enterprise-level cloud architectures that are secure, scalable, highly available, and resilient, ensuring alignment with mission requirements and seamless integration with on-premises systems in hybrid environments.
• Lead evaluations of existing and proposed IT systems, applications, and services to determine optimal hosting environments, conducting detailed analyses of architectural feasibility, system performance, cybersecurity requirements, and total cost of ownership.
• Perform comprehensive cost-benefit and lifecycle cost analyses comparing Azure-based solutions with traditional on-premises infrastructure, providing data-driven recommendations to leadership to support strategic and investment decisions.

Minimum Qualifications

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience is:

• Design and implement secure Microsoft Azure cloud solutions within an enterprise or hybrid environment.
• Planning and executing cloud migration and modernization activities, including workload assessment, migration planning, implementation, or validation.
• Implementing cloud security and governance controls based on NIST guidance or comparable cybersecurity standards.

Competencies

All applicants qualifying based on experience must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below. Applicants must demonstrate possession of these competencies within the body of the resume; no separate statements addressing them are required.

• Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
• Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.