Cloud & FinOps / Azure Architect

We are seeking an experienced Cloud & FinOps / Azure Architect to lead the governance, architecture, security, and cost optimization of our Microsoft Azure environment.

This is a strategic leadership role responsible for designing scalable, secure, and cost-efficient cloud solutions while overseeing an enterprise Azure estate containing more than 20 years of historical data. You will drive our FinOps strategy, optimize cloud spending, define data lifecycle management, and architect modern Azure data platforms that balance performance, scalability, and cost.

If you're passionate about Azure architecture, cloud financial management, and enterprise data platforms, we'd love to hear from you.

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.

FinOps & Cloud Cost 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.