Azure Automation Engineer

Summary

Applied Research Solutions is seeking a highly skilled Azure Automation Engineer to support the Arkloud IRAD initiative. The role develops, automates, and sustains Azure Government cloud infrastructure through Infrastructure-as-Code, CI/CD pipelines, identity automation, and platform-level engineering.

Responsibilities

• Author and maintain production Infrastructure‑as‑Code (IaC) modules in: Bicep/ARM, Terraform, Pulumi, or Crossplane
• Engineer and manage end‑to‑end CI/CD pipelines using GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, or Azure DevOps, including multi‑stage deployments, artifact promotion, secret injection, private runners, and approval gates
• Perform Azure platform engineering across compute, networking, storage, identity, PaaS data services, observability (Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Grafana), and ARM control-plane operations
• Develop production‑grade automation using Python and Bash/PowerShell; write tools and API clients using Azure REST, JSON/YAML manipulation, error‑handling, and maintain testable code in source control
• Support DoD workforce compliance, including Security+ attainment within 90 days and eligibility for required clearance level
• Deliver solutions in Azure Government environments (IL4/IL5), GCC High, or air‑gapped sovereign clouds
• Build and maintain golden images using Packer/Ansible/Salt/DSC, publish via Azure Compute Gallery, maintain STIG/SCAP hardening, and automate patch cadence
• Manage AKS clusters and workloads: private clusters, node pool automation, CNI/network policy, Helm delivery, GitOps (ArgoCD/Flux), and cross‑layer debugging
• Automate identity lifecycles via Entra ID Graph API/CLI, including app registrations, service principals, RBAC-as-code, managed identity, workload identity federation, and Key Vault/CSI integration
• Implement network automation for NSG, UDR, private endpoints, Private DNS, hub‑spoke, forced‑tunnel, and IPAM discipline
• Other duties as assigned

Skills

• * Must be a US citizen
• * Must have or be willing to attain a Secret Clearance
• * Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related technical field
• * CompTIA Security+ (or equivalent qualifying credential) required within 90 days of start
• * 3+ years of experience in Azure automation, Infrastructure‑as‑Code, or platform engineering
• * Proficiency in Python and Bash/PowerShell; Go is preferred
• Azure depth across compute, networking, storage, identity, PaaS, and monitoring
• * Extensive experience building and owning CI/CD pipelines
• * Strong debugging ability across Azure control plane, IaC state, and Kubernetes boundaries
• * Master's degree in a technical discipline
• * Hands‑on Azure Government, GCC High, IL4/IL5 experience
• * Experience with STIG/SCAP image hardening pipelines
• * AKS, GitOps (ArgoCD/Flux), Helm delivery, and container platform automation experience
• * Entra ID identity automation and federated identity experience
• * Network topology automation (hub‑spoke, forced tunnel, private endpoints, IPAM)

Qualifications

Must Haves

• * Must be a US citizen
• * Must have or be willing to attain a Secret Clearance
• * Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related technical field
• * CompTIA Security+ (or equivalent qualifying credential) required within 90 days of start
• * 3+ years of experience in Azure automation, Infrastructure‑as‑Code, or platform engineering
• * Proficiency in Python and Bash/PowerShell; Go is preferred
• Azure depth across compute, networking, storage, identity, PaaS, and monitoring
• * Extensive experience building and owning CI/CD pipelines
• * Strong debugging ability across Azure control plane, IaC state, and Kubernetes boundaries

Nice to Haves

• * Master's degree in a technical discipline
• * Hands‑on Azure Government, GCC High, IL4/IL5 experience
• * Experience with STIG/SCAP image hardening pipelines
• * AKS, GitOps (ArgoCD/Flux), Helm delivery, and container platform automation experience
• * Entra ID identity automation and federated identity experience
• * Network topology automation (hub‑spoke, forced tunnel, private endpoints, IPAM)

Benefits

• Industry competitive benefits package
• Awards and recognition program
• Personalized attention from ARS Senior Managers
• Opportunities to meet career goals and aspirations
• Work/life balance