Lead Azure & Infrastructure Engineer

About the job The focus for this role will be leading Azure efforts as we consolidate multiple environments into a single tenant, reduce overall footprint, and drive standardization across the organization. We’re ideally looking for candidates located in the CST or EST time zones, preferably near one of our key locations to allow for occasional onsite collaboration . Position Detail s:Location: Los Angels, CA (Remote) - prefer someone in CT or EST time but open to PDT as we llType: 6 month contract with extension or conversion expect ed About the R oleWe are seeking a Lead Azure Engineer to drive two connected missions: the consolidation of our clients Azure environments into a single enterprise-scale cloud platform, and the day-to-day ownership of on-premises infrastructure across all sites. This is a hybrid cloud and infrastructure engineering role — you will own the full stack from physical servers and Hyper-V environments through to Azure landing zones and governan ce. You will play a critical role in building a secure, scalable, and cost-efficient Azure foundation that supports long-term growth, while simultaneously maintaining and modernizing the on-premises infrastructure that powers our client's manufacturing and operations si tes. What You' ll DoAzure Tenant Consolidation & Pla tform• Lead consolidation of multiple Azure tenants, subscriptions, and environments into a unified enterprise Azure pla tform• Design and implement Azure landing zones, subscription models, and resource organization strat egies• Standardize and opti mize:◦ Networking (VNets, peering, hybrid connecti vity)◦ Compute and storage ser vices◦ Disaster recovery and high availability architec tures• Drive cost optimization initiat ives:◦ Rightsizing resources and eliminating redundant environ ments◦ Reserved instances and savings plans• Implement and enforce Azure governance: Azure Policy, RBAC, tagging standards, and cost con trols• Lead identity integration using Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), including cross-tenant trust and access m odels• Partner with security teams to implement Zero Trust architecture and compliance con trols• Provide technical leadership, roadmap planning, and executive-level up dates On-Premises Infrastr ucture• Own and manage Hyper-V environments across all client sites• Manage physical server infrastructure including Dell PowerEdge servers — hardware lifecycle, rack and stack, capacity pl anning• Maintain Active Directory (on-prem) site health, replication, and DNS/DHCP across all sites• Manage Azure DNS and on-prem Windows DNS for all en tities• Maintain and operate Synology NAS and backup tooling across the envir onment• Build and maintain a server golden image pipeline for standardized OS deplo yments Security & P atching• Deploy and manage Defender for Servers P2 across all Arc-onboarded on-premises servers• Implement Azure Arc to extend Azure governance, policy, and Defender coverage to on-prem infrast ructure• Implement Azure Update Manager for unified patch management across Azure VMs and Arc-enabled servers• Define and maintain patch cadence, compliance reporting, and maintenance windows across all e ntities Backup & Re silience• Define and execute a unified backup strategy across Azure VMs, on-prem servers, and NAS• Configure recovery vaults, retention policies, and offsite rep lication• Define and validate RTOs and RPOs per entity and workl oad tier• Ensure disaster recovery and high availability architectures are documented an d tested What You Brin gRequired• 7+ years of experience in Azure cloud engineering and infra structure• Proven experience consolidating Azure tenants, subscriptions, or large-scale env ironments• Deep expertise in Azure networking — VNet design, VPN/ExpressRoute, seg mentation• Strong experience with Azure compute, storage, and platform services• Hands-on experience with Azure governance — Policy, RBAC, manageme nt groups• Experience managing on-premises Windows Server environments including Active Directory, DNS, and DHCP• Experience with Hyper-V in a multi-site or multi-entity en vironment• Strong experience with cloud cost optimization and financial governance (FinOps)• Experience with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) for identity and access m anagement• Ability to lead complex, multi-team cloud and infrastructure transformatio n efforts Ni ce to Have• Experience with M&A or multi-entity environment con solidation• Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code — Terraform, Bicep, ARM• Experience with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and observability platforms• Experience with Azure Arc and Azure Upda te Manager• Experience with Defender for Servers and Microsoft Defender for Cloud• Knowledge of hybrid environments — on-prem to Azure transition• Microsoft Azure certifications — Solutions Architect, Securit y, Network Blackstone Talent Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Blackstone Technology Group, a global IT services and software firm that implements technological solutions across commercial industry verticals and the US Federal Government. Blackstone's global talent augmentation practice was founded in 1998. Blackstone Talent Group has offices in San Francisco, Denver, Houston, Colorado Springs, and Washington, DC. We specialize in providing clients the best talent across a variety of industries and sectors.