This job is responsible for advanced technical and operational support of cloud infrastructure resources in Microsoft Azure. This role provides mentorship and guidance to partnering teams/ developers to ensure the highest levels of systems and cloud infrastructure availability. The Senior Cloud computing Systems Engineer will work closely with Cloud Engineering Leads to deliver standard, automated deployments via code and pipelines. This role will work with Software Engineering, Data Services, Data Scientists, and Solutions Architects to develop and document requirements for application and PaaS service configuration, testing, validation, and deployments. This position is responsible for the technical direction for Cloud platforms and installed systems in order to meet business needs, deadlines, and objectives for regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities:

• Develops strategy to execute Azure Cloud Engineering.
• Develops and implements standards and best practices as it relates to cloud solutions.
• Leads efforts to provision infrastructure using infrastructure as code tooling ( using Terraform, ARM etc) 
• Leverages automation to monitor and orchestrate client environments.
• Implements Cloud standards, DevOps / CICD tool chain and Standard Operating Environment (SOE).
• Supports business requirements by conducting business needs assessments and analysis.
• Keeps up with patches and updates to enable new functionality and address vulnerabilities.
• Conducts research on emerging technologies in support of cloud and infrastructure development efforts and recommends technologies that will increase cost effectiveness and infrastructure flexibility.
• Works with Kubernetes, Docker, and other container technologies.
• Deploys all Azure PaaS services (APIM, AKS, AppService, FrontDoor etc.).

Qualifications:

• 5+ years professional experience with Bachelors degree
• 5+ years experience as an Azure cloud engineers supporting higher level PaaS services, network, and surrounding technology
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Azure cloud engineer focusing on IaC and PaaS Services (AKS, AppService etc.) - Terraform experience is a must-have. Interview process will have coding review and code sample creation.
• Focused experience and knowledge on Kubernetes and Azure Kubernetes services is a huge plus as this position will be primarily dealing with Kubernetes every day
• Azure certification is highly desired
• AKS certification (CKAD) and HCI (Azure stack) experience preferred
• Strong communications / interpersonal skills.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills.
• Solid understanding of Azure public cloud platform.
• Knowledge of software development life cycle.
• Knowledge of programming languages and web- based technologies.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Broad knowledge of cloud computing concepts and solutions.
• Knowledge of infrastructure management within a cloud environment.
• Knowledge of cloud delivery models.
• Knowledge of Web services, API Gateway, Elastic/Network Load Balancers, ACA, policy framework, cache services, security framework etc
• Proficiency in modern software architecture using CI/CD, DevOps, Scalability, API first strategy and etc. required.

Role Summary

The Senior Network Engineer (Level 5) is responsible for the architecture, design, implementation, and optimization of enterprise network infrastructure across multiple locations. As a senior technical leader, this role owns complex network solutions end to end, drives strategic network initiatives, mentors engineers, and serves as the highest point of escalation for critical network issues — ensuring high availability, performance, and security across all network services. A central focus of this role is leading the organization’s standardization on the Juniper platform, driving the migration and unification of network infrastructure to Juniper (Junos) across all sites.

Key Responsibilities

Network Architecture & Engineering Leadership

•    Serve as senior technical lead and top escalation point for LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, wireless, and firewall environments

•    Architect and design scalable, resilient, and secure network solutions across multiple sites

•    Lead the company-wide standardization and migration of network infrastructure onto the Juniper (Junos) platform across all sites

•    Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of complex network incidents, outages, and performance issues

•    Define and oversee network monitoring, capacity planning, and availability strategies using enterprise tools

•    Lead incident response and direct on-call escalations

Implementation & Engineering

•    Lead deployment and configuration of network infrastructure (switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs)

•    Own the network aspects of site buildouts, relocations, and upgrades (MDF/IDF, circuits, redundancy)

•    Establish and govern change management standards for network changes

•    Define and enforce standardized Juniper (Junos) configurations across all sites

Security & Compliance

•    Design and maintain firewall architecture, network segmentation, and secure access controls

•    Drive compliance with corporate security policies (e.g., MFA, NAC, Zero Trust)

•    Lead vulnerability remediation and serve as network subject-matter expert for audits (SOX, ISO, etc.)

Project & Technical Leadership

•    Lead network-related projects (cloud connectivity, tenant migrations, SD-WAN rollout)

•    Manage vendor and service provider relationships (e.g., ISPs, hardware vendors), including evaluation and selection

•    Establish documentation standards for network designs, diagrams, and standard operating procedures

•    Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level engineers

Strategy & Continuous Improvement

•    Own the long-term network roadmap and lead architecture decisions

•    Identify and drive initiatives to improve performance, reliability, and cost efficiency

•    Champion network automation to reduce manual effort and operational risk

Required Qualifications

•    Must reside within commuting distance of Waco, Dallas, or Austin, Texas

•    Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience)

•    10+ years of hands-on network engineering experience, including senior or lead responsibilities

•    Proven experience designing and leading enterprise network architectures

•    Expert knowledge of:

◦     TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, and routing protocols (OSPF, BGP)

◦     Switching technologies (Layer 2/3)

◦     Firewalls and VPN technologies

•    Deep, hands-on expertise with Juniper enterprise network hardware and Junos OS (e.g., EX, QFX, MX, SRX)

•    Working knowledge of Cisco and Fortinet platforms to support transition and interoperability during standardization

•    Advanced proficiency with network monitoring and troubleshooting tools

Preferred Qualifications

•    Extensive experience with SD-WAN technologies

•    Cloud networking experience (Azure, AWS)

•    Advanced certifications such as:

◦     Juniper JNCIP / JNCIE (strongly preferred)

◦     Juniper JNCIS-SEC or JNCIS-ENT

◦     CCNP

◦     Fortinet NSE 4 or higher

◦     Juniper Mist, or wireless certifications such as CWNA

•    Experience leading large-scale platform migrations or vendor standardization initiatives

•    Experience designing EVPN-VXLAN fabrics or large-scale Juniper deployments

•    Experience leading network initiatives in multi-site or manufacturing environments

•    Hands-on network automation experience (Junos automation, Python/PyEZ, Ansible)

Key Competencies

•    Expert troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills

•    Proven ability to lead projects and mentor engineers in a fast-paced environment

•    Strong technical leadership and sound decision-making

•    Excellent communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including leadership

•    Detail-oriented, with strong documentation and standardization skills

Security Clearance Required: Secret

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.

Overview

The candidate will be responsible for deploying, managing and maintaining large scale on-premise cloud and hyperconverged infrastructure solutions. The core focus of this role is the lifecycle management of containerized environments and infrastructure automation.

Responsibilities

• Key responsibilities include Deploying, maintaining and managing the lifecycle of on-premise cloud cluster Nutanix and/or Red Hat OpenShift.
• Managing and scaling enterprise Kubernetes clusters utilizing Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) and OpenShift.
• Deploying applications, services and middleware using Helm charts and Kubernetes Operators.
• Utilizing Ansible for extensive infrastructure automation and configuration management.
• Designing, implementing, and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure using GitLab and GitLab Runners.
• Tracking the impact of events/actions on the underlying infrastructure, including proactive.

Requirements

• Generally has 3+ years of related experience and may have a post secondary degree or training in a related discipline.
• The candidate must have experience with virtualization technologies such as VMWare, RedHat OpenStack, or Nutanix.
• Experience with Linux and/or Windows Server system administrationExperience with a scripting language such as Bash, Python, PowerShell or AnsibleCloud and Virtualization.
• Proven experience managing the lifecycle of Nutanix or Red Hat OpenShift clusters in an on-premise environment.
• Container Orchestration: Hands-on experience managing Kubernetes clusters, specifically with Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) and OpenShift.Kubernetes
• Deployments: Proficiency in deploying applications and services utilizing Helm charts and Kubernetes operators.
• Automation: Strong background in automation and configuration management using Ansible.
• CI/CD: Practical experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and supporting infrastructure using GitLab (including managing GitLab and Runners)OS
• Administration: Experience with Linux and/or Windows Server system administration.
• The ideal candidate will have experience with scripting languages such as Bash, Python or PowerShell.
• They will also have experience administering virtualization technologies such as VMWare as well as experience with Windows Server and Active Directory integration in a cloud environment.
• The candidate should have experience with containerization and orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes.

Desired Skills:

• Experience developing Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines with Gitlab, implementing configuration management methodologies using Ansible, prior experience with a Nutanix Hyperconverged on-prem cloud platform, experience with Windows server and Active Directory. virtualization solution, spread across multiple remote suites.
• This environment includes solution like virtualization hypervisor platforms, remote virtual desktop infrastructure, other direct user experience technologies and other monitoring solution for virtual infrastructure.
• Must be detail oriented individual that is able to track the impact of events/actions on the underlying infrastructure being managed, such as patching and maintenance.

EOE of Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabilities

Security Clearance Required: Secret

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.

Overview

The Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications Experimentation Laboratory is a very fast paced and dynamic environment. The X-Lab is responsible for developing and integrating future-capability prototypes for the Missile Defense System, including Sensor/Weapon Integration, Algorithm Development, User Interface Development and other critical leading-edge missile defense technologies. 

Responsibilities

• The candidate will be responsible for tuning and optimizing cybersecurity tools such as ESS, Elastic, ConfigOS, and Tanium to enhance system performance and threat detection capabilities.
• The candidate will all be responsible for creating custom dashboards to visualize security data, ensuring quick identification of issues and trends.
• They will also integrate carious security products, ensuring seamless communication and data flows across the infrastructure.
• Key tasks include troubleshooting and resolving issues related to these tools, as well as managing upgrades and deployments to ensure the latest features and security patches are implemented effectively.  

Requirements

• Generally has 3+ years of related experience and may have a post secondary degree or training in a related discipline.
• Active Secret clearance- IAT Level II/IAM Level 1 Dod 8570 certification (Sec+ CE or similar) required at start- Experience with Windows/RHEL System Admin including installing, tuning & troubleshooting Cyber Tools to include ESS/HBSS, ConfigOS, Splunk/Elastic, etc.
• Experience configuring, running and scripting audit tools- Knowledge of Software Assurance (SwA) static and dynamic code analysis (e.g. Fortify)     

EOE of Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabilitie

About the Role

We are seeking a Lead Azure Engineer to drive two connected missions: the consolidation of Forgent's 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 governance.

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 Forgent's manufacturing and operations sites.

What You'll Do

Azure Tenant Consolidation & Platform

•      Lead consolidation of multiple Azure tenants, subscriptions, and environments into a unified enterprise Azure platform

•      Design and implement Azure landing zones, subscription models, and resource organization strategies

•      Standardize and optimize:

◦      Networking (VNets, peering, hybrid connectivity)

◦      Compute and storage services

◦      Disaster recovery and high availability architectures

•      Drive cost optimization initiatives:

◦      Rightsizing resources and eliminating redundant environments

◦      Reserved instances and savings plans

•      Implement and enforce Azure governance: Azure Policy, RBAC, tagging standards, and cost controls

•      Lead identity integration using Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), including cross-tenant trust and access models

•      Partner with security teams to implement Zero Trust architecture and compliance controls

•      Provide technical leadership, roadmap planning, and executive-level updates

On-Premises Infrastructure

•      Own and manage Hyper-V environments across all Forgent sites

•      Manage physical server infrastructure including Dell PowerEdge servers — hardware lifecycle, rack and stack, capacity planning

•      Maintain Active Directory (on-prem) site health, replication, and DNS/DHCP across all sites

•      Manage Azure DNS and on-prem Windows DNS for all entities

•      Maintain and operate Synology NAS and backup tooling across the environment

•      Build and maintain a server golden image pipeline for standardized OS deployments

Security & Patching

•      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 infrastructure

•      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 entities

Backup & Resilience

•      Define and execute a unified backup strategy across Azure VMs, on-prem servers, and NAS

•      Configure recovery vaults, retention policies, and offsite replication

•      Define and validate RTOs and RPOs per entity and workload tier

•      Ensure disaster recovery and high availability architectures are documented and tested

What You Bring

Required

•      7+ years of experience in Azure cloud engineering and infrastructure

•      Proven experience consolidating Azure tenants, subscriptions, or large-scale environments

•      Deep expertise in Azure networking — VNet design, VPN/ExpressRoute, segmentation

•      Strong experience with Azure compute, storage, and platform services

•      Hands-on experience with Azure governance — Policy, RBAC, management 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 environment

•      Strong experience with cloud cost optimization and financial governance (FinOps)

•      Experience with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) for identity and access management

•      Ability to lead complex, multi-team cloud and infrastructure transformation efforts

Nice to Have

•      Experience with M&A or multi-entity environment consolidation

•      Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code — Terraform, Bicep, ARM

•      Experience with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and observability platforms

•      Experience with Azure Arc and Azure Update 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, Security, Network