Senior DevOps Engineer (Contract)

About the role

Senior DevOps Engineer (independent contractor) responsible for senior‑level Windows systems administration and Azure platform support, handling 75% Windows Server tasks and 25% troubleshooting a custom Azure‑native messaging platform, providing on‑call and emergency support.

About the company

The contractor will work for a local government entity that delivers mission‑critical public services using traditional Microsoft enterprise technologies and modern Azure‑native services.

Requirements

• 7+ years experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, or enterprise IT operations with senior‑level ownership.
• Strong hands‑on Windows Server administration in enterprise environments (performance, security, patching, troubleshooting, core services).
• Experience with Microsoft Entra ID, Active Directory, hybrid identity, Exchange Hybrid, Microsoft Teams/eDiscovery, DNS, certificate management, access controls, and file permissions.
• Proficient PowerShell scripting and automation; Python experience for administration, API checks, validation, reporting, log analysis, or repeatable troubleshooting.
• Experience supporting Microsoft Azure environments and troubleshooting Azure‑hosted applications/services (platform configuration, deployments, messaging, identity, monitoring).
• Working experience with Terraform or Terragrunt and Git/GitHub.
• Strong customer‑facing support and cross‑team collaboration skills; ability to be on‑site during emergencies.
• Experience with Azure Government (AzureUSGovernment), Azure PaaS networking, Azure observability, and integration/message‑flow troubleshooting (preferred).
• Ability to read and troubleshoot C#/.NET and Python code; Kubernetes or container workload experience is a plus (preferred).
• Experience using approved generative AI or AI‑assisted development tools for DevOps scripting, IaC, debugging, root‑cause analysis, log/KQL analysis, refactoring, deployment validation, and runbook creation, with ability to validate output and protect credentials (preferred).
• Relevant certifications such as Microsoft Windows Server Hybrid Administrator, Azure Administrator, Azure Solutions Architect, Azure DevOps Engineer, or HashiCorp Terraform Associate (preferred).
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field preferred; equivalent experience accepted; operational documentation and runbook experience preferred.