Azure Admin

Cognizant•Alpharetta, GA

About The Position

Cognizant’s Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services Practice (CIS), is all about accepting digital transformation by driving core modernization holistically across layers. We help customers transform infrastructure and workplace to meet the constantly evolving needs of the digital era. Our broad approach delivers key results for our customers by achieving cloud driven modernization and workplace and operational transformation to own the business in a secure environment. Role Overview We are seeking an experienced Azure Administrator / DevOps Engineer with strong hands-on expertise in Azure administration, CI/CD practices, Windows server administration, and SQL Server ecosystem (including SSIS). The ideal candidate will manage Azure resources, automate deployments, support Windows/IIS-hosted applications, and collaborate closely with application and data teams. Strong communication skills are essential for cross-functional coordination and incident management.

Requirements

8-10+ years in Azure/Windows administration or DevOps roles in enterprise environments.
Strong hands-on experience with: o Microsoft Azure administration and monitoring o CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps preferred) o Windows Server and IIS o SQL Server basics and SSIS deployments o IBM MQ operational support o PowerShell scripting (modules, error handling, logging, scheduled jobs)
Solid understanding of networking (DNS, TLS/SSL, load balancing, firewalls, private endpoints).
Excellent written and verbal communication; proven ability to document and present clearly.

Nice To Haves

Infrastructure as Code (ARM/Bicep/Terraform).
Azure security (Defender for Cloud, PIM), and cost governance.
Experience with monitoring/observability tools (Azure Monitor, App Insights, Dynatrace, Splunk).
Exposure to Linux and containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) is a plus.

Responsibilities

Provision, configure, and manage Azure resources (VMs, VNets, NSGs, Storage, Key Vault, App Services, Azure SQL, Load Balancers, Monitor/Log Analytics).
Implement governance: RBAC, policies, tags, cost optimization, and security best practices.
Set up monitoring, alerting, diagnostics, and backups/DR for critical workloads.
Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps preferred) for application, SSIS, and infrastructure deployments.
Implement infrastructure automation using scripts/templates (PowerShell, ARM/Bicep/Terraform—if available).
Integrate build and release processes with testing, approvals, and environment promotion.
Support version control workflows (Git) and artifact management.
Administer Windows Server (services, patching, GPO basics, performance, and security baselines).
Configure and maintain IIS (sites, app pools, bindings, SSL certs, logging, URL rewrite, health checks).
Troubleshoot web/application availability and performance issues end-to-end.
Support SQL Server administration tasks (backups/restores, jobs, security, performance basics, connectivity).
Deploy and monitor SSIS ETL packages; assist with scheduling, configuration, and failure remediation.
Collaborate with DBAs on performance tuning and HA/DR.
Administer and support IBM MQ configurations (queues, channels, listeners), connectivity, and TLS cert renewals.
Monitor message flows and assist in troubleshooting integration issues.
Build reliable PowerShell scripts for environment provisioning, configuration, monitoring, and operational runbooks.
Automate routine tasks (patching, certificate rotation, log collection, validation checks).
Act as a key point of contact for incidents, changes, and release coordination—communicate clearly with stakeholders.
Produce and maintain documentation: runbooks, architecture overviews, deployment guides, and SOPs.
Partner with development teams (knowledge of .NET is a plus) to ensure operational readiness and smooth releases.