Senior Cloud Engineer (Microsoft 365 / Entra ID)

Employment Type: Direct Hire
Work Model: Hybrid (3 days onsite per week)
Location: Arlington, VA

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Cloud Engineer with deep expertise in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Entra ID to join a high-performing IT Infrastructure team. This individual contributor role will be responsible for managing, securing, and optimizing enterprise Microsoft 365 services while driving automation, modern cloud practices, and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience administering Microsoft 365 in enterprise environments, with strong expertise in Exchange Online, identity and access management, cloud security, PowerShell automation, and Microsoft cloud technologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, configure, and administer Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Teams, Copilot, and related security and compliance features.
• Administer and secure Microsoft Entra ID, including Conditional Access, Identity Protection, App Registrations, and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
• Manage Exchange Online mail flow, transport rules, connectors, hybrid connectivity, policies, and advanced troubleshooting.
• Investigate incidents using Microsoft 365 Defender, Purview, and Log Analytics while developing detection queries and reports using KQL.
• Partner with security and networking teams to implement and maintain security baselines, DLP, retention policies, eDiscovery, auditing, and governance.
• Develop automation solutions using PowerShell, Microsoft Graph API, and scripting to streamline administration and provisioning.
• Support Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and CI/CD practices using Azure DevOps, GitHub, or similar platforms.
• Work with Kubernetes and cloud-native workloads integrating with Microsoft Entra ID for identity and access management.
• Lead complex incident response, root cause analysis, and service restoration efforts.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, standards, runbooks, and architecture diagrams.
• Mentor junior team members and promote cloud administration best practices.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor''s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field with relevant industry experience, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Entra ID administration in a mid-to-large enterprise environment.
• Strong expertise with Exchange Online administration, mail flow, transport rules, security, compliance, and hybrid environments.
• Experience with Azure DevOps, GitHub, or similar tools supporting automation and Infrastructure as Code.
• Advanced knowledge of Kusto Query Language (KQL) for Microsoft 365 Defender, Sentinel, or Log Analytics.
• Strong understanding of identity and access management, including SSO, OAuth/OIDC, Conditional Access, MFA, Federation, and Privileged Identity Management (PIM).
• Advanced PowerShell scripting skills for automation and configuration management.
• Experience with Microsoft 365 security and compliance technologies, including DLP, retention, eDiscovery, auditing, Safe Links, and Safe Attachments.
• Familiarity with Kubernetes or Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and identity integration with Entra ID.
• Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, communication, and collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Microsoft Graph API.
• Experience with Microsoft Sentinel or other SIEM platforms.
• Experience with LSoft LISTSERV/ListPlex.
• Passion for cloud technologies, automation, continuous improvement, and learning.

Work Schedule

• Hybrid work arrangement.
• Three days onsite each week in Arlington, VA.
• Occasional travel may be required for meetings, training, or conferences.