Senior Microsoft Cloud Engineer in Ashburn, Virginia at Innovation Consulting Inc

Overview
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Microsoft Cloud Engineer to provide advanced engineering, operational, and advisory support for the enterprise cloud environments of a Government agency. In this role, you will act as a senior technical leader responsible for designing, implementing, maintaining, and optimizing Microsoft 365, Azure, and Microsoft Security platforms.

Your primary mission will be to ensure a resilient, scalable, and highly secure cloud architecture that strictly aligns with NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-207 (Zero Trust Architecture), and FedRAMP Moderate control requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Cloud Architecture & Engineering:

• Design, operate, and optimize Microsoft 365, Azure infrastructure, and hybrid Active Directory environments to ensure high availability and performance.

• Manage Azure networking, infrastructure workloads, and hybrid integrations.

• Oversee enterprise collaboration platforms, including Exchange Online, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint Online.

Identity, Access & Endpoint Management:

• Administer Identity and Access Management (IAM) using Microsoft Entra ID.

• Enforce Zero Trust principles through Conditional Access, least-privilege models, and privileged access controls.

• Lead transitions between MFA providers and implement Smart Card/FIDO-based key authentication for Windows and macOS systems.

• Manage a fleet of 700+ endpoints (Windows, macOS, iOS) using Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopilot for zero-touch OS imaging and policy delivery.

Security Operations & Automation:

• Configure and manage Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, and Purview for threat protection, data governance, and continuous risk mitigation.

• Manage Microsoft Sentinel data sources, proactively monitoring log ingestion health and data quality.

• Lock down remote PowerShell and Microsoft Graph API access for admin tasks while enabling automated headless operations (e.g., Exchange Online mailbox provisioning).

• Develop Incident Response and Disaster Recovery playbooks tailored to the CBO environment.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Experience: Proven, senior-level technical leadership in managing complex enterprise Microsoft environments, hybrid Active Directory, and Zero Trust implementations.

• Documentation: Ability to write clear, practical technical documentation, architectural diagrams, procedural runbooks, and PowerShell scripts (candidates will be asked to provide 2-4 short writing samples).

• Autonomy: High capability to perform complex engineering duties with minimal supervision while navigating strict government change-management processes.

Mandatory Certifications

Candidates must hold the following current Microsoft certifications (or equivalent prior versions) and have maintained them for a minimum of 5 years:

• Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert

• Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

• Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate

• Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate

• Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate

• Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate

• Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate