Azure Administrator (Former Windows System Administrator)

Job Title: Azure Administrator (Former Windows System Administrator)
Location: Onsite - Santa Ana CA
Duration: Contract (Immediate Requirement)
Job Summary
The Lead Windows Engineer is responsible for leading the design migration administration and optimization of Windows and Active Directory environments with a strong emphasis on Microsoft Azure. This role drives hybrid and cloud transformation initiatives leads Active Directory and Azure AD migrations and provides technical leadership across Windows and cloud infrastructure platforms.
Key Responsibilities
Windows & Active Directory Leadership
Lead architecture design and management of enterprise Windows Server and Active Directory environments.
Own Active Directory design health and lifecycle management:
Forest/domain design
Trusts replication FSMO roles
Group Policy design and troubleshooting
Lead AD modernization initiatives including:
Domain consolidation
Legacy AD cleanup
Hybrid AD integration
Azure Administration & Engineering
Act as Azure Administrator for Windows workloads including:
Azure IaaS (VMs storage networking)
Azure Active Directory / Entra ID
RBAC conditional access MFA
Design and maintain hybrid infrastructure:
Azure AD Connect / Cloud Sync
Onprem AD Azure AD integration
Implement and manage Azure monitoring logging and security controls.
Migration & Modernization
Lead and execute migration projects:
Onprem Windows servers to Azure
Active Directory to Azure AD / Hybrid AD
File servers and application workloads
Plan and execute cutover strategies risk mitigation and rollback plans.
Collaborate with application teams to ensure migration readiness and performance.
Automation & Scripting
Develop automation using PowerShell to manage AD Windows and Azure resources.
Enforce configuration standards and desired state configurations.
Improve operational efficiency through scripting and automation frameworks.
Security & Compliance
Implement Windows and AD security hardening best practices.
Manage identity security including:
Privileged access (PIM/PAM)
Rolebased access control
Conditional Access policies
Support audits vulnerability remediation and incident response activities.
Operational Excellence
Oversee patching backups DR and high availability for Windows workloads.
Lead troubleshooting of complex Windows AD and Azure issues.
Participate in change management capacity planning and architecture reviews.
Leadership & Collaboration
Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior and senior engineers.
Serve as escalation point for critical Windows and Azure issues.
Work closely with Network Security Cloud and DevOps teams.
Required Skills & Qualifications
Bachelors degree or equivalent experience.
8 years of Windows infrastructure experience.
3 years in a Lead / Senior Engineer role.
Deep expertise in:
Windows Server (2016/2019/2022)
Active Directory (design migration troubleshooting)
DNS DHCP Group Policy
Strong Azure Administration experience:
Azure VMs networking storage
Azure AD / Entra ID
Azure AD Connect
Proven experience leading AD and Windows migrations.
Advanced PowerShell scripting skills.
Experience with VMware or HyperV.
Preferred / Nice-to-Have
Azure migration tools (Azure Migrate ASR).
Endpoint management (Intune MECM).
Microsoft Defender and security tooling.
Infrastructure as Code (ARM Bicep Terraform).
ITIL process familiarity.
Microsoft certifications:
AZ104 (Azure Administrator)
AZ305 (Azure Architect)
Windows/AD certifications
Soft Skills
Strong technical leadership and documentation skills.
Excellent troubleshooting and analytical abilities.
Clear communication with technical and business stakeholders.
Ability to manage multiple migration and operational priorities.