Cloud Senior Systems Engineer

Darden Restaurant Support Center

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The purpose of this job is to lead the design, support and continuous improvement of Darden’s cloud infrastructure systems. This role provides technical leadership for junior team members, creates standards and policies, identifies risks, enforces compliance and supports strategic initiatives across the enterprise. The employee must be able to work independently and serve as a senior escalation point for complex infrastructure issues.

Requirements

Proven ability to design and support enterprise-scale cloud infrastructure solutions in Azure.
Expertise in Azure compute, networking, and storage services (e.g., Azure Virtual Machines, containers, Virtual Networks, VPN/ExpressRoute, Azure Firewall, Azure Storage accounts, Front Door).
Strong knowledge of Azure AI & ML technologies (Azure OpenAI, Databricks, Foundry, Copilot, Synapse, ML)
Strong knowledge of Azure identity and security (Microsoft Entra ID/Azure AD) and related services (e.g., Azure Key Vault, Azure Policy).
Familiarity with Azure monitoring tools (Azure Monitor, Log Analytics) and Microsoft 365 integration is expected.
Experience developing and enforcing technical standards and policies for cloud environments.
Ability to assess risk, determine feasibility, and guide technical decisions.
Experience with infrastructure automation and DevOps pipelines – proficiency in tools like Terraform and Azure DevOps for deploying and managing Azure resources.
Excellent communication and leadership skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
Demonstrated success mentoring engineers and supporting cross-functional initiatives.
Experience with project planning, budgeting, and technical resource allocation.
Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and a self-motivated ability to work independently.
Strong team player, willingness to do whatever it takes to complete projects/assignments on time with high quality results.
Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, along with five or more years of relevant experience.
Alternatively, eight or more years of relevant experience in the field without a degree.
Minimum of 5 years experience deploying and managing resources in Microsoft Azure.
Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) or similar certification is strongly desired.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with IT governance frameworks (e.g., ITIL) and advanced cloud security best practices.
Advanced Security principles, techniques, best practices.

Responsibilities

Design, build, deploy, and support, infrastructure solutions across Azure and on-prem environments.
Create, document, and maintain technical standards, policies, and procedures for infrastructure systems.
Identify and mitigate risks related to infrastructure performance, security, and compliance.
Provide technical leadership and guidance across infrastructure and application teams.
Enforce compliance with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and architectural standards.
Determine feasibility of new infrastructure initiatives and recommend optimal solutions.
Lead cloud infrastructure architecture designs with development teams.
Assist management with work prioritization and recommend technical assignments.
Lead infrastructure-related project efforts and contribute to planning and budgeting.
Mentor team members and other IT staff to grow technical capabilities and knowledge.
Provide Level 3 support for escalated infrastructure issues.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure infrastructure solutions align with business needs.
Promote automation, cost optimization, and operational efficiency across infrastructure operations.
Perform miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.