Solutions Architect Principal

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG) • Richmond, VA

1d • $109,623 - $126,790 • Remote

About The Position

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking a Solutions Architect Principal for a full-time, 100% U.S.-based remote position supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs. The role leads the development of complete, competitive technical solutions and proposals that satisfy customer requirements for technology, schedule, and cost. It collaborates with business development, capture, proposal, and technical teams, and coordinates technical staffing and contributions to proposal efforts.

The position works closely with the Enterprise Architect to design, implement, and govern secure, scalable, and highly available Azure cloud architectures aligned with enterprise standards, business objectives, security requirements, and government cloud best practices. The role also contributes to technical concepts and standards, determines assignment objectives, guides team members, and develops innovative solutions to complex problems.

Candidates must be U.S. citizens and must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI). Applicants selected are subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Although the position is remote, candidates from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington will not be considered. This is a W-2 position. The posted salary range is $109,623–$126,790.

Requirements

• 10+ years of software testing, quality assurance, or system validation experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI).
• Proven track record designing, deploying, and managing Azure infrastructure and services, including large-scale, highly available, scalable cloud architectures.
• Extensive experience with Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, Azure Virtual Network, Azure Functions, Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), Azure Resource Manager templates, Azure Monitor, and Azure DNS.
• Experience implementing Azure security services and best practices, including Microsoft Entra ID, Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Firewall, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and Web Application Firewall.
• Strong understanding of Azure networking, including VNet peering, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Private Link, and hybrid connectivity architectures.
• Ability to design, deploy, and manage secure, scalable, highly available Azure solutions that support enterprise business requirements.
• Experience governing multi-subscription Azure environments using Azure Management Groups, Azure Policy, and Azure Landing Zones.
• Knowledge of cloud financial management, Azure Cost Management, budgeting, resource optimization, and cost governance.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation using Python, PowerShell, Azure CLI, or other automation frameworks; the posting also lists Bash and NodeJS.
• Expertise with monitoring, logging, and observability solutions such as Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Microsoft Sentinel, and third-party monitoring platforms.
• Experience troubleshooting and optimizing Azure resource and workload performance, availability, and reliability.
• Understanding of Azure security architecture, governance, compliance, and regulatory frameworks, including HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, and industry-specific standards.
• Experience implementing encryption, key management, identity management, and privileged access controls using Azure Key Vault and Microsoft Entra ID.
• Knowledge of Azure data platform services, including Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Lake Storage.
• Experience with database performance optimization, high-availability configurations, backup and recovery planning, and disaster recovery strategies.
• Familiarity with CI/CD methodologies and DevOps practices using Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, and related deployment tools.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Container Apps, and Azure Container Instances.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to diagnose complex cloud infrastructure, networking, and application issues.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to business-focused and non-technical stakeholders and executives.
• Ability to prioritize competing initiatives, manage multiple workstreams, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Strong attention to detail regarding operational excellence, system stability, reliability, security, and data integrity.
• Experience leading technical projects and collaborating across cross-functional teams.
• Strong documentation and architectural design skills.
• Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, security trends, tools, and industry best practices.

Nice To Haves

• Deep hands-on EDIFECS experience with Electronic Data Interchange X.12 transaction standards and workflows, including medical claims transactions (837, 834, 835, 277, etc.), 270/271 and 278/275 transactions, and 999 transactions.
• Advanced Azure certifications, including Microsoft Certified DevOps Engineer Expert, Azure Administrator Associate, and Azure Security Engineer Associate.

Responsibilities

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of customer requirements using domain expertise.
• Lead development of complete solutions that meet requirements and result in price-competitive proposals.
• Collaborate with business development, capture, proposal, and other team members to optimize proposed solutions.
• Identify technical staffing needs for Pre-Bid and Proposal (B&P) activities and coordinate assignment of technical personnel to proposal efforts.
• Coordinate with technical leadership and contributors on solution development, proposal writing, and estimating.
• Provide subject matter expertise to meet customer technical, schedule, and cost requirements within applicable risk parameters.
• Work with the Enterprise Architect to design, implement, and govern secure, scalable, and highly available Azure cloud architectures aligned with enterprise standards, business objectives, security requirements, and government cloud best practices.
• Contribute to the development of new concepts, techniques, and standards.
• Establish goals to meet assigned objectives and guide team members in accordance with established policies.
• Develop innovative solutions to complex problems and ensure solutions are consistent with organizational objectives.
• Determine the technical objectives of assignments.
• Lead cloud transformation initiatives and collaborate with cross-functional infrastructure, security, development, and business teams.
• Mentor engineers, architects, and technical teams, fostering knowledge sharing and technical growth.
• Create and maintain solution designs, standards, operational procedures, system configurations, processes, and governance documentation.
• Manage and contribute to multiple complex projects while ensuring delivery within established timelines and adherence to architectural standards.
• Troubleshoot and optimize Azure resource and workload performance, availability, reliability, security, and data integrity.
• Apply cloud financial management practices, including budgeting, resource optimization, and cost governance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal