Solutions Architect

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG) • Ballenger Creek, MD

1d • $109,623 - $126,790 • Remote

About The Position

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking an experienced Solutions Architect for a full-time, fully remote position supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs. The role focuses on developing complete, price-competitive technical solutions for customer requirements and designing, implementing, and governing secure, scalable, highly available Azure cloud architectures aligned with enterprise standards, business objectives, security requirements, and government cloud best practices. The position requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI). The salary range is $109,623–$126,790. Candidates residing in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, or Washington will not be considered. This is a W-2 position.

The Solutions Architect works with business development, capture, proposal, technical leadership, and technical contributors to develop and document solutions, coordinate technical staffing for proposal efforts, and meet customer technical, schedule, and cost requirements within applicable risk parameters. The role also contributes to technical concepts and standards, establishes goals, guides team members, and solves complex problems in alignment with organizational objectives.

The role calls for extensive Azure architecture and operations expertise, including cloud security and governance, networking, data services, monitoring, cost management, automation, DevOps, and container technologies. The architect is expected to lead cloud transformation work, collaborate across infrastructure, security, development, and business teams, mentor technical staff, and maintain architectural and operational documentation. Desired experience includes hands-on EDIFECS work with healthcare EDI X12 transactions. Applicants’ screening-question answers must be supported by their resumes; interviews are conducted on Microsoft Teams with cameras on, and candidates will be asked to provide a LinkedIn profile link.

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 for this opportunity.
• Must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI).
• Proven experience 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), ARM templates, Azure Monitor, and Azure DNS.
• Experience implementing Azure security services and 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 for enterprise requirements.
• Experience governing multi-subscription Azure environments using Azure Management Groups, Azure Policy, and Azure Landing Zones.
• Knowledge of cloud financial management, including Azure Cost Management, budgeting, resource optimization, cost governance, and cloud cost optimization strategies.
• Proficiency in automation and scripting with Python, PowerShell, Azure CLI, or other scripting and automation frameworks; Bash and NodeJS are also listed.
• Expertise in monitoring, logging, and observability, including Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Microsoft Sentinel, and third-party monitoring platforms.
• Strong 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 services, including Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Lake Storage.
• Experience with database performance optimization, high availability, 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 abilities to diagnose complex cloud infrastructure, networking, application, and cloud-related issues.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to business-focused and non-technical stakeholders and executives.
• Ability to prioritize competing initiatives, manage multiple workstreams, and deliver high-quality outcomes within established timelines.
• Strong attention to detail to support operational excellence, system stability and reliability, security, and data integrity.
• Ability to lead technical projects and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Strong documentation and architectural design skills.
• Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with Azure and cloud technologies, tools, and industry trends.

Nice To Haves

• Deep hands-on EDIFECS experience with Electronic Data Interchange X12 transaction standards and key X12 workflows, including medical claims transactions 837, 834, 835, and 277; 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 the 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) and B&P activities, and coordinate technical personnel assignments 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, highly available Azure architectures aligned with enterprise standards, business objectives, security requirements, and government cloud best practices.
• Contribute to new concepts, techniques, and standards; establish goals to meet 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 technical objectives for assigned work.
• Troubleshoot and optimize the performance, availability, and reliability of Azure resources and workloads.
• Lead cloud transformation initiatives and collaborate with infrastructure, security, development, and business teams.
• Mentor engineers, architects, and technical teams, fostering knowledge sharing and technical growth.
• Create and maintain solution designs, architectural standards, operational procedures, system configurations, and governance documentation.
• Manage and contribute to multiple complex projects while meeting timelines and architectural standards.
• Stay current with Azure technologies, cloud-native architectures, security trends, tools, and industry best practices.

What This Job Offers

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