Solutions Architect

Syms Strategic Group, LLC (SSG) • Annapolis, 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 develops comprehensive customer solutions and leads solution development for competitive proposals, coordinating technical contributors and ensuring proposed approaches meet technical, schedule, cost, risk, and organizational objectives. The position works closely with the Enterprise Architect on secure, scalable, and highly available Azure cloud architectures aligned with enterprise standards, business objectives, security requirements, and government cloud best practices.

The architect also provides technical guidance to team members, develops concepts and standards, and solves complex problems using ingenuity and innovation. The role requires extensive Azure architecture, infrastructure, security, networking, governance, data-platform, automation, monitoring, DevOps, and containerization expertise, as well as experience leading cloud transformations and collaborating across technical and business teams.

This is a 100% U.S.-based remote, W-2 position. U.S. citizenship is required, and candidates must possess or qualify for a Public Trust (MBI). Candidates located in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, or Washington will not be considered. Applicants may be subject to a government security investigation and background screening.

Requirements

• 10 or more 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 track record designing, deploying, and managing Azure infrastructure and services.
• Experience with large-scale, highly available, scalable cloud architectures and enterprise Azure solutions.
• 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 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.
• Experience establishing and governing multi-subscription Azure environments with Azure Management Groups, Azure Policy, and Azure Landing Zones.
• Knowledge of Azure Cost Management, budgeting, resource optimization, and cost governance.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation with Python, PowerShell, Azure CLI, or other automation frameworks; the posting also lists Bash and NodeJS.
• Expertise with monitoring, logging, and observability tools 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.
• 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 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 to diagnose and resolve complex cloud infrastructure, networking, application, and cloud-related issues.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including explaining technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and translating them into business-focused recommendations for stakeholders and executives.
• Ability to prioritize competing initiatives, manage multiple workstreams and projects, manage time effectively, and meet established deadlines while delivering high-quality outcomes.
• Strong attention to detail to support operational excellence, system reliability and stability, security, and data integrity.
• Ability to mentor technical teams, lead technical projects, and collaborate across functions.
• Strong documentation and architectural design skills, including creating and maintaining solution designs, system configurations, standards, processes, operational procedures, and governance documentation.
• Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with Azure and cloud 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 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 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 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 new concepts, techniques, and standards.
• Establish goals and determine technical objectives for assignments, receiving objectives and providing guidance to team members in accordance with established policies.
• Develop innovative solutions to complex problems and ensure solutions support organizational objectives.
• Lead cloud transformation initiatives and collaborate with infrastructure, security, development, and business teams.
• Create and maintain solution designs, standards, operational procedures, and governance documentation.
• Troubleshoot and optimize the performance, availability, and reliability of Azure resources and workloads.
• Mentor engineers, architects, and technical teams and foster knowledge sharing and technical growth.
• Manage and contribute to multiple complex projects while delivering within timelines and adhering to architectural standards.

What This Job Offers

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