Principal Microsoft Cloud Platform Engineer
Orange County, California | Onsite 5 days per week | Confidential search
HireDirectNow is conducting a confidential search for a senior Microsoft cloud platform owner at a large, publicly traded global healthcare / medical technology company. This is not a ticket-queue or “keep the lights on” role. You will be the technical authority and service owner for the Microsoft cloud ecosystem — architecture, engineering, automation, governance, operational excellence, and vendor oversight.
The environment supports 5,000+ users. You will partner with infrastructure, cybersecurity, application, and managed service provider (MSP) teams to make Microsoft 365, Entra ID, and Azure more reliable, more secure, and more automated.
Location
Must live within a commutable distance of Orange County, California (North OC / Brea, Irvine corridor). This role is onsite 5 days per week. It is not hybrid and not remote. The company plans an office relocation within Orange County in 2028; candidates must be able to commute to both the current and future OC sites.
What you will own
- Microsoft cloud platform strategy, architecture, engineering standards, and lifecycle
- Technical authority for Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Azure, Defender, Purview, and related services
- Engineering standards, architecture patterns, governance guardrails, and platform roadmaps
- Service ownership: strategy, health, lifecycle, governance, and technical oversight of MSP delivery
- Automation, standardization, documentation, and reduction of single-person / vendor knowledge risk
- Mentoring of engineers and architecture reviews — leadership through expertise, not span of control
Microsoft 365
Lead engineering for Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Defender, Purview, and M365 administration. Drive reliability, lifecycle, security, and service improvement.
Identity and security
Lead Entra ID, Conditional Access, Identity Governance, PIM, federation, and authentication. Partner with Cybersecurity on enterprise identity posture.
Azure platform
Own landing zones, governance, networking, RBAC, Azure Policy, Monitor, Backup, Site Recovery, Azure Virtual Desktop, and platform security. Enable application and infrastructure teams to adopt cloud without breaking compliance or operations.
Automation and platform engineering
Increase Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD using Terraform, Bicep, ARM, PowerShell, Azure Automation, Azure DevOps, and GitHub. Build reusable patterns so the platform scales without heroics.
Operations and vendor partnership
Own reliability, DR readiness, monitoring, technical-debt reduction, and documentation. Serve as primary technical partner to Microsoft and the MSP. Hold MSP delivery to approved architecture, process, automation, and roadmap standards.
Must-haves
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
- 10+ years enterprise Microsoft infrastructure
- 7+ years Microsoft 365 and Azure engineering
- Experience in environments supporting 5,000+ users
- Deep hands-on expertise with Entra ID, Exchange Online, Azure architecture and governance, disaster recovery, PowerShell, and Infrastructure as Code
- Experience partnering with managed service providers
- Proven work establishing platform governance, architecture standards, and technology roadmaps
- Experience in a platform engineering, Cloud Center of Excellence, or service-ownership model
- Ability to work onsite in Orange County 5 days per week
Technical environment
Azure, Microsoft 365, Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Entra ID, Defender, Purview, Sentinel, Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Virtual Desktop, PowerShell, Terraform, Bicep, ARM, Azure DevOps, GitHub, CI/CD, REST APIs, Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, PKI, networking, disaster recovery, and cloud governance.
Preferred
- Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert, Azure Administrator, Identity and Access Administrator, or Security certifications
- FastTrack, tenant migrations, M&A integration, enterprise governance, or platform-engineering build-outs
Compensation
Good-faith base salary range for this role: $187,300 – $228,900. Actual pay depends on skills, experience, certifications, and business needs. The total package may include annual performance bonus, medical/dental/vision, 401(k) match, and other applicable plans. It is not typical to be hired at or near the top of the range.
How to apply
This is a confidential search represented by HireDirectNow. Apply here or message us privately to discuss fit. We do not share your profile with the client without your permission.
Equal opportunity employer. We welcome qualified applicants of all backgrounds.
