Senior Cloud Expert

(Governance, Audit & Control – Not Execution)

Role Purpose

We are seeking a Senior Microsoft Cloud & IT Infrastructure Governance Expert to ensure that all Microsoft cloud and hybrid infrastructure services are operated in a controlled, compliant, cost-efficient, and enterprise-aligned manner.

This role is responsible for governance, auditing, and enforcement of standards across Microsoft cloud platforms and IT infrastructure environments.

The position does not perform day-to-day execution or implementation.
Execution remains owned by the IT Admin and operational teams.

The Governance Expert ensures:

• The right rules exist
• Systems follow approved standards
• Risks and inefficiencies are detected early
• Infrastructure remains stable, optimized, and documented

Scope of Ownership

This role owns governance responsibility for:

• Microsoft Azure cloud service governance
• Microsoft 365 & cloud platform control oversight (non-identity)
• Hybrid infrastructure governance (Cloud ↔ Datacenter Germany)
• Infrastructure compliance, documentation, and operational audit
• Cost governance and workload lifecycle control
• Infrastructure standards enforcement across IT Admin execution

Explicit Role Boundaries (Critical)

The Governance Expert:

✅ Audits and governs Microsoft cloud and infrastructure environments
✅ Defines and enforces operational standards and compliance requirements
✅ Approves implementations and reviews changes
✅ Provides transparency to IT leadership

The Governance Expert does NOT:

❌ Deploy or operate workloads directly (IT Admin owns execution)
❌ Own Entra ID / Identity operations (Microsoft Expert owns this)
❌ Own security monitoring or policy definition (IT Security Expert owns this)
❌ Manage on-prem servers and virtualization operations (Server Expert owns this)

Key Responsibilities

1. Microsoft Cloud & Infrastructure Governance

• Establish and maintain governance controls for Microsoft cloud services
• Ensure Azure and hybrid workloads follow approved enterprise architecture
• Detect and prevent “cloud drift” from standards
• Act as the control authority for infrastructure compliance

2. Cloud & Infrastructure Auditing (Core Mission)

• Perform recurring audits of cloud and infrastructure environments, including:
  • Workload purpose validation
  • Resource sprawl detection
  • Backup and recovery coverage
  • Subscription structure and tagging compliance
  • Operational risk exposure

Deliverable: Monthly Governance & Audit Report

3. Cloud Cost & Resource Governance

• Monitor Microsoft cloud cost trends and resource efficiency
• Identify:
  • Over-provisioned services
  • Wasteful resource consumption
  • Unused or legacy workloads
• Recommend optimization actions for IT Admin execution
• Provide cost transparency to IT leadership

4. Hybrid Infrastructure Governance (Germany Datacenter Alignment)

• Govern connectivity and infrastructure consistency between:
  • On-premises datacenter (Germany)
  • Microsoft Cloud environments
• Review architecture compliance and operational stability
• Ensure hybrid services remain documented and controlled

5. Change Control & Standards Enforcement

• Review and approve infrastructure and cloud changes before execution
• Ensure implementations meet defined governance, security, and cost boundaries
• Maintain infrastructure governance checklists and validation procedures

6. Documentation & Operational Control Framework

• Ensure infrastructure documentation is complete and accurate:
  • Deployment baselines
  • Governance SOPs
  • Runbooks and escalation models
  • Integration flow diagrams
• Validate that executed implementations match documented reality

7. Leadership Advisory & Infrastructure Transparency

• Serve as the infrastructure governance advisor to IT leadership
• Provide clear answers on:
  • What runs in Microsoft Cloud today
  • What is unnecessary or risky
  • What should be optimized or retired
  • Governance gaps that require action

Required Languages

• 8+ years in IT infrastructure, cloud platforms, or enterprise governance roles
• Strong background in Microsoft cloud environments and hybrid infrastructures
• Proven experience in governance, auditing, compliance enforcement, and operational control
• Structured mindset for documentation, risk control, and standardization

Mandatory Technical Expertise

Governance Domains

• Microsoft Azure governance frameworks
• Infrastructure lifecycle control
• Hybrid cloud operational governance
• Cost governance and workload accountability

Tools & Platforms

• Azure Policy (governance usage)
• Resource Graph and cloud inventory reporting
• Infrastructure documentation and compliance tracking
• ITSM governance processes

Certifications (At Least One Required)

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
  OR
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Strongly Preferred:

• Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
• HashiCorp Terraform Associate (governance-level understanding)

Success Criteria

• Microsoft cloud and infrastructure environments remain compliant and controlled
• No uncontrolled drift or undocumented deployments
• Clear audit transparency for leadership
• Optimized cloud spending and workload accountability
• Stable hybrid governance across Germany datacenter and cloud
• Strong documentation and enforced operational standards

One-Line Role Definition

This role is the governance and audit authority ensuring Microsoft Cloud and IT Infrastructure remain compliant, controlled, optimized, and aligned — while IT Admin teams execute implementation work.