Cloud Engineer

Medica is a nonprofit health plan with more than a million members that serves communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, and beyond. We deliver personalized health care experiences and partner closely with providers to ensure members are genuinely cared for.

We're a team that owns our work with accountability, makes data-driven decisions, embraces continuous learning, and celebrates collaboration - because success is a team sport. It's our mission to be there in the moments that matter most for our members and employees. Join us in creating a community of connected care, where coordinated, quality service is the norm and every member feels valued.

We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Azure Platform Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of our cloud infrastructure on Microsoft Azure, ensuring optimal performance, scalability, and security for our applications and services. This role will be responsible for guiding the team in leveraging Azure services effectively, architecting robust cloud solutions, and driving continuous improvement across our cloud infrastructure.

The Engineer works closely with multiple teams at Medica, including IT development, quality assurance, business analysis, systems support, information security, database analysis, business partners, and outside vendors. Agile development experience is necessary.

Broad technical knowledge is required, including Terraform, Azure Kubernetes, Azure Dev Ops, Power Shell Scripting, Java/J2EE applications and application servers, Oracle databases, Unix/Linux systems and scripting, and infrastructure automation. Health care background is a plus. Performs other duties as assigned.

• Cloud Architecture and Engineering
  • Architect and design complex Azure solutions, including compute, storage, networking, database, and security components, aligning with business requirements and best practices
  • Lead the evaluation and selection of appropriate Azure services based on performance, cost, and scalability needs
  • Develop comprehensive cloud architecture diagrams and documentation to ensure clarity and understanding across teams
• Implementation and Deployment
  • Oversee the implementation of Azure infrastructure, including provisioning, configuration, and deployment of cloud resources
  • Lead the migration of existing applications to Azure, ensuring seamless transition and minimal downtime
  • Automate infrastructure management tasks through Azure Dev Ops pipelines, Power Shell scripting, and other tools
• Performance Optimization
  • Monitor and analyze Azure resource utilization to identify performance bottlenecks and optimize cloud infrastructure for cost-efficiency
  • Implement scaling strategies to handle fluctuations in application traffic and ensure system responsiveness
  • Continuously evaluate and implement new Azure features and services to enhance performance and reliability
• Security and Compliance
  • Establish and maintain robust security policies and practices within the Azure environment, including identity management, access controls, and data encryption
  • Ensure compliance with industry regulations and security standards related to cloud infrastructure
  • Proactively identify and address potential security vulnerabilities
• Collaboration and Integration
  • Inspire and mature the Medica Cloud Engineering and Site Reliability practices through participation in Medica's Centers For Enablement (C4E) forums
  • Mentor and guide junior Azure engineers on best practices, technical development, and problem-solving
  • Foster a collaborative team environment, promoting knowledge sharing and continuous learning
  • Provide technical leadership on cloud initiatives and guide the team through complex technical challenges
  • Work with Medica and vendor teams to ensure Cloud Hosted solutions are incorporated into Medica's performance targets and goals
  • Work with Business Enablement teams to identify end user-centric measurement points and establish KPI's related to performance
  • Create performance tuning strategies for IT and business partners
  • Work with IT and business teams to carry out application performance assessments
  • Drive the tactical plans to achieve the long term vision, which is maximizing the experience for Medica customers
  • Help evaluate software and hardware vendors targeted for possible integration into Medica's systems

• Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, or equivalent experience in related field
• 7 years of work experience beyond degree

• Required
  • Deep Expertise in Microsoft Azure - minimum 6 years
  • Proven experience in designing, implementing, and managing a wide range of Azure services including Compute (VMs, AKS), Storage, Networking, Databases (SQL, Cosmos DB), and Security
  • Proficiency in Azure Dev Ops pipelines, Power Shell scripting, and infrastructure as code (IaC) practices.
  • Experience with Ant and Maven build and version control tools
  • Experience with version control tools like SVN and Git
  • Solid understanding of…