Cloud Architect

Dentons Canada is committed to its people and communities. We are consistently recognized as an employer of choice having received numerous awards including being selected as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2024); Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2024); Alberta Top 80 Employers (2024), Canada’s Best Diversity Employers (2023); Mansfield Rule 4.0+ Certification; Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards, North America 2021; and Canada Law Awards for Pro Bono Initiative of the Year 2021.
 
This role is an opportunity for you to join the world’s largest law firm, a firm that offers opportunities to build your career while growing your skills and deepening your expertise.

ROLE

Dentons Canada LLP is currently recruiting for a Cloud Architect Engineer who will be responsible for designing and implementing scalable, secure, and efficient cloud solutions based on Microsoft Azure. This role involves collaborating with stakeholders, understanding business requirements, and translating them into well-architected Azure solutions. The ideal candidate should have extensive knowledge of Azure services, architecture best practices, and a deep understanding of cloud technologies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES
 

Solution Design

• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand business requirements and design scalable and cost-effective solutions on the Azure platform.
• Create detailed architecture diagrams, documentation, and design specifications for Azure-based projects.
• Define best practices and standards for Azure solution architecture.

Azure Infrastructure Management and Planning

• Design and implement Azure infrastructure components, including virtual networks, virtual machines, storage solutions, and PaaS/IaaS services.
• Evaluate and recommend appropriate Azure services based on project requirements.
• Architect solutions for high availability, disaster recovery, and scalability.

Security and Compliance

• Develop and implement security measures to safeguard Azure environments.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards.
• Ensure platforms remain highly resilient to meet availability expectations in accordance with defined business requirements. This includes the oversight of disaster recovery testing. 
• Collaborate with the security team to conduct regular security assessments and implement security best practices.

Monitoring and Incident Response

• Establish and maintain proactive monitoring for Azure services, identifying and addressing performance bottlenecks and potential issues.
• Respond to and troubleshoot incidents, ensuring timely resolution of Azure-related problems.
• Ensure platforms remain highly resilient to meet availability expectations in accordance with defined business requirements. This includes the oversight of disaster recovery testing. 
• Collaborate with the security team to implement and enhance Azure security measures.

Performance Optimization

• Optimize Azure resources for cost, performance, and efficiency.
• Implement best practices for scalability, high availability, and disaster recovery in Azure environments.
• Conduct performance analysis and tuning of Azure-based applications and services.

Automation and Scripting

• Develop automation templates, scripts, and processes to enable the optimized and consistent delivery of supported platforms.
• Ensure platforms remain cloud optimized, taking advantage of cloud capabilities such as auto-scaling and service automation.
• Implement automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks and improve operational efficiency.

Operational Support

• Participate in the change management process to help manage change across the environment. 
• Provide operational assistance and oversight in support of Azure supported platforms and services. 
• Assist with the patching, capacity planning, and administration of services alongside Operations. 
• Monitor, plan and deliver platform upgrades and updates with the support of the Operations team.
• Manage and coordinate vendors activities to ensure the successful support of platforms.

Collaboration with IT Teams

• Work closely with other IT teams to understand application requirements and assist in the deployment and management of cloud-native applications.
• Collaborate on designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines for Azure-based applications.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to junior team members.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills with impeccable attention to detail.
• In-depth knowledge of Azure services, Azure Resource Manager (ARM), and Azure DevOps.
• Proficiency in scripting languages such as PowerShell, Python, or Azure CLI.
• Experience with monitoring tools and incident response in cloud environments.
• Strong understanding of cloud security principles and best practices.
• Exceptional troubleshooting, investigation, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify and mitigate problems quickly and effectively.
• Highest level of judgment, discretion and integrity dealing with confidential and/or sensitive matters
• Team-oriented with a collaborative, knowledge-sharing nature.
• Experience working with external vendors and service providers.
• Demonstrates how to Act as One by being a team player across the Firm Experience working with external vendors and service providers.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
• Ability to create VISIO documentation for clearly documenting implementations, changes, and new installations.
• Able to work flexible hours.
• Potential requirement for travel within Canada to participate in projects as needed.
• Demonstrated commitment to privacy and ethical conduct.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE & CERTIFICATIONS

• Post-secondary education with a specialization in Information Technology and / or minimum of 8 years of Information Technology experience.
• Minimum 5 years of experience managing Azure Cloud infrastructure.  
• Extensive experience in designing and implementing solutions on the Azure platform.
• Strong understanding of cloud computing concepts, architecture patterns, and best practices.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation tools (e.g., PowerShell, Python).
• Relevant Microsoft certifications such as Azure Administrator Associate or Azure Solutions Architect Expert are required.

*We thank all applicants who apply, however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

At Dentons we are committed to offering equitable and competitive pay, we achieve this by aligning internal salary ranges for specific roles to similar positions in the external market. In the normal course, our practice is to hire, transfer and promote employees within the entry part of our range, adjusting as needed based on the prior experience, skills and competencies required for the role along with any market differentials.  Rest assured the full salary range is competitive and within the range paid for similar positions in the external market.  
 
Recognizing our exceptional talent means providing a comprehensive total rewards package beyond a competitive salary. We have prudently curated our employee benefits portfolio to offer inclusive and comprehensive wellbeing and developmental programs for our people. With extended benefits and mental health plans, paid time off, savings plans, fitness subsidy, parental leave top up and more, our benefits are flexible, aligned to our core values and supports the various needs of our people. Additionally, our personal and professional development programs include people networks, mentorships, and leadership series programming to help people grow their career. 
 
Note: Availability of the benefits and perks may be subject to your location and employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements. Dentons reserves the right to alter these programs and offerings in whole or in part at any time without advance notice.

Equal Opportunity Statement

At Dentons Canada, inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) are not just ancillary values, they are foundational to our business. We believe that ID&E is essential to the shared success of our team and our clients. Our forward-thinking and inclusive culture supports the professional development of all our people, enhances the leading services we offer to our clients, and informs our commitment to make a positive impact in the communities where we live and work. As a testament to our commitment to ID&E, we have been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employer’s for 12 consecutive years (2011-2022), as well as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2022) for the fifth time.

Dentons Canada is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome your application. All employment decisions, including hiring, will be made without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, colour, creed, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender assigned at birth, gender identity, marital status, place of origin, race, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable human rights legislation.

We are committed to providing you with an inclusive, barrier-free and accessible workplace to support your success. Should you require accommodation during the recruitment process, for example as a result of a disability, please contact us at careers.canada@dentons.com.