We are seeking an experienced Senior DevOps & Infrastructure Lead to architect and implement the cloud infrastructure for our educational platform. You will lead a team of 1-2 infrastructure specialists and be responsible for designing scalable, secure, and reliable Azure-based infrastructure that can support rapid growth from single classroom to 25,000+ students. This role requires expertise in Azure services, serverless architectures, and international data compliance requirements.
Key Responsibilities
Infrastructure Architecture & Leadership
- Lead and mentor a team of 1-2 DevOps/Infrastructure professionals.
- Design and implement comprehensive Azure infrastructure supporting both server and serverless applications.
- Architect auto-scaling solutions to handle variable educational workloads and rapid user growth across the globe.
- Make critical infrastructure decisions in collaboration with Infrastructure Lead and development teams.
- Establish infrastructure standards, practices, and documentation across the organization.
Azure Cloud Infrastructure
- Design and deploy Azure Functions, Cosmos DB, and related server(less) infrastructure.
- Implement comprehensive monitoring and alerting systems for platform health and performance.
- Configure geo-redundant deployments across multiple Azure regions for high availability.
- Design and implement disaster recovery plans with defined RTO and RPO objectives.
- Optimize cloud costs while maintaining performance and reliability standards.
Security & Compliance
- Implement enterprise-grade security measures including DDoS protection and intrusion detection.
- Design and maintain secure CI/CD pipelines with proper access controls and audit logging.
- Ensure compliance with foreign, educational data privacy regulations (FERPA, GDPR, COPPA).
- Implement comprehensive backup strategies and data retention policies.
- Conduct security assessments and coordinate penetration testing efforts.
DevOps & Automation
- Design and implement CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions.
- Automate infrastructure provisioning using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).
- Implement comprehensive monitoring using Azure Application Insights and custom telemetry.
- Design and maintain testing environments (dev, test, staging, production).
- Establish automated deployment strategies with blue-green deployments and rollback capabilities.
Required Qualifications
Infrastructure Expertise
- 4-7+ years of DevOps/Infrastructure experience with 3+ years in leadership roles
- 3-5+ years of extensive Azure cloud services experience, particularly serverless architectures
- Expert knowledge of Azure Functions, Cosmos DB, Azure AD, and related services
- Proven experience designing infrastructure for applications supporting 10,000+ concurrent users
- Strong background in infrastructure automation, monitoring, and performance optimization
Security & Compliance
- Deep understanding of cloud security best practices and compliance frameworks.
- Knowledge of security monitoring, intrusion detection, and incident response procedures.
- Experience implementing enterprise-grade access controls and audit logging.
- Familiarity with penetration testing coordination and security assessment processes.
Technical Leadership
- Proven track record leading DevOps/Infrastructure teams through complex project deliveries.
- Experience mentoring junior engineers and establishing technical standards.
- Strong collaboration skills with development teams and technical leadership.
- Ability to make critical infrastructure decisions under pressure and tight timelines.
- Experience collaborating with overseas/distributed infrastructure teams.
Educational Technology Experience
- Experience with educational platform infrastructure requirements and scaling challenges.
- Understanding of learning management system deployment and operational requirements.
- Knowledge of data analytics infrastructure supporting real-time educational insights.
- Familiarity with content delivery networks and media management for educational content.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration.
- Background with gaming platform infrastructures.
- Knowledge of Microsoft Fabric or similar data platform services.
- Experience with cost optimization strategies with Azure products.
- Familiarity with accessibility compliance infrastructure requirements.
- Azure certifications (Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure DevOps Engineer Expert).
Specific Infrastructure Challenges
Rapid Scaling Requirements
- Design infrastructure that scales from single classroom (January MVP) to 25,000+ students (August launch).
- Implement auto-scaling strategies that handle peak educational usage patterns (start of semester, exam periods).
- Optimize for cost efficiency during low-usage periods while maintaining rapid scale-up capabilities.
Multi-Modal Integration
- Support integration with external gaming platforms with real-time data exchange
- Design infrastructure for content delivery across multiple modalities (web, mobile, gaming platforms)
- Implement real-time analytics processing for data collection across diverse user interactions.
Educational Compliance & Security
- Implement comprehensive data protection measures for student privacy and educational records.
- Design audit logging and compliance reporting systems for educational institution requirements.
- Ensure high availability and data integrity for mission-critical educational platform operations.
