Azure IoT DevOps Specialist

We're seeking Azure IoT DevOps Specialist(Freelancer) to lead the architecture, development, and operational excellence of our next-generation industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions. This is a senior-level role demanding deep technical expertise in both Azure IoT services and advanced DevOps practices, with a focus on scalability, security, and industrial integration.

Key Responsibilities

I. Solution Architecture and Development Leadership

• Lead the design and hands-on implementation of resilient and secure IIoT solutions utilizing the Azure IoT suite (IoT Hub, IoT Edge, IoT Central, Device Provisioning Service).
• Architect and develop serverless and containerized backend services using Azure Functions, App Services, Azure Container Registry (ACR), and Docker to process high-volume, real-time telemetry data.
• Collaborate with enterprise architects to define scalable application frameworks and integrate industrial protocols such as OPC UA and MQTT with enterprise systems for seamless data flow.
• Contribute to workflow and governance automation using Azure Logic Apps and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) for Identity & Access Management (IAM) and governance.

II. DevOps and Infrastructure Automation

• Drive the implementation and maintenance of robust, end-to-end CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions) for infrastructure and application code.
• Own the Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) strategy, utilizing Terraform to provision and manage the entire IoT infrastructure, including Azure IoT Hubs, networking, and security resources.
• Guide the team in advanced containerization and Kubernetes orchestration (e.g., AKS or K3s on Edge devices) for optimal resource utilization and deployment consistency.
• Implement and champion Observability practices, including advanced monitoring, tracing, and logging using Azure Monitor/Application Insights and potentially open-source tools like Prometheus and Grafana.
• Define and implement high-availability (HA), disaster recovery (DR), and business continuity strategies for critical IoT workloads.

III. Data and Security

• Establish and optimize data pipelines using Azure Data Services such as Service Bus, Event Hub, Stream Analytics, and Azure Data Explorer for ingestion and analysis.
• Apply strong working knowledge of various data stores, including SQL Azure Database, CosmosDB (NoSQL), and Azure Blob Storage, focusing on efficient data modeling for IoT time-series data.
• Enforce and audit security best practices across the entire IoT stack, covering device identity, secure communication (PKI), platform security, and Entra ID federation (ADFS, etc.).

Required Qualifications

• 6+ years of progressive experience in Software Development, DevOps Engineering, and complex IoT solution delivery.
• Deep, expert-level proficiency in the Azure IoT suite and a proven track record of designing and deploying mission-critical, production-scale IoT/IIoT systems.
• Mastery of IaC principles and extensive hands-on experience with Terraform for provisioning and managing Azure infrastructure.
• Strong command of containerization (Docker) and production-grade Kubernetes (AKS) orchestration.
• Solid experience integrating industrial machine-to-machine (M2M) protocols (e.g., OPC UA, Modbus, MQTT) and working with telemetry data pipelines.
• Excellent working knowledge of Azure security models, networking, business continuity, and disaster recovery architectures.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience with advanced IoT data processing and analytics, including Azure Stream Analytics and Machine Learning at the Edge.
• Familiarity with other components of the Azure Digital Twins and industrial suite (Azure Digital Twins, Azure IoT Fabric, Twin Builder).
• Practical experience with high-throughput messaging systems like Kafka or RabbitMQ.
• Active professional certification such as Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer Specialty or Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert.Role & responsibilities

Preferred candidate profile