Azure Solutions Architect - Contractor

Location: Remote (U.S. Based) 

Type: Contract role
 

Company Description:  

Merkle, a dentsu company, powers the experience economy. For more than 35 years, the company has put people at the heart of its approach to digital business transformation. As the only integrated experience consultancy in the world with a heritage in data science and business performance, Merkle delivers holistic, end-to-end experiences that drive growth, engagement, and loyalty. Merkle’s expertise has earned recognition as a “Leader” by top industry analyst firms, in categories such as digital transformation and commerce, experience design, engineering and technology integration, digital marketing, data science, CRM and loyalty, and customer data management. With more than 16,000 employees, Merkle operates in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.   

Job Description: 

We are seeking an experienced Azure Architect (Contract) to lead the provisioning, and deployment of Sitecore-based solutions on Azure PaaS and Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS). The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in cloud architecture, infrastructure automation, and CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps. 

You will report to the Lead Solutions Architect. You will work closely with the Merkle development and client infrastructure teams to define scalable, secure, and high-performing Sitecore environments leveraging tools and best practices from Microsoft and Sitecore. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Architect and provision Sitecore environments on Azure App Services (PaaS) and AKS. 

• Define and implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Bicep, ARM templates, or Terraform. 

• Manage and support Azure resources including App Services, SQL Databases, Application Gateway, Azure Front Door, Azure Monitor, Key Vault, etc. 

• Integrate CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps, supporting both build and release processes. 

• Collaborate with stakeholders to design cloud architecture strategies that align with business and technical requirements. 

• Ensure cloud solutions are secure, scalable, resilient, and cost-optimized. 

• Troubleshoot infrastructure and deployment issues in Azure environments. 

• Support Sitecore upgrades, patches, and environment refreshes from an infrastructure standpoint. 

Required Qualifications: 

• 7+ years of experience in cloud and infrastructure architecture, with at least 3+ years focused on Azure. 

• Strong experience provisioning and scaling Sitecore XP on Azure PaaS and AKS. 

• Hands-on expertise with Docker, Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS), Helm charts, and containerized workloads. 

• Proficient with Azure DevOps Pipelines. 

• Proven experience in authoring and maintaining Infrastructure as Code (preferably with ARM Templates or Terraform). 

• Deep understanding of Azure networking, identity management, monitoring, and governance. 

• Strong scripting and automation skills (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Azure CLI). 

• Excellent communication and documentation skills. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Azure certifications (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect Expert, DevOps Engineer Expert). 

• Experience with Composable DXP or Headless Sitecore architectures. 

• Familiarity with GitHub Actions, or other CI/CD tooling. 

• Experience in multi-tenant, enterprise-grade deployments of Sitecore. 

Dentsu is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We do this without regard to race, color, national origin, sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religious practices and observances, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. 

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