Associate Director, Microsoft Cloud Architect, Cyber Resilience and Recovery

Job summary

Leads the design and delivery of cyber resilience and recovery architectures that help critical services withstand cyberattacks and recover within regulatory impact tolerances across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. The role combines senior client advisory with hands-on leadership of complex engagements, developing reference architectures and recovery testing approaches using technologies such as Azure Site Recovery, Azure Backup, and Microsoft Defender. It also includes mentoring architecture teams and contributing thought leadership, particularly in regulated sectors.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and delivering enterprise-scale cloud and hybrid architectures across major providers; Azure preferred.
• Deep expertise in cyber resilience and recovery architecture, including isolated recovery environments, immutable backups, recovery testing, and demanding RTO/RPO targets.
• Experience designing for ransomware, malware containment, resilient restoration, and business continuity and disaster recovery.
• Track record developing reference architectures, blueprints, target operating designs, and architecture standards.
• Experience in or with financial services, or energy, resources, and industrials, including understanding of regulatory and control environments.
• Understanding of operational resilience regulation, impact tolerances, DORA, third-party risk, and resilience testing expectations.
• Ability to advise senior stakeholders, shape strategy, build business cases, and communicate a clear point of view.
• Experience leading architecture on complex engagements or programmes and balancing business needs with security, cost, operability, and risk.
• Consulting, advisory, or comparable client-facing experience, including contributing to proposals and practice growth.
• Strong communication and presentation skills for technical and executive audiences.
• Knowledge of cloud security, Zero Trust, identity security, privileged access management, and secure landing zones.

Responsibilities

• Define and embed cyber resilience and recovery reference architectures across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
• Design isolated recovery environments, immutable and air-gapped backups, and tested restoration capabilities for critical services.
• Advise senior stakeholders on resilience strategy, impact tolerances, and recovery roadmaps.
• Lead architecture workstreams on complex engagements from strategy through delivery.
• Integrate operational resilience, third-party risk, and data protection requirements into operable and testable designs.
• Strengthen recovery from destructive cyber events through testing, threat-led exercises, and anomaly detection.
• Develop thought leadership and represent the practice at industry forums.
• Mentor architects and engineers, develop reusable assets, and support bids and practice growth.

Skills

Certifications

Industry

Relocation