Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Azure AD IAM Solution Integrator

🎯 Role Definition

We are seeking an experienced Azure AD IAM Solution Integrator to design, build, and operate enterprise-grade identity and access solutions using Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID) and related Microsoft identity technologies. This role is accountable for architecting hybrid and cloud-only identity designs, integrating SaaS applications and custom workloads with secure SSO and provisioning, implementing Conditional Access and MFA strategies, automating identity lifecycle processes, and ensuring identity controls meet compliance and Zero Trust objectives. The ideal candidate blends hands-on engineering (PowerShell, MS Graph, SCIM, OAuth/SAML/OIDC) with stakeholder-facing architecture, program execution, and operational runbook creation.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Identity Engineer / IAM Analyst
Azure Cloud Engineer with IAM focus
Active Directory / Windows Server Engineer

Advancement To:

Senior Identity Architect / Lead IAM Architect
Cloud Security Architect (Zero Trust)
Director of Identity & Access Management / Head of IAM

Lateral Moves:

Cloud Solutions Architect (Azure)
Security Engineering or PAM Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the end-to-end design and implementation of Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID) solutions including hybrid identity with Azure AD Connect, federation alternatives (ADFS, Ping, Okta), and full lifecycle provisioning using SCIM and API-driven connectors to enterprise SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow and HR systems.
Architect and implement Conditional Access policies and MFA strategies to enforce Zero Trust access controls across users, devices, locations and application contexts; validate policy efficacy through pilot deployments and phased rollouts aligned to business risk tolerance.
Design, deploy and operate Privileged Identity Management (PIM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) workflows for just-in-time (JIT) privileged elevation, approval workflows, session monitoring and privileged access audit trails to reduce standing privileges and meet compliance requirements.
Plan and execute large-scale migrations from on-premises identity systems (ADFS, legacy SSO, local AD) to Azure AD/Entra ID including coexistence strategies, cutover plans, rollback contingencies and post-migration validation to minimize user impact.
Build and maintain SAML, OAuth 2.0, and OpenID Connect (OIDC) integrations for internal and third-party applications, handling custom claims transformations, certificate lifecycle, token issuance and secure application registration patterns.
Implement automated identity lifecycle management and provisioning using SCIM, Microsoft Graph API, Azure Logic Apps or Azure Functions to synchronize identity attributes from authoritative sources (HRIS, ERP) and enforce role-based access and entitlement revocation workflows.
Use Microsoft Graph, PowerShell, Azure AD Connect and REST APIs to automate repetitive tasks, implement bulk user and group operations, produce scripted remediations, and maintain an automated identity-as-code approach for repeatability and auditability.
Define and embed identity governance practices including access review campaigns, entitlement cataloguing, role mining and role-based access control (RBAC) design to ensure least privilege access and regular certification of access rights.
Develop and maintain a secure application registration and consent model including service principals, managed identities, certificate-based authentication, and secure client secret management to support DevOps, microservices and CI/CD pipelines.
Design and execute scalability and performance planning for Azure AD authentication and provisioning workloads, simulate peak loads, and tune configurations to ensure reliability of SSO and sign-in throughput for global user populations.
Create and maintain detailed architecture diagrams, technical design documents, runbooks, playbooks and knowledge transfer materials for identity operations, incident response, and recovery procedures to support 24/7 operations and on-call rotations.
Lead identity risk assessments, threat modeling and user sign-in risk remediation designs leveraging Azure AD Identity Protection, Conditional Access risk policies and integrated threat analytics to reduce account compromise risk.
Integrate and manage B2B and B2C identity scenarios, enabling external partner access, collaboration across tenants, customer identity flows and consent frameworks while ensuring privacy, tenant isolation and governance controls.
Serve as technical owner for identity-related compliance and audit requirements (SOX, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI), produce evidence for auditors, map controls to identity capabilities, and remediate control gaps with automated evidence collection.
Partner with application owners, infrastructure teams and security operations to onboard applications for SSO, entitlement mapping and identity risk monitoring; run technical workshops, threat sessions and migration planning with stakeholders.
Implement certificate lifecycle and federation trust management for enterprise SSO, maintain CA integrations, manage token signing and encryption certificates, and coordinate certificate renewals with minimal disruption.
Manage vendor integrations and third-party identity providers, assess identity provider security posture, and negotiate SAML/OIDC/SCSM connector implementations and licensing considerations.
Build identity telemetry, monitoring and reporting for authentication anomalies, service health, sign-in patterns and entitlement changes using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools.
Troubleshoot complex sign-in and federation failures across hybrid environments, perform root cause analysis, implement permanent fixes, and track metrics for mean time to resolution (MTTR).
Design and implement access provisioning workflows tied to HR processes and onboarding/offboarding automation, ensuring timely deprovisioning and reducing orphaned accounts and stale entitlements.
Collaborate with DevOps and cloud platform teams to implement secure managed identities, service principals and workload identities for microservices, serverless functions and infrastructure-as-code deployments.
Pilot and operationalize identity-centric security initiatives such as passwordless authentication (FIDO2, Windows Hello for Business), conditional access for modern authentication protocols, and migration strategies away from legacy protocols.
Mentor junior identity engineers, lead technical training sessions for operations teams, and create adoption-centric documentation targeted at business stakeholders to increase identity hygiene and security awareness.

Secondary Functions

Provide ongoing operational support for identity and access platforms, respond to on-call incidents, and coordinate escalations with Microsoft Support and third-party vendors.
Support ad-hoc identity audits, data requests and investigative activities for security incidents related to authentication or authorization failures.
Contribute to the organization's identity strategy and roadmap, prioritize identity improvements, and define measurable success criteria such as reduction in privileged accounts, improved conditional access coverage and decreased time-to-provision.
Collaborate with business units and application teams to translate functional access requirements into enforceable IAM technical designs and automated provisioning rules.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies with cross-functional teams when executing identity projects, ensuring backlog items map to compliance and security milestones.
Conduct user acceptance testing (UAT) and pilot cohorts for new identity features, gather feedback, implement refinements and drive enterprise-wide adoption.
Maintain training materials and deliver identity awareness sessions to business stakeholders about MFA enrollment, secure sign-in behaviors, and consent hygiene.
Maintain relationships with cloud platform, security and application teams to ensure identity changes are coordinated, scheduled and communicated to stakeholders to minimize business disruptions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep expertise in Azure Active Directory / Microsoft Entra ID design and operation, including tenant architecture, cross-tenant collaboration (B2B), and B2C customer identity scenarios.
Hands-on experience with Azure AD Connect, hybrid identity topologies, federation (ADFS) and migration strategies to Entra ID.
Strong knowledge of authentication and authorization protocols: SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), WS-Fed and JWT token mechanics.
Practical experience using Microsoft Graph API and PowerShell to automate identity lifecycle, reporting, and remedial tasks.
Experience implementing Conditional Access policies, MFA rollouts (phone, app, FIDO2), device compliance integration (Intune) and contextual access control.
Familiarity with Privileged Identity Management (PIM), Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), entitlement management and identity governance processes.
Ability to implement SCIM provisioning connectors, manage user attribute mappings, and troubleshoot provisioning synchronization issues.
Experience integrating SaaS providers and custom applications for SSO and SCIM-based provisioning (e.g., Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow).
Knowledge of identity-related security controls: Identity Protection, risk-based sign-in policies, passwordless authentication, and account compromise detection.
Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code tools (ARM templates, Bicep, Terraform) for repeatable identity deployments and service principal management.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps identities, managed identities for Azure resources, and secure secret/certificate management patterns.
Strong observability skills: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, SIEM integration for identity telemetry and alerting.
Familiarity with industry compliance frameworks and mapping identity controls to SOX, HIPAA, GDPR and other regulatory obligations.
Hands-on troubleshooting for federation trust, certificate lifecycle, token issuance errors and hybrid authentication failures.

Soft Skills

Excellent stakeholder management and the ability to translate technical identity concepts into business risk language for CISO, application owners and compliance teams.
Strong written and verbal communication skills for producing architecture documents, runbooks, and training materials.
Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical projects, coordinate multiple teams, and drive identity initiatives to completion on schedule.
Analytical problem-solving mindset with strong attention to detail and a security-first approach to design decisions.
Mentorship and coaching skills to uplift junior engineers and operational teams.
Adaptable and pragmatic: able to prioritize work based on risk, compliance deadlines and operational impact.
Customer-focused and collaborative: can run workshops, collect requirements and deliver friction-minimizing identity solutions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Information Systems, or related technical discipline; or equivalent hands-on experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or Engineering from an accredited institution.
Professional certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect, CISSP, or equivalent are strongly preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science / Software Engineering
Cybersecurity / Information Security
Information Systems / Network Engineering
Cloud Computing / Systems Architecture

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 4–10+ years of progressive experience in identity and access management, with at least 3+ years specifically focused on Azure AD / Microsoft Entra ID implementations.

Preferred:

5+ years of enterprise IAM experience including hybrid identity, SSO, federation, and provisioning.
Demonstrated delivery of at least one full tenant migration or large-scale Azure AD implementation, and hands-on experience with Microsoft Graph automation, Conditional Access design, and PIM.
Prior experience working in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government) and supporting audit/compliance requirements related to identity controls.