Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Azure Cloud Security Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

We are hiring an Azure Cloud Security Engineer to design, implement, and operate enterprise-grade security controls across Azure environments. The ideal candidate will combine deep Azure platform expertise with hands-on security engineering, threat detection, compliance, and automation skills to reduce risk, detect and respond to threats, and enable secure cloud adoption. This role partners with cloud architects, platform engineers, developers and SOC teams to embed security across the CI/CD lifecycle and production operations.

Key focus areas: Azure-native security (Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Sentinel), identity and access management (Azure AD, PIM, Conditional Access), infrastructure and network security (NSGs, Azure Firewall, WAF), secrets and key management (Azure Key Vault, HSM), IaC and policy (ARM, Bicep, Terraform, Azure Policy), container and Kubernetes security (AKS), observability and threat hunting (KQL, Log Analytics), automation (PowerShell, Azure CLI, Logic Apps, Azure Functions), compliance (CIS, NIST, ISO), and incident response/playbook development.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Cloud Security Analyst / SOC Analyst with Azure experience
Cloud Engineer or Platform Engineer focused on Azure
Information Security Engineer with cloud project experience

Advancement To:

Senior Azure Cloud Security Engineer / Principal Cloud Security Engineer
Cloud Security Architect / Enterprise Cloud Security Architect
Head of Cloud Security / Director of Cloud Security

Lateral Moves:

DevSecOps Engineer (cloud-native focus)
Cloud Platform Engineer (security specialization)
Incident Response or Threat Hunting Lead (cloud focus)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, implement and maintain enterprise Azure security architecture, including secure subscriptions, management groups, resource groups, and network segmentation to enforce least-privilege and Zero Trust principles.
Configure and operate Microsoft Defender for Cloud (formerly Azure Security Center) to manage posture, vulnerability assessment, threat protection, and secure score remediation across multi-subscription environments.
Build, tune and maintain Azure Sentinel use-cases, analytics rules, workbooks and playbooks; develop Kusto Query Language (KQL) detections to identify suspicious behaviors, lateral movement, and credential misuse in cloud telemetry.
Design and implement identity and access management strategies using Azure Active Directory, Conditional Access policies, Privileged Identity Management (PIM), role-based access control (RBAC), managed identities and service principals.
Architect and enforce infrastructure-as-code (IaC) security by developing guardrails with Azure Policy, Initiative Definitions, Blueprints and automated policy remediation for ARM, Bicep and Terraform deployments.
Implement and manage key and secrets lifecycle using Azure Key Vault, manage HSM-backed keys, secret rotation, access controls, audit logging and secure provisioning for applications and automation.
Harden network security using NSGs, Application Gateway, Azure Firewall, Network Virtual Appliances, Web Application Firewall (WAF) and advanced routing to protect east-west and north-south traffic in virtual networks.
Integrate and automate vulnerability management processes by coordinating vulnerability scanning (Qualys, Nessus, or marketplace scanners), prioritizing fixes, and orchestrating remediation across cloud workloads and containers.
Secure container and Kubernetes deployments (AKS) by implementing pod security policies, network policies, image trust policies, runtime monitoring, admission controllers, and scanning images in Azure Container Registry (ACR).
Develop, maintain and validate CI/CD security pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions) to include SAST, DAST, dependency scanning, image scanning and secrets scanning as part of DevSecOps practices.
Lead incident response for cloud-specific incidents: triage, containment, eradication and recovery; produce post-incident reports and recommend controls to prevent recurrence.
Create and maintain cloud security runbooks, playbooks and automation for common incidents using Azure Logic Apps, Functions and Azure Automation to accelerate SOC response times and reduce manual tasks.
Implement logging, monitoring and observability: forward platform and workload logs to Log Analytics, configure diagnostic settings, retention policies and cost-effective log ingestion strategies for security telemetry.
Perform threat modeling and security risk assessments for new cloud services and application migrations, producing security design reviews and risk mitigation plans aligned to business requirements.
Enforce encryption at rest and in-transit strategies including TLS configurations, disk encryption, storage account encryption, managed identities for key access and BYOK/HSM approaches where required.
Manage and automate patching strategies for cloud VMs and container hosts using Update Management, Azure Automation and integration with configuration management tools.
Drive continuous compliance and audit readiness by mapping cloud controls to frameworks (CIS Benchmarks, NIST SP 800-53, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA), generating evidence and remediating non-compliant resources.
Build and manage threat hunting programs scoped to Azure environments: create hypotheses, hunt notebooks, custom detections and escalate findings to SOC and engineering teams.
Collaborate with application and platform teams to embed secure design patterns: secrets management, certificate lifecycle, client authentication, secure service-to-service communication using managed identities.
Implement and manage secure hybrid connectivity patterns: VPN, ExpressRoute, network encryption and inspect traffic flows for egress control and data exfiltration prevention.
Evaluate and integrate third-party cloud security tooling (CASB, CSPM, CNAPP, container security) to complement native Azure capabilities and reduce detection/response gaps.
Maintain asset and identity inventory in cloud-native and third-party CMDBs to support incident response, access reviews and risk assessments.
Provide mentorship and technical leadership to junior security engineers, run training sessions on Azure security best practices and drive cross-functional security awareness.
Monitor Azure security advisories, CVEs and vendor bulletins and proactively implement mitigations and compensating controls.
Establish governance processes for subscription onboarding, naming conventions, tagging, cost allocation and security baselines to ensure consistent security posture at scale.

Secondary Functions

Collaborate with platform, networking and application teams to translate business requirements into secure, automated Azure deployments.
Support cloud migration projects by performing security reviews, gap analysis and recommending re-architecture where necessary to meet security and compliance objectives.
Maintain documentation for cloud security architectures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), runbooks and FAQ guides tailored to operational teams and auditors.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies to prioritize security work and integrate security tasks into platform or application backlogs.
Provide subject matter expertise (SME) for internal and external audits, prepare artifact packages and respond to audit findings related to Azure controls.
Run tabletop exercises and incident simulations with SOC and engineering teams to validate playbooks and readiness for cloud security incidents.
Support cost optimization discussions by balancing telemetry coverage, retention and alerting with budget and risk considerations.
Engage with vendor and Microsoft support for escalations, service limits, and roadmap planning for security-centric Azure services and features.
Contribute to the organization’s cloud security strategy and roadmap by recommending platform improvements, tooling consolidation and process automation.
Assist in proof-of-concept (PoC) work for new Azure security capabilities and lead pilot programs to determine operational fit and scalability.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep expertise with Microsoft Azure security services: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Sentinel, Azure AD (including PIM, Conditional Access), Azure Policy and Azure Blueprints.
Strong identity and access management (IAM) skills: RBAC design, service principal and managed identity management, SSO, OAuth2/OpenID Connect and MFA implementation.
Infrastructure-as-code and automation: hands-on experience with Bicep, ARM templates, Terraform, Azure DevOps pipelines and/or GitHub Actions for secure provisioning and drift remediation.
Kusto Query Language (KQL) proficiency for building detections, alerts, queries and workbooks in Azure Sentinel and Log Analytics.
Network security and micro-segmentation skills: NSGs, Azure Firewall, Application Gateway, WAF, VPN/ExpressRoute and load balancer configurations.
Container and Kubernetes security: AKS hardening, admission controls, image scanning, vulnerability management and runtime protection.
Secrets and key management: Azure Key Vault, HSM, certificate lifecycle management and encryption key policies.
Scripting and automation: PowerShell, Azure CLI, Python, Logic Apps, and Azure Functions for building security automation and remediation playbooks.
Threat detection and incident response: SOC workflows, incident management, forensic collection in cloud contexts, runbook creation and threat hunting techniques.
Compliance and frameworks knowledge: CIS Azure Benchmarks, NIST, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS and regulatory mapping for cloud controls.
Vulnerability management and scanning tools experience (Qualys, Nessus, Tenable, Azure-native scanners) and CVE remediation prioritization.
DevSecOps toolchain integration: SAST/DAST, dependency scanning, container registry security and secrets scanning within CI/CD.
Log management, observability and telemetry optimization: Log Analytics, diagnostic settings, retention policies, cost/coverage trade-offs.
Familiarity with security posture management (CSPM), CASB, CNAPP and third-party cloud security products and how they interact with Azure.
Experience with HLD/LLD documentation, security architecture diagrams, runbooks and documentation suitable for audits and engineering teams.

Soft Skills

Strong communicator able to explain technical security trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders and executive leadership.
Proven collaboration and cross-functional partnership skills: work effectively with developers, platform engineers, network teams and SOC analysts.
Analytical thinker with a proactive, risk-based approach to identifying threats and recommending prioritized mitigations.
Problem solver who can operate under pressure during incidents and lead coordinated technical responses.
Continuous learner mindset with a passion for cloud-native security innovations and keeping certifications/skills current.
Mentoring and coaching ability to uplift junior engineers and drive security awareness across engineering teams.
Strong organization and project management skills to coordinate multi-team initiatives and remediation projects.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Assurance, or related field.
Professional certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals / Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500), CISSP, CISM, CISA, CEH, or relevant cloud security certifications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

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

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8+ years of hands-on security engineering experience with at least 2–4 years focused on securing Azure environments.

Preferred:

Demonstrable experience designing and operating security tooling in production Azure environments at scale.
Prior experience supporting SOC use-cases, threat hunting and incident response in cloud-native contexts.
Experience migrating applications to Azure with security-by-design and implementing DevSecOps practices.