Azure Application Modernization Architect

Job Summary:
This individual will own the modernization process end to end: establishing a repeatable assessment-to-execution framework, developing a deep technical understanding of each application, and defining how individual workloads should be modernized. The role is the bridge between our cloud infrastructure team and the application layer the person responsible for turning what the application does into a clear, cloud-native target architecture and roadmap.
Success requires the ability to bridge business needs, application architecture, application assessment, application migration, cloud-native capabilities, and to uplift the existing team s application-level expertise along the way.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct in-depth assessments of existing applications to understand architecture, dependencies, business criticality, and technical debt.
• Define modernization strategies (re-host, re-platform, re-factor, replace, retire) for each application.
• Establish and document a repeatable modernization framework, patterns library, and decision playbook for the broader cloud team to follow.
• Develop modernization roadmaps that align with enterprise architecture principles and the cloud adoption strategy.
• Recommend target-state architectures (e.g., microservices, containerization, APIs, serverless, PaaS adoption).
• Recommend adoption of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure App Service, Azure Functions, API Management, Logic Apps, Service Bus, and Event Grid.
• Guide adoption of DevOps & DevSecOps practices: CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions), IaC (Terraform).
• Define data modernization strategies (Azure SQL MI, Cosmos DB, Synapse, Data Factory).
• Engage application and business owners to capture requirements, validate target designs, and secure stakeholder sign-off.
• Create business cases showing the value of modernization (cost savings, agility, performance, compliance).
• Collaborate with the cloud engineering team to hand over modernization blueprints for execution.
• Mentor and upskill the existing cloud architecture team on application-level analysis and modern engineering practices.
• Monitor modernization outcomes and refine strategies for continuous improvement.