Platform Engineer (Azure)

Platform Engineer (Azure), Boulder, CO (Hybrid or Remote) Ascend's Azure platform runs the hosted environments behind Market Intelligence (MI), PowerVAL (PV), PowerSIMM (PS), SmartBidder (SB), Ascend Power Procurement (APP), and Ascend Energy Exchange (AEX). As Platform Engineer, you'll design, build, and operate that platform alongside our Senior Platform Engineer, working at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and identity and security administration. You'll partner with Development, Model Support, and client-facing teams to deliver reliable environments, move clients from on-premises hosting into Azure, and help maintain our security and compliance posture. You'll do well here if you have strong hands-on Azure skills, automate and document what you build, and can explain technical topics clearly to both technical and non-technical colleagues. Our Mission @ Ascend At Ascend Analytics, our mission centers on creating sustainable economic value for energy buyers and producers to transform the power industry. Our team combines advanced analytics, cloud-based technology, and deep market expertise to help our clients solve complex challenges across grid reliability, power market volatility, renewable integration, infrastructure development, and energy investment strategy. As a high-growth, private equity–backed company, Ascend continues to expand its market leadership while investing in innovation, talent, and scalable solutions for an increasingly dynamic energy market. Your Impact @ Ascend Real influence. Real outcomes. At every level. - High-impact work. Shape the tools and decisions that drive the clean energy transition. - Direct exposure. Work alongside executive leadership and key utility and corporate clients. - Room to grow. A rapidly scaling SaaS business with real advancement opportunities. - Collaborative culture. A team that values creative thought, inclusion, and work-life balance. Key Responsibilities Azure infrastructure and networking - Design, deploy, and maintain Azure resources, including virtual machines, App Services, container apps, batch accounts, storage accounts, file shares, and key vaults. - Build and maintain Azure networking: VNets and subnets, site-to-site and point-to-site VPN, private endpoints, NAT gateways for static IP requirements, and Front Door routing. - Configure and manage Azure Virtual Desktop host pools, images, scale plans, and published applications for analyst and developer workstations. - Maintain backup, monitoring, and alerting coverage across development and production environments. Automation and DevOps - Develop and maintain infrastructure as code with Terraform, delivered through Azure DevOps pipelines. - Build and maintain Azure DevOps pipelines for application build, versioned deployment, and environment promotion, including service connections, self-hosted agents, and federated identity credentials. - Help development teams move build and test workloads from legacy on-premises environments into Azure. Identity, security, and compliance - Administer Entra ID: user and group provisioning, conditional access, MFA, SSO integrations, and app registrations, with automated monitoring of expiring secrets and certificates. - Manage Privileged Identity Management role eligibility, access reviews, and approval of elevation requests. - Administer role-based access for client-facing platforms and resolve customer authentication and MFA issues escalated through the IT case queue. - Deploy and maintain endpoint security tooling, including Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. - Provide evidence, control descriptions, and technical input for SOC 2 Type II audits and customer security assessments, and advise on audit scope for newly production-hosted systems. Client support and documentation - Support client onboarding and migrations, including storage access, VPN connectivity, and third-party integrations. - Serve as an escalation point for platform incidents affecting internal users and hosted clients. - Maintain network diagrams and hosting documentation as environments change, and lead internal cross-training sessions on Azure architecture. - Provide weekly status updates on priorities, progress, and blockers. Key Qualifications Required - 4+ years in cloud platform, DevOps, or infrastructure engineering, including 3+ years of hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure. - Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience. - AZ-104 or a similar intermediate-level Azure certification. - Strong working knowledge of Azure IaaS and PaaS: VMs, App Services, Storage, Key Vault, Container Apps, and Azure Batch. - Strong working knowledge of Terraform and infrastructure-as-code practices. - Azure networking experience: VNet design, VPN gateways, private endpoints, NAT, DNS, and firewall rules. - Hands-on Entra ID administration: conditional access, MFA, SSO, app registrations, and PIM. - Proficiency with PowerShell and KQL for automation and reporting. - Experience building CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps. - Clear technical writing and the ability to communicate with non-technical stakeholders. Preferred - Experience supporting a SOC 2 Type II audit cycle. - Azure Virtual Desktop administration at scale. - Bicep infrastructure-as-code experience. - Power BI Embedded capacity management. - Oracle Database or Autonomous Database on Azure. - Background supporting SaaS products in energy, utilities, or another regulated industry. - Advanced certifications: AZ-305, AZ-400, or SC-300. If you don't meet every qualification but this role excites you, we'd still love to hear from you. Our Values @ Ascend Ascend promotes a culture of teamwork, inclusion, and work-life balance. We operate by five core pillars: - Integrity: We act with honesty and uphold the highest ethical standards, doing the right thing even when it's difficult. - Purpose Driven: We are united by a shared purpose — to deliver meaningful impact for our customers, our industry, and the energy transition to a low-carbon future. - Belonging: We foster a respectful, inclusive environment where everyone is valued, diverse perspectives are embraced, and equitable opportunities are provided for all. - Innovation: We anticipate and address new challenges, embracing change and continuous improvement. - One Team Mindset: We collaborate across teams and functions, supporting one another and prioritizing shared success over individual wins. Your Value @ Ascend Join a team that values your work, supports your growth, and invests in your future. - Medical, dental, and vision coverage - Life and disability insurance - Paid parental leave - FSA, HSA, and dependent care accounts - 401(k) with 3% non-elective contribution - Flexible PTO and work hours Salary range: $85,000-$115,000 USD annually, calibrated to your experience and structured to grow with you. Compensation is flexible and tailored to your qualifications, relevant experience, and location of hire. We thrive on collaboration, whether in our Boulder office or across a screen. That's why our Boulder, CO office runs on a hybrid schedule (3 days in-office, 2 days remote). We prefer candidates who can work from Boulder HQ, but it isn't a requirement: we're open to strong remote candidates, and we make it easy to collaborate across both. Need accommodations? Contact us at recruiting@ascendanalytics.com. Ascend Analytics is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to an inclusive environment for all employees regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, disability, or genetic information. Note: We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role at this time.