Building the leadership and engineering team behind a manufacturer's move to Azure

A manufacturer with several sites was moving its core infrastructure, apps and data to Microsoft Azure. The plan covered migration, better security, stronger disaster recovery and a base for future data and AI work.

They came to us for one role, an Azure Cloud Architect. Once we read the roadmap, the problem got bigger. No single architect was going to own strategy, the landing zone, the network, security, automation, day to day operations and cost control all at once.

The company was treating this like one technical hire. It was really two things. They needed a leader to set the model, and they needed several builders to put it in place and keep it running.

So the question changed. It was not "who knows Azure." It was "who has built an Azure setup that can carry ERP, plant systems, data and live AI without creating new security and cost headaches."

We sat down with the CIO and the infrastructure team and turned the roadmap into a hiring plan. We split the strategy work from the hands on work, and we flagged which skills should live in house and which could come from an implementation partner.

Then we went after people who had actually run enterprise Azure environments, not people whose experience ended at planning a migration. We also mapped which skills could transfer from nearby roles and which ones had to be there on day one.

Leadership:

• VP of Infrastructure or Cloud Director
• Owns cloud strategy, the operating model, security, partner management, cost control and building the internal team

Architects:

• Azure Cloud Architect
• Cloud Security Architect

Builders:

• Azure Platform Engineers
• Network and Connectivity Engineers
• DevOps and Infrastructure as Code Engineers
• Site Reliability Engineers
• Cloud FinOps Specialist

Real evidence that they had:

• Built Azure landing zones and subscription models at enterprise scale
• Designed identity, network, private connectivity and security controls
• Automated infrastructure with Terraform or Bicep
• Supported regulated or sensitive workloads
• Set up monitoring, reliability, recovery and cost controls
• Worked across infrastructure, security, apps, ERP and data teams
• Explained hard architecture calls to both executives and engineers

Most recruiters search "Azure Architect" and match certifications. We built the full picture of what the team needed first, then looked for people whose background fit this company's setup, its sequence and where it wanted to be in a few years.

We also drew a hard line between people who had advised on Azure and people who had built it, kept it stable and run it.

Before anyone met the client, our advisors ran a real technical review. For this search that meant cloud and security leaders who had built and run enterprise Azure themselves. They pressure tested the leadership candidates on operating model, governance and cost control, and the builders on landing zones, networking, security and automation. We also sourced through our own Azure and cloud engineering community, so many of the strongest people came by referral rather than cold job boards.

A clear order to hire in, not a stack of disconnected job reqs. They could bring in the leader first to set architecture and governance, then add builders who fit the approved plan.

That lowered the risk of hiring overlapping skills, missing something critical, or getting stuck depending on a systems integrator forever.

These hires gave the company a real cloud team that could carry future ERP, data and AI work. They were in a much better spot to standardize how they build, keep cloud costs in check, stay resilient and judge new tech with their own people.