Microsoft
Develops software, OS, and cloud services
Cloud Solution Architect - Cloud & AI Data
Five years of continuous Canadian residency is required for the government security screening.
About the job
- A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, or a related field and 4 or more years of experience in cloud, data platform, analytics, database, artificial intelligence, infrastructure technologies, information technology consulting or support, systems administration, data engineering, database administration, network operations, software development or support, technology solutions, practice development, architecture, and/or consulting, or equivalent experience.
- Ability to obtain Reliability Status screening from an authorized department or agency of the Government of Canada.
- Five years of continuous Canadian residency is required for the security screening, with no more than six months lived or worked outside Canada during that period unless the required clearance can otherwise be obtained within the required timelines.
- Engage customer information technology and business leaders to understand data estates, artificial intelligence priorities, governance needs, success measures, and business outcomes, and design secure, scalable Cloud and AI Data solutions.
- Lead architecture design, create Data and AI platform roadmaps, and drive proofs of concept, pilots, and production milestones across analytics, database, Fabric, Foundry, Microsoft IQ, and agent-enabled scenarios.
- Own technical delivery for dispatched engagements and partner with Customer Success Account Managers to ensure Azure consumption and customer success plans are accurate, aligned, and feasible.
- Use and contribute repeatable intellectual property, templates, frameworks, and agents to accelerate deployment, improve consistency, grow Data share, and support Azure consumption outcomes.
- Provide delivery oversight and escalation support for Factory, Unified, and data acceleration engagements across Data and Analytics workloads.
- Lead workload health, resiliency, sovereignty, security, capacity management, and optimization for mission-critical data workloads and production-scale artificial intelligence and agent use cases.
- Resolve technical blockers and adoption issues and share customer and field feedback with product and engineering teams to improve platform readiness and outcomes.
- Maintain deep expertise in Cloud and AI Data priorities, market trends, competitive insights, and Microsoft's evolving data, artificial intelligence, and agent capabilities.
- Maintain advanced proficiency in Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks, Microsoft Purview, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Cosmos DB, Microsoft IQ, and related artificial intelligence and agent scenarios.
- Align skills to customer and team priorities, contribute to communities, share reusable learnings, and mentor others.
- A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, or a related field and 8 or more years of relevant experience, or a master's degree in those fields and 6 or more years of relevant experience, or equivalent experience.
- Four or more years of experience working in a customer-facing role.
- Four or more years of experience working on technical projects.
- A technical certification in cloud, data, analytics, database, artificial intelligence, or security technologies, such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks, Microsoft Purview, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Cosmos DB, or equivalent cloud and data certifications.
- Breadth of technical experience and knowledge in foundational cloud security and infrastructure and cloud architecture design, with subject matter expertise in Azure data services such as Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks, Azure SQL, Synapse Analytics, Cloud Scale Analytics, and Data Factory.
- Experience with cloud-based data migration and modernization strategies across relational and non-relational databases.
- Strong understanding of data engineering and experience in data modeling, extract, transform, and load or extract, load, and transform pipelines, performance optimization, business intelligence, and real-time analytics.
- Deep experience in data governance, security, and compliance frameworks.
- Hands-on experience with big data technologies and distributed computing.
- Knowledge of key Data and Analytics platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Databricks, and Snowflake.
- Experience with software development practices such as DevOps and continuous integration and continuous delivery toolchains for data workloads, including Jenkins, Azure Developer Services, and GitHub.
- French communication skills.
About the company
Microsoft develops software, devices, and cloud services. Windows is an operating system that runs on personal computers, Office provides productivity apps, and Azure offers cloud computing and developer tools. The company differentiates itself with a large, integrated ecosystem of software, devices, and services, plus long-standing partnerships with PC makers and a broad enterprise footprint. Its goal is to put a computer on every desk and in every home, and to extend that reach through cloud services, professional networking (LinkedIn), and gaming.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Redmond, Washington
Founded
1975
Get referred to Microsoft
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- September 21 Hyderabad region expanded AI-ready Azure capacity across India's sovereign cloud demand.
- Fabric IQ and Database Hub deepen governed data advantages announced September 28 in Barcelona.
- GPT-6 Astra rolled into Foundry September 3, strengthening Microsoft's model ecosystem and enterprise agents.
What critics are saying
- Microsoft cut 500 jobs September 22, signaling ongoing Xbox resets through fiscal 2027.
- Judge Casey Pitts kept California OpenAI exclusivity claims alive September 28, extending antitrust exposure.
- OpenAI dependence threatens Copilot economics if model access, pricing, or partnership terms deteriorate.
What makes Microsoft unique
- Azure, Office, and Copilot share one enterprise stack with Fabric, Foundry, and Teams integration.
- Microsoft ships trusted, tenant-isolated AI tools; September 25 Copilot added Home, Code, Autopilot.
- Its distribution moat spans Windows, Microsoft 365, GitHub, and Xbox.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Company Match
Professional Development Budget
Conference Attendance Budget
Flexible Work Hours
Remote Work Options
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 0%1 year growth
↑ 0%2 year growth
↑ 0%Nokia and Microsoft have expanded their partnership to integrate Nokia Data Suite with Microsoft Fabric, creating an AI-driven foundation for telecommunications network operations. The solution allows operators to access structured network data in minutes rather than weeks and is currently available. For Nokia, the collaboration accelerates monetisation within its AI & Cloud segment, which saw order intake reach €2.8 billion in Q2 2026 and net sales surge 105% year-over-year. The company maintains €2.78 billion in net cash to support the initiative. For Microsoft, the partnership strengthens Azure's enterprise ecosystem, supporting its 43% revenue growth and expanding Microsoft Cloud revenue beyond its $59.3 billion quarterly base. However, Nokia faces restructuring expenses that pushed reported operating margin to negative 1.0% in Q2 2026. Microsoft contends with substantial AI infrastructure investments weighing on free cash flow.
Microsoft and Apple are competing for leadership in the AI era while offering investors different value propositions. Microsoft trades at 25x forward P/E versus Apple's 38x, below the sector average of 35x. Microsoft's sales grew 17.7% year-over-year to $90 billion, whilst Apple's rose 16.4% to $109.4 billion. Microsoft retained nearly 40% of revenue as income compared to Apple's 27%. However, Apple's return on equity reached 135% versus Microsoft's 32%. For dividends, Microsoft offers a 0.76% yield with a 20.53% payout ratio, whilst Apple yields 0.32% with a 12.11% payout ratio, giving both room for increases. Analysts rate Microsoft a "strong buy" with 35% upside potential, whilst Apple receives a "moderate buy" rating with 17% upside.
Microsoft is cutting approximately 500 additional jobs, with 277 positions eliminated in the Puget Sound region, according to a WARN filing. The cuts, which began on 22 September, primarily affect the Xbox gaming division, with smaller reductions in cloud and artificial intelligence units. The layoffs follow Microsoft's July announcement of 4,800 job cuts, representing 2.1% of its global workforce. The company aims to reduce Xbox staff by roughly 20% by fiscal year-end. Affected employees at Microsoft's Redmond facilities and remote positions were notified on 22 September, with eliminations scheduled for 21 November. The company stated facilities will remain open, though some positions may relocate to other Microsoft operations. Earlier this year, Microsoft also offered voluntary buyouts to senior US employees, with over 30% of eligible staff participating in its retirement programme.
Michael Burry, the hedge fund manager who predicted the 2008 financial crisis, has warned that AI companies are hiding $3 trillion in data centre debts that could destabilise the global economy. Burry's analysis of regulatory filings reveals Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle have accumulated massive off-balance-sheet obligations. The five companies have signed $1.2 trillion in data centre leases, with at least $857 billion non-cancellable, plus over $1.5 trillion in supply chain purchase commitments. These liabilities don't appear on their balance sheets under current accounting rules. Burry warns this could reach $5 trillion by 2028. With combined annual earnings under $400 billion, Burry questions what happens if AI growth disappoints. Oracle, Microsoft and Meta shares have already fallen from recent peaks.
DrugBank has launched a plugin integrating its Knowledge Graph with Microsoft Copilot, providing biopharma research and development teams with traceable, deterministic data within Copilot tools including Chat, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The plugin connects over 150 million structured data points and billions of relationships covering drugs, targets, diseases, and trials. This allows teams to receive consistent, citable answers grounded in DrugBank's 20-year curated database rather than AI-generated responses. The integration aims to streamline high-friction points in drug discovery, including target identification, competitive landscaping, and portfolio evaluation. DrugBank's Knowledge Graph includes all FDA, EMA, and Health Canada approved drugs, clinical trials since 2020, and clinical-stage assets mapped to over 20 industry ontologies. DrugBank is used by 10 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies and has received more than 65,000 academic citations. The plugin is now available on Microsoft Marketplace.