All Skills Azure

Tech Skill

Azure Skills

All about Azure

What is Azure?

Azure is a cloud computing platform and services offered by Microsoft, enabling developers with Azure skills to build, deploy, and manage applications and services in the cloud. It provides a comprehensive set of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings. This includes virtual machines, containers, databases, analytics, machine learning, and Internet of Things (IoT) services. Azure is built on a global network of data centers. This allows organizations to deploy applications closer to their users and achieve high availability and low latency.

New demand for Azure skills

In our 2024 research into trends in software engineer hiring, we found more employers want employees with Azure skills. When comparing Hired tech recruitment platform activity year over year, the proportion of roles requesting Azure grew 33% (tieing with Linux).

While Python, Java, and AWS were the most popular skills with employers overall, the skills which increased the most in demand year over year included Continuous Integration (CI), Spark, Spring Boot, .Net, HTML, Terraform, (and AWS).

New Data & Insights

Hired’s State of Software Engineer’s report is now an article series focused on Software Engineer Trends featuring:

What to use Azure for

Here are some key applications of Azure:

Application Hosting and Deployment

Azure provides a scalable and reliable infrastructure for hosting and deploying web applications, mobile apps, and APIs. Organizations leverage Azure App Service, Azure Functions, and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to build and deploy applications in many programming languages and frameworks, including .NET, Java, Python, Node.js, and more.

Data Storage and Management

Azure offers a wide range of storage solutions for storing and managing data in the cloud. Organizations can use Azure Blob Storage for unstructured data, Azure SQL Database for relational data, Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL data, Azure Data Lake Storage for big data, and Azure Redis Cache for caching, enabling them to store and access data securely and efficiently.

Analytics and Business Intelligence

Azure provides powerful analytics and business intelligence services for deriving insights from data and making informed decisions. Organizations can use Azure Synapse Analytics for data warehousing and analytics, Azure Databricks for big data processing and machine learning, and Azure Power BI for interactive data visualization and reporting, empowering them to drive business growth and innovation.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Azure offers a comprehensive set of AI and machine learning services for building intelligent applications and solutions. Organizations can use Azure Cognitive Services for vision, speech, and language processing. Use Azure Machine Learning for building, training, and deploying machine learning models. Use Azure Bot Service for creating conversational AI experiences, enabling them to enhance productivity, engage customers, and automate business processes.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge Computing

Azure provides IoT and edge computing solutions for connecting, monitoring, and managing devices and sensors at scale. Organizations can use Azure IoT Hub for device connectivity, Azure IoT Central for IoT application development, and Azure IoT Edge for deploying AI and analytics to edge devices, enabling them to unlock new opportunities and drive innovation in IoT solutions.

Companies of all sizes use Hired to find engineers with Azure skills

Azure Developer Salaries

Interested in salary data for developers with Azure skills? Check out Hired’s Salary Calculator and our most recent tech compensation research study.

What is an Azure Developer? What does it mean to have Azure skills?

An Azure developer is a software developer who specializes in building and deploying applications and solutions on the Azure cloud platform.

Here’s what it means to be an Azure developer:

Knowledge of Azure Services: First, Azure developers have a solid understanding of the core Azure services and offerings. This includes computing, storage, networking, databases, AI, IoT, and security. They are familiar with Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, Azure CLI, and Azure PowerShell. They know how to provision, configure, and manage Azure resources using infrastructure-as-code (IaC) and automation tools.
Experience with Azure DevOps: Second, Azure developers have experience with Azure DevOps. This is Microsoft’s integrated set of development tools and services for planning, building, testing, and deploying applications on Azure. They understand how to use Azure DevOps pipelines, repositories, boards, and test plans. They do this to streamline the software development lifecycle and collaborate effectively in development teams.
Cloud Architecture and Design: Third, Azure developers have knowledge of cloud architecture principles and best practices for designing scalable, reliable, and secure applications on Azure. They understand how to architect cloud-native solutions, implement microservices-based architectures, and design resilient and fault-tolerant systems to withstand failures and scale dynamically to meet changing demands.
DevOps and CI/CD Practices: Fourth, Azure developers know DevOps principles and practices for integrating development and operations tasks seamlessly. They understand how to automate build, test, and deployment processes using Azure DevOps pipelines, GitHub Actions, or other CI/CD tools, and leverage infrastructure-as-code (IaC) and configuration management tools to ensure consistency and repeatability in deployments.
Security and Compliance: They understand security best practices and compliance requirements for developing and deploying applications on Azure. They understand how to implement security controls, encrypt sensitive data, manage access and identity. Finally, they monitor and respond to security threats and vulnerabilities. This protects Azure resources and ensures regulatory compliance.

How Hired works for Employers

Show Me

Most important Azure developer skills in 2024

Serverless Computing

Azure developers need to know serverless computing concepts and services, such as Azure Functions, Logic Apps, and Event Grid. They should be able to design and implement serverless architectures, trigger and orchestrate functions/events, and optimize performance and cost efficiency in serverless environments, to build scalable and cost-effective solutions on Azure.

Containers and Kubernetes

With the increasing adoption of containers and Kubernetes for cloud-native application development, Azure developers need to know containerization technologies, such as Docker and Kubernetes. They should be able to containerize applications, deploy and manage containers using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), and implement container orchestration, networking, and security best practices, to build and deploy containerized applications at scale on Azure.

Edge Computing and IoT

Azure developers need to have knowledge of edge computing and IoT solutions for extending cloud capabilities to edge devices and sensors. They should be able to develop and deploy Azure IoT Edge modules, manage and monitor edge devices, and process data locally at the edge, enabling them to build intelligent edge solutions that can operate efficiently and autonomously in disconnected or constrained environments.

Machine Learning Ops (MLOps)

With the growing demand for AI and machine learning solutions, Azure developers need to know machine learning operations (MLOps) practices for automating the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle. They should be able to build, train, and deploy machine learning models using Azure Machine Learning, monitor and manage model performance in production, and implement continuous integration and deployment pipelines for ML/AI solutions, to accelerate time to value and ensure the reliability and scalability of AI applications on Azure.

Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Deployments

Azure developers need to know about hybrid and multi-cloud architectures for integrating on-premises and cloud resources, and deploying applications across multiple cloud providers. They should be able to design and implement hybrid/multi-cloud solutions using Azure Arc, Azure Stack, and Azure VMware Solution, and manage and monitor resources across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, enabling them to achieve greater flexibility, resilience, and scalability in application deployments on Azure.

Why should you hire Azure developers?

Hiring Azure developers can bring numerous benefits to your organization:

Global Reach and Compliance: Azure developers enable organizations to reach global audiences. They also help comply with regulatory requirements by leveraging the global network of Azure data centers and services. They understand how to deploy applications in multiple regions, ensure high availability and disaster recovery. Finally, they implement security and compliance controls to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements.
Cost Optimization and Efficiency: Azure developers help organizations optimize costs and improve efficiency in software development and deployment. They do this by leveraging the cost-effective and pay-as-you-go pricing model of Azure. They also understand how to optimize resource allocation, and monitor and analyze usage patterns. Azure programmers implement cost management best practices. This helps minimize waste, reduce expenses, and maximize return on investment (ROI) in cloud computing.
Scalability and Flexibility: Azure developers bring scalability and flexibility to software development projects. Their expertise in building and deploying applications scale dynamically to meet changing demands and workloads.

Assess tech candidates for Azure skills

Looking for candidates skilled in Azure? Technical assessments are a multi-pronged solution. They allow you to streamline the hiring process and reduce bias with tech skill-focused benchmarks.

Hired Assessments offers a library of hundreds of questions and customizable coding challenge campaigns tailored to technical preferences. Centralize and standardize your evaluation process as you surface top talent with specific, hard-to-find skills.

See how Mastercard and Axon used Hired Assessments to vet top candidates. See more examples in Customer Success Stories.

Are you looking for a new tech role? One using Azure skills?

Hired helps jobseekers around the world find new tech jobs with top employers. Learn more about the (free) process for jobseekers, check out our events page for upcoming coding challenges, and get career guidance.

Azure resources

Check out our resources to continue sharpening your Azure skills. Hired partners with many organizations who provide bootcamps and other opportunities to upskill.

Hired profiles help developers showcase their top tech skills

After passing Hired skills assessments, candidates may showcase their skills to employers. They can opt to present an ‘Assessments’ badge on their profile. Candidates may take various assessments including Programming Skills, Full Stack, Backend, Frontend, iOS, Android, Debugging, DevOps Generalist, and DevOps AWS.

Find Azure jobs on Hired.

Get started