AVD Consultant – Contractual

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in India.

📋 Description

• Act as the technical lead for Kaufman Rossin’s transition from Citrix DaaS on Nutanix to Azure Virtual Desktop, managed via Nerdio.

• Assess the current AVD architecture to ensure compliance with Microsoft and Nerdio best practices.

• Record findings and prioritize remediation efforts regarding architecture, identity, networking, security, and data protection vulnerabilities.

• Manage the creation, versioning, and patching of the golden image.

• Establish application delivery methods utilizing MSIX app attach, baked-in images, or packaged applications.

• Provide direction for legacy applications that do not integrate seamlessly into AVD.

• Optimize host pools and adjust Nerdio auto-scaling settings for enhanced performance and cost efficiency.

• Enhance US-India latency, connection quality, and profile/storage performance.

• Analyze Reserved Instances and Azure Savings Plans.

• Develop scaling schedules that align with working hours in the US and India.

• Suggest storage tiering and ongoing cost governance strategies.

• Organize and execute pilot groups with feedback mechanisms prior to each migration phase.

• Collaborate with IT and business leaders to ensure effective user communication and support readiness.

• Establish and test rollback strategies.

• Advise on the Citrix/AVD parallel-run period and oversee the production cutover and Citrix decommissioning.

• Configure alerting and dashboards within Nerdio and Azure Monitor.

• Compose and maintain operational runbooks for support, incident response, and scaling events.

• Define health checks and escalation procedures.

• Provide a documented handoff for every component created or modified.

• Conduct working sessions with KR IT personnel to facilitate independent operation of the environment.

• Identify opportunities for automation and process enhancements.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 5 years of experience in end-user computing, virtual desktop, or cloud infrastructure, with at least 2 years of practical experience in Azure Virtual Desktop in a production setting.

• Proven experience migrating from Citrix DaaS, Citrix on-premises, or a similar VDI platform, preferably for over 500 users.

• Proficient in using Nerdio Manager for Enterprise, including auto-scaling, image management, and host pool administration.

• Strong expertise in Azure networking and security, covering virtual networks, private endpoints, private DNS, and Entra ID Conditional Access.

• Experience with image management and application delivery methods, such as MSIX app attach, FSLogix, and golden image patching.

• Familiarity with Azure cost management tools, including Reservations, Savings Plans, and scaling schedules.

• Experience utilizing Azure Monitor and alerting mechanisms for AVD environments.

• Capacity to design and implement pilot, cutover, and rollback plans for extensive user groups.

• Experience in supporting a globally distributed user base, ideally across the US and India.

• Exceptional written and verbal English skills for effective stakeholder communication, technical documentation, and training delivery.

• Microsoft AZ-140 certification is preferred.

• Experience with Citrix or Nutanix is a plus.

🏝️ Benefits

• Work-Life Balance

• People First Company

• Hybrid work policy

• Collaborate directly with peers in the US

• Equal opportunity workplace dedicated to diversity, inclusion, and acceptance