Many Azure candidates come from a Windows or Microsoft 365 admin background, so the first screen has to find out how far into cloud engineering they've gone. In about 20 minutes, confirm what they have built and run in Azure, how they handle identity and networking, and whether they deploy with code or by hand in the portal.
What does an Azure cloud engineer do?
An Azure cloud engineer designs, builds and runs systems on Microsoft Azure: virtual networks, virtual machines and containers, App Service and Functions, storage and databases, identity, monitoring and cost. Cloud engineering has no occupation of its own in the Bureau of Labor Statistics handbook; the closest match is network and computer systems administrators, who "install, configure, and maintain organizations' computer networks and systems."
One naming note for resumes: Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID, announced in July 2023. "Azure AD" and "Entra ID" on a resume mean the same product.
Which skills should you check at each level?
| Level | What they should be able to talk about |
|---|---|
| Junior (0 to 2 years) | The Azure portal and CLI, subscriptions and resource groups, virtual machines, storage accounts, basic virtual networks, users and groups in Entra ID, PowerShell or Bash |
| Mid-level (2 to 5 years) | Network design (VNets, subnets, network security groups), App Service or AKS, Key Vault and managed identities, Bicep, ARM templates or Terraform, pipelines in Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions, Azure Monitor |
| Senior (5+ years) | Landing zones and governance (management groups, Azure Policy), hybrid networking with on-premises, identity design and Conditional Access, cost management, migrations, mentoring |
What screening questions should you ask an Azure cloud engineer?
Use the service names from the job description where they differ.
How were subscriptions and resource groups organized where you last worked, and who decided?
This shows whether they've seen Azure at an organizational level or only inside one resource group.
Strong answer: describes a structure, for example separate subscriptions for production and test, resource groups per application, naming and tagging rules, and Azure Policy enforcing some of them.
Weak answer: "Everything was in one subscription," with no view on whether that worked. (It can be fine for a small company; ask.)
How does an app in Azure get to a database or storage account without a password in its code?
Handling secrets well is basic Azure security practice.
Strong answer: a managed identity for the app, given only the role it needs on the database or storage account, with any remaining secrets kept in Key Vault.
Weak answer: "The connection string is in the app settings file in the repo."
How would you connect an on-premises office network to Azure?
Hybrid setups are common in Microsoft-heavy companies.
Strong answer: a site-to-site VPN or ExpressRoute, a virtual network design (often hub and spoke) with address ranges that don't overlap with the office network, and a plan for DNS.
Weak answer: "Open the firewall ports."
What have you managed in Microsoft Entra ID?
Identity work ranges from password resets to tenant-wide security design, and this question shows where on that range the candidate sits.
Strong answer: app registrations, Conditional Access policies, multifactor authentication rollout, role assignments with least privilege, and time-limited admin access through Privileged Identity Management. They know how the on-premises Active Directory syncs to Entra ID (Microsoft Entra Connect) if the company runs both.
Weak answer: "I created users and reset passwords." Fine for a support role, thin for an engineer.
How do you deploy Azure resources, and how do you make test and production match?
This separates infrastructure as code from portal clicking.
Strong answer: Bicep, ARM templates or Terraform in Git, a parameter file per environment, a pipeline that previews changes before applying them, and reviews on every change.
Weak answer: "I create them in the portal and document the steps."
An App Service or AKS app starts returning errors after a deploy. Where do you look?
Troubleshooting order shows real operating experience.
Strong answer: Application Insights for the failing requests, Log Analytics queries (written in KQL) for the logs, recent configuration changes, and a fast way back, such as swapping deployment slots.
Weak answer: "Restart it and see."
How do you keep Azure costs under control?
Clients care about the bill, and cloud engineers are often asked to explain it.
Strong answer: Cost Management with budgets and alerts, right-sizing virtual machines, shutting down test machines overnight, reservations or savings plans for steady workloads, and tags so each team sees its share.
Weak answer: "Finance handles that."
What red flags should you note?
- Help-desk or Microsoft 365 admin experience presented as Azure engineering, with no networks or deployments they built.
- Azure certifications with no hands-on story behind them.
- They mix up on-premises Active Directory and Entra ID and can't say how the two connect.
- Portal-only experience for a role that requires Bicep or Terraform.
- No answer on who had admin access in their last environment, or how it was controlled.
If you're worried about who is really on the call, read how to spot a proxy interview.
How do you run this screen with Simplehire?
Create the role with the Azure skills the client needs as its required skills, for example Entra ID, VNets, Bicep, AKS and Azure Monitor. The candidate gets an interview link, talks with our AI interviewer in the browser, and you receive a screening report when they finish.
Basic ($2 per screen, about 15 minutes) is enough to sort a large pool, for example former Microsoft 365 admins applying for an engineering role. Candidates you plan to submit fit Adaptive ($3, about 20 minutes), which adds follow-up questions and a per-answer AI assessment. Senior or architect-level roles fit Advanced ($5, about 30 minutes); it goes deeper on strong answers and offers an optional coding round, scored separately, if the role involves scripting.
Skills demonstrated X/Y in the report shows how many of your Azure skills the candidate demonstrated, and Areas to probe tells you what to ask next. The verdict at the top is a recommendation for you to accept or overrule. Every screen runs with proctoring, and for remote roles with admin access you can add an ID check. Every account gets 25 free Basic screens a month; see pricing.
For the same role on another cloud, see the AWS cloud engineer questions. For pipeline-heavy roles, the DevOps engineer questions go deeper, and for network-focused roles, the network engineer questions.
Frequently asked questions
Is Azure AD the same as Microsoft Entra ID?
Yes. Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID, announced in July 2023, and says the capabilities stayed the same. Candidates may use either name. Windows Server Active Directory, the on-premises product, kept its name and is a different thing.
Is Microsoft 365 admin experience the same as Azure engineering?
No. Managing users, licenses and mailboxes in Microsoft 365 overlaps with Azure identity work, but an Azure cloud engineer also builds networks, deploys infrastructure and runs applications in Azure. Ask what they built in Azure.
Which Simplehire tier should I use for an Azure engineer?
We'd put most Azure candidates you plan to submit through Adaptive ($3 per screen, about 20 minutes). Its follow-up questions dig into the candidate's answers, which helps show whether there is hands-on work behind an Azure certification. Senior or architect-level roles get more from Advanced at $5 (about 30 minutes).
