Cloud Architect/Engineer – Legacy C++/.NET App Migration to Azure (Architecture & Discovery Phase)

We have an established on-premise software solution built in C++ with a .NET wrapper, backed by Microsoft SQL Server. We're modernizing this into a set of .NET web applications using Razor/Blazor, and we want to move the backend to the cloud (Azure), targeting an architecture similar in spirit to a multi-tenant, service-oriented platform like Salesforce — not a lift-and-shift, but a genuine re-architecture for scalability, maintainability, and cloud-native operation. We're starting with an architecture and discovery phase before committing to full build-out, and we're looking for someone who can both assess our current system and design where it needs to go. What We Need • Review our existing C++/.NET/SQL Server application architecture and identify migration risks, dependencies, and technical debt • Recommend a target Azure architecture (compute, data, identity, integration, and API layers) suited to a multi-tenant, cloud-native application • Advise on data migration strategy from SQL Server (Azure SQL, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or alternatives — your recommendation, with tradeoffs) • Define an approach for exposing business logic currently embedded in C++ as services/APIs consumable by a Blazor/Razor front end • Produce a phased migration roadmap (with rough effort estimates) that our team can execute against, either with you continuing on or with an internal/other team • Flag anything in the current C++ codebase that will be hard to migrate or will need to be rewritten vs. wrapped Ideal Experience • Strong hands-on background architecting and migrating legacy on-premise applications to Azure • Familiarity with C++ and .NET interop (e.g., C++/CLI, P/Invoke, COM interop) — enough to assess what's portable vs. what needs rework • Experience with .NET, Razor Pages, and Blazor (Server and/or WebAssembly) • Strong SQL Server background, plus experience with Azure data services (Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, etc.) • Experience designing multi-tenant SaaS architectures — auth/identity (Azure AD B2C/Entra ID), tenant isolation models, API design • Bonus: prior experience migrating a similar desktop-to-cloud legacy application Engagement Details • Type: Hourly • Phase: Architecture & discovery first — this is not a commitment to full build-out, but strong discovery work will lead to an ongoing engagement for implementation • Deliverables: Architecture assessment document, target-state architecture diagram/recommendation, migration roadmap with phased milestones and effort estimates To Apply, Please Include • A brief summary of a similar legacy-to-cloud migration you've architected or led • Your experience level with C++/.NET interop specifically • Your hourly rate and estimated hours for a discovery phase like this • Any relevant portfolio, case studies, or references We're looking for someone who can think in terms of both the code we have today and the platform we need tomorrow — someone comfortable making pragmatic tradeoff calls rather than proposing a rebuild-everything approach by default.