Senior Director, Infrastructure & Operations
About the role
The Senior Director, Infrastructure & Operations is responsible for leading the teams that support the company’s core technology foundation, including infrastructure, network, cloud, data center, identity and access management, endpoint computing, collaboration platforms, service desk operations, and infrastructure security support. This role supports a national, highly distributed environment of more than 4,800 employees across branch locations, manufacturing facilities, corporate offices, and data centers.
Responsibilities
Set the direction for infrastructure and operations across the enterprise. Build roadmaps that support growth, scalability, security, and business needs.
Evaluate current platforms, identify gaps, and prioritize improvements. Establish operational standards, processes, and expectations across the organization.
Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on infrastructure-related decisions, investments, and risks. Partner with enterprise technology leadership to ensure infrastructure, identity, and endpoint platforms are ready to support AI tools and services across the organization.
Participate in enterprise AI governance, including evaluation of infrastructure, security, and data implications of new AI tools entering the environment.
Oversee enterprise networking, including WAN, SD WAN, LAN, wireless, internet connectivity, and telecommunications services. Lead hybrid cloud and on-premise infrastructure environments. Guide infrastructure modernization efforts, including automation and platform improvements.
Manage data center operations, backup platforms, recovery capabilities, and infrastructure lifecycle planning. Reduce operational risk through sound architecture, planning, and execution.
Partner with business leaders to understand challenges and remove technology obstacles. Improve operational visibility through monitoring, reporting, and performance metrics. Improve service quality, responsiveness, and user experience.
Establish and maintain KPIs and operational scorecards across Infrastructure and Service Desk functions. Develop executive dashboards that provide visibility into infrastructure health, service performance, operational risk, customer satisfaction, and team productivity.
Track and report metrics such as infrastructure availability, SLA attainment, MTTR, MTTD, First Contact Resolution, change success rates, incident trends, vulnerability remediation, endpoint compliance, and customer satisfaction. Present operational performance, trends, risks, and improvement plans to executive leadership.
Build a culture where decisions are supported by data, measurable outcomes, and business impact. Lead, coach, and develop a team of infrastructure and operations professionals. Establish clear priorities, expectations, and accountability. Build future leaders within the organization. Recruit and retain strong technical talent.
Create a culture where people take ownership, communicate openly, and follow through on commitments. Build strong relationships with executives, business leaders, and operational stakeholders. Communicate technical concepts in a way that business leaders can understand. Manage relationships with technology vendors, service providers, and strategic partners. Oversee infrastructure budgets and technology-related operating expenses. Review contracts and technology investments to maximize value and reduce risk.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field strongly preferred.
12+ years of progressive experience in infrastructure and operations environments.
At least 5 years leading infrastructure, network, cloud, platform, or IT operations teams.
Candidates must have previously reported directly to a CIO, CTO, Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, or equivalent executive technology leader.
Previous hands-on experience as a Systems Administrator, Infrastructure Engineer, Network Engineer, Cloud Engineer, Architect, or similar technical role.
Experience supporting organizations with at least 2,500 employees across multiple locations.
Experience leading hybrid cloud and on-premise environments.
Strong understanding of enterprise networking, cloud services, identity management, endpoint management, and infrastructure operations.
Experience leading service desk and end-user support organizations.
Experience managing vendors, service providers, contracts, and technology budgets.
Experience developing and managing Infrastructure and Service Desk KPIs, operational scorecards, and executive dashboards.
Experience presenting operational performance, risks, trends, and improvement plans to executive leadership.
Experience leading infrastructure and operations teams through periods of growth, organizational change, acquisitions, or transformation.
Strong communication skills and executive presence.
Preferred Qualifications
Master's degree in a related field.
Experience supporting manufacturing, distribution, retail, field services, or other highly distributed environments.
Experience supporting organizations with 3,000+ employees and 100+ locations.
Experience leading infrastructure modernization initiatives.
Infrastructure architecture or enterprise architecture experience.
ITIL certification or similar operational framework experience.
Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CCNP, Azure, AWS, VMware, PMP, or ITIL.
Working knowledge of AI platform infrastructure requirements, including data security, licensing, and endpoint considerations.