Cloud Platforms Director

Pacific Life • Charlotte, NC

1d

About The Position

Providing for loved ones, planning rewarding retirements, saving enough for whatever lies ahead – our policyholders count on us to be there when it matters most. It’s a big ask, but it’s one that we have the power to deliver when we work together. We collaborate and innovate – pushing one another to transform not just Pacific Life, but the entire industry for the better. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. Pacific Life is more than a job, it’s a career with purpose. It’s a career where you have the support, balance, and resources to make a positive impact on the future – including your own. We’re actively seeking a talented Cloud Platforms Director to join our Cloud & Compute Platforms team in Newport Beach, CA or Charlotte, NC. Relocation Assistance may be provided. As a Cloud Platforms Director, you’ll play a key role in Pacific Life’s growth and long-term success by evolving the strategic direction of our cloud platforms, governance, automation, and security. You will fill a role that is part of the Pacific Life Technology department. You will lead other leaders and their teams who report to the AVP in the cloud and computing space and have a direct line of reporting to the CIO. As the Cloud Platforms Director, you will be responsible for overseeing the strategic and operational management of our global cloud platforms and computing infrastructure. Your leadership will ensure high availability, efficiency, and security while supporting the organization's technology and business goals.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in cloud platform management at scale, IT infrastructure, or related fields.
• 4-year degree or equivalent experience
• Ability to generate highly polished proposals, presentations, and other communications content that speaks to all levels of technical, business, and financial leaders.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale, global cloud platforms.
• Strong understanding of networking, server infrastructure, cloud technologies, and hybrid environments.
• Deep understanding of Zero Trust and modern IAM patterns (workload identities, JIT access, PAM in cloud)
• Demonstrable expertise in GenAI capabilities, security risks, and governance controls for GenAI.
• Deep knowledge of compliance and security frameworks such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD practices and pipeline orchestration.
• A demonstrated ability to build high-performance teams and mentor future leaders.
• Budgeting and financial management experience, including cost optimization strategies.
• Hands-on experience with disaster recovery planning, incident management, and operational risk mitigation.
• Familiarity with automation, monitoring, and management tools for optimizing data center performance.
• Experience working in regulated industries or high-availability environments (e.g., finance, healthcare, etc.).
• Strong communication and leadership skills, with the ability to engage both technical teams and executive stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• AWS or other public CSP certifications (e.g. (Solutions Architect Pro, Security Spec), Azure (AZ‑305/SC‑100), GCP (Professional Cloud Architect).
• Experience leading global, multi-site data center operations in a large enterprise environment.
• The ability to manage hybrid cloud infrastructures and integrate on-premises data centers with public cloud providers.
• Expertise and experience managing Kubernetes clusters, Infrastructure as Code, and other modern deployment paradigms.
• Experience implementing AI-driven data center optimization or automation strategies.
• Strong relationships within the industry and a deep understanding of emerging data center trends.
• Experience automating CMDB data updates for data center asset management

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a strategic roadmap for cloud platform engineering, aligning with business and IT objectives.
• Lead a team of cloud platform engineering professionals, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee capacity planning, ensuring scalability and optimal resource utilization.
• Implement and maintain industry best practices for security, compliance, FinOps, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure highly responsive and detailed observability capabilities are in place across all cloud platforms.
• Collaborate with business and technology leadership to gather requirements and ensure the cloud platform meets the needs of our stakeholders and developer teams
• Ensure the highest levels of uptime and reliability by developing and enforcing proactive maintenance strategies.
• Manage vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and oversee third-party services for facility management and hardware procurement.
• Tie platform KPIs to business value and generate quarterly business reports.
• Develop and run a comprehensive service line in a global setting to run cloud workloads, backed by a service catalog and set of KPIs and KRIs to measure, track, report, and improve the service line and system performance
• Develop and execute an overall cloud computing platform strategy with the right mix of on-premises infrastructure, public cloud, and hybrid cloud.
• Formalize disaster recovery and business continuity with automated tests to validate failover plans
• Develop and enforce disaster recovery and business continuity plans to mitigate risks.
• Monitor industry trends and emerging technologies to maintain a competitive edge.
• Collaborate with executive leadership and stakeholders to align data center strategies with broader IT and business goals.
• Provides leadership to managers and professional staff. Develops departmental plans, including business, production and/or organizational priorities.
• Manage and oversee staff and technology platform operations across a global footprint including US, UK, and APAC regions.

Benefits

• Prioritization of your health and well-being including Medical, Dental, Vision, and Wellbeing Reimbursement Account that can be used on yourself or your eligible dependents
• Generous paid time off options including: Paid Time Off, Holiday Schedules, and Financial Planning Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave as well as an Adoption Assistance Program
• Competitive 401k savings plan with company match and an additional contribution regardless of participation

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees