Deputy Chief Information Officer

Associated Universities Inc. • Green Bank, WV

1d • $130,000 - $230,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a renowned and prestigious research facility that plays a crucial role in studying the universe. Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a nonprofit organization that manages and operates the NRAO under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation The Observatory operates various radio telescopes around the world, including the well-known Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) across North America, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. These telescopes are among the most advanced globally, enabling astronomers to explore the universe in unprecedented detail. Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a nonprofit organization that manages and operates the NRAO under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
The NRAO is seeking a strategic, execution-focused Deputy Chief Information Officer to lead the Observatory’s Information Technology organization through a period of significant modernization and organizational evolution.
Reporting to the Assistant Director for Data Management & Software (DMS)/CIO, the Deputy CIO acts as the top IT leader responsible for operational excellence, technology transformation, and delivering dependable, scalable services across a highly distributed, data-heavy environment. This position will lead the development of IT capabilities to support next-generation radio astronomy, large-scale scientific projects, and a hybrid workforce.
This position may be located at any of the NRAO facilities (Green Bank, WV; Charlottesville, VA; Albuquerque or Socorro, NM). Hybrid or remote work agreements may be considered for highly qualified applicants.
This is a hands-on leadership role that requires a balance of strategic vision and operational execution. The successful candidate will be a proven change leader with experience in modernizing complex IT environments and building high-performing organizations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, engineering, or related field; highly relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a Bachelor's degree.
• At least 10 years experience in IT with at least five years in leadership roles, including responsibility for complex, distributed environments
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale IT transformation or modernization initiatives
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills across technical and non-technical audiences
• Observatory employees must be authorized to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting scientific, research, or high-performance computing environments
• Familiarity with hybrid cloud architectures, large-scale data systems, and research infrastructure
• Experience implementing modern IT practices such as Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) or advanced IT service management frameworks

Responsibilities

• Leading transformation of IT operating model, service delivery, and technical capabilities
• Developing and executing IT strategy aligned with scientific and organizational priorities
• Driving standardization, automation, and process maturity
• Advising leadership on technology strategy, risk, and investment
• Overseeing multisite infrastructure including networks, observatory connectivity, data centers, cloud, compute, and storage
• Ensuring reliability, scalability, performance, and security of all platforms
• Leading end-user services including service desk, endpoint engineering, and collaboration tools
• Improving service quality and overall user experience
• Overseeing HPC, GPU/compute resources, and scientific storage platforms, including evaluation and use of external or outsourced capabilities where appropriate
• Aligning infrastructure and service delivery—internal and external—with data-intensive scientific workflows
• Implementing SRE practices including SLOs, incident management, and continuous improvement
• Improving observability, automation, and operational efficiency
• Leading, mentoring, and developing a high-performing IT organization
• Fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Managing budgets, capital investments, and major initiatives
• Overseeing vendor relationships and supporting long-term planning

Benefits

• AUI provides excellent paid time off (13 holidays, annual accrual of up to 24 vacation days and 15 sick days, additional time off for doctor/dentist visits, and 8 weeks of paid parental leave).
• Medical, dental and vision plans are effective on the first day of employment.
• AUI’s retirement benefit contributes an amount equal to 10 percent of a qualified participant’s base pay with no required employee contribution; we also offer an optional supplemental, tax-deferred plan for employee retirement contributions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees