Director, IT Operations - CMU Miami

Carnegie Mellon University•Miami, FL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Carnegie Mellon University is developing a new campus in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. The Director of IT Operations – CMU Miami will serve as the primary on-site technology partner for the campus, connecting local needs with the university’s central Computing Services organization in Pittsburgh. The role reports to the Deputy Chief Information Officer in Computing Services and, during the startup period, also works under the day-to-day direction of the Computing Services leader for the Miami technology workstream. Initially, the Director will be the first on-site technology staff member and will personally help establish campus technology spaces, install and test equipment, support early faculty, staff, and students, and troubleshoot problems. The Director will coordinate with Pittsburgh-based technical teams as well as local vendors, contractors, facilities partners, and service providers. As the campus grows and on-site staff are hired, the Director will recruit, onboard, and lead the local technology team, with the role evolving toward operational leadership of campus technology services. The Director will coordinate implementation and operations across areas such as networking, identity, security, endpoint computing, audiovisual technology, enterprise applications, and research computing. They will provide local context to central IT planning, identify risks and readiness gaps, support incident response, and help develop a sustainable long-term IT operating model for the Miami campus. The position is full-time, salaried, and primarily on-site in Miami, Florida, with periodic travel to Pittsburgh and other locations as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
At least 10 years of experience in IT operations, infrastructure, service delivery, or related technology roles.
Previous experience supervising and leading technical staff, preferably during significant periods of change, or clear readiness to build and lead a small team.
Collaborative approach to delivering technology services across multiple technical teams and organizational units.
Broad working knowledge of enterprise IT infrastructure and services, with hands-on skills to troubleshoot issues, evaluate solutions, and support technical implementation.
Experience coordinating technology vendors, contractors, telecommunications providers, or managed service providers.
Strong project coordination, communication, organizational, and relationship-management skills.
Ability to translate local operational needs into actionable requirements for central technology teams and service owners.
Sound judgment balancing enterprise standards and shared services with the needs of a developing campus.
Willingness to work in the field, including active construction and renovation environments.
Adaptability and initiative to navigate ambiguity, competing priorities, and rapid change while building collaborative relationships and practical, sustainable solutions.
Successful completion of a pre-employment background check, including drug and alcohol screening.
Must be currently legally authorized to work for CMU in the United States; CMU will not sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this opportunity. Only 12-month OPT may be used to work at Carnegie Mellon; CMU is not a qualifying employer for the STEM OPT benefit.
Ability to work primarily on site in Miami and travel periodically to Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus and other locations as needed.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting technology in higher education, research, or another complex decentralized organization.
Experience working within a central IT or shared-services operating model.
Experience launching or supporting a new campus, office, facility, laboratory, or major site expansion.
Experience participating in building construction, renovation, commissioning, or facility turnover projects.
Experience supporting research environments or specialized academic technology.
Experience coordinating services delivered through central teams, local resources, contractors, vendors, and managed services.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary on-site Computing Services representative and technology point of contact for CMU Miami, initially acting as the campus Security Point of Contact in coordination with the Information Security Office.
Partner with Computing Services leaders and service owners in Pittsburgh to understand Miami requirements and support delivery of university-wide technology services.
Bring local campus context, operational requirements, risks, and opportunities into central IT planning and decision-making.
Coordinate Miami implementation activities for networking, identity, security, endpoint computing, audiovisual technology, enterprise applications, research computing, and other technology capabilities.
Represent Computing Services in campus planning, building activation, renovation, construction, and facility turnover activities, engaging Pittsburgh technical teams and service owners as needed.
Coordinate local technology vendors, contractors, telecommunications providers, and managed service partners in partnership with central IT teams.
Assess technology needs for offices, conference rooms, classrooms, laboratories, research environments, and other campus spaces, and communicate those needs to the appropriate service owners.
Provide hands-on technical support, installation, testing, and troubleshooting when local presence is required.
Support incident response by assessing on-site issues, coordinating with central support and engineering teams, and helping drive issues to resolution.
Identify technology risks, dependencies, readiness gaps, and emerging campus needs, and work with central IT and campus partners to address them.
Establish and maintain local operational procedures, documentation, inventory practices, and support processes consistent with Computing Services standards.
Contribute to the long-term Miami IT operating model, including recommendations about central services, local support, contractors, and managed services.
Build relationships with faculty, researchers, staff, students, Facilities Management Services, campus leadership, and Pittsburgh-based Computing Services teams.
Support campus events, executive visits, research activities, and other initiatives where dependable on-site technology is critical.
Recruit, onboard, and lead on-site technology staff as the Miami team grows, and set standards and practices for local support.