Head Infrastructure Operations & Engineering

North American Electric Reliability Corporation

4h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Head of Infrastructure Operations and Engineering is an execution-driven leader responsible for the day-to-day reliability, operational security, and performance of the enterprise IT infrastructure and end-user services. This role ensures technology operations run efficiently, consistently, and with minimal disruption while delivering high-quality support experience to the business, ERO, and external - stakeholders. The Head of Infrastructure Operations and Engineering also serves as the primary operational backup and delegated authority for the Director of Enterprise Infrastructure and Customer Excellence, ensuring leadership continuity, decision-making coverage, and uninterrupted operational oversight during absences, escalations, or major incidents. This position reports to the Director of Enterprise Infrastructure and Customer Excellence.

Requirements

Minimum of 10 years of progressive IT operations leadership experience at the manager level or higher, leading large, multi-disciplinary teams and/or a Bachelor’s Degree in information technology, computer science or a related field.
Proven experience running enterprise IT operations and service delivery, including:
Infrastructure operations (on-prem and cloud)
Endpoint and identity services
End-user computing and workplace technology
Demonstrated success leading a Service Desk organization, including:
Incident, request, problem, and knowledge management
Service Level Objectives, Key Performance Metrics, Mean Time to Repair, and Customer Satisfactory management
Strong working knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) and operational frameworks (ITIL or equivalent)
Experience managing ticketing and service platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, BMC, Fresh Works or similar)
Ability to operate effectively in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments, including major incidents and outages
Extensive hands-on knowledge of:
Intune (MAM/MDM) and endpoint management
Azure services and hybrid AWS cloud environments
Networking Route/Switch/Firewall, identity, access, and security operations
Strong skills in budget management, vendor management, contracts, staffing, and operational capacity planning.

Responsibilities

Act as the second-in-command for Director of Enterprise Infrastructure and Customer Excellence assuming leadership responsibility as needed
Self-starter who takes initiative, independently identifies needs, and drives work to completion with minimal direction.
Creates a culture of ownership where accountability is expected, supported, and measured.
Translates strategic direction into actionable plans with defined responsibilities and timelines.
Leads by example, demonstrating reliability, follow-through, and results orientation.
Drives disciplined execution while balancing speed, quality, and risk.
Own end-to-end operational stability and availability of enterprise infrastructure, platforms, and end-user services across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments
Serve as the operational escalation point for complex issues and major incidents, with authority to make time-sensitive decisions
Lead disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity execution, including:
Development, maintenance, and testing of DR plans and runbooks
Regular DR exercises, tabletop simulations, and recovery validation
Coordination with application owners, infrastructure teams, and business stakeholders to meet RTO/RPO objectives defined in the BIA
Continuous improvement of DR processes based on lessons learned
Establish, enforce, and evolve operational standards, guidelines, and runbooks for:
Server platforms (Windows/Linux, physical and virtual)
Patch management, backup, monitoring, and lifecycle management
Configuration baselines and system hardening aligned with security and compliance requirements outlined by the Chief Information Security Director
Define and operationalize standards and support models for collaboration platforms, including:
Microsoft Teams architecture, governance, lifecycle, and service reliability
Integration with Microsoft 365, identity access management, security, and endpoint services
Lead operational ownership of virtualization and hyper-converged platforms, including:
VMware environments (vSphere, vCenter, associated tooling)
Hyper-converged infrastructure solutions
Capacity planning, performance tuning, upgrades, patching, and vendor coordination
Oversee Citrix Workspace and virtual application/desktop operations, including:
Platform availability, performance, and user experience optimization
Image management via Autopilot, application publishing, and access reliability
Integration with identity, networking, and endpoint services
Ensure operational readiness and continuity by:
Validating monitoring, alerting, documentation, and support processes prior to production releases
Partnering with architecture, security, and project teams to reduce operational risk
Standardizing operational handoffs and support ownership
Lead Engineering Direction: Provide technical leadership and strategic oversight for all infrastructure engineering teams. This includes the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of server, storage, cloud, and virtualization platforms.
Establish Engineering Best Practices: Develop and enforce engineering standards, reference architectures, and automation frameworks to ensure the infrastructure is robust, scalable, and aligned with business needs.
Collaborate Across Functions: Work closely with security, application, and architecture teams to integrate engineering solutions that meet compliance and operational standards.
Drive Continuous Improvement: Lead initiatives to automate deployments, streamline configurations, and implement Infrastructure-as-Code practices for faster, more reliable delivery.
Lead and mature the Support Desk team, delivering consistent, customer-focused support
Establish and manage service metrics, service level objectives, and performance reporting
Reduce recurring issues through trend analysis, problem management, and knowledge improvement
Improve user experience through process refinement, automation, and self-service capabilities while maintaining omni-channel call queue method
Workforce scheduling, on-call coverage, and escalation management
Manage and oversee the team’s financial budget, including Capital Expenditures and Operational Expenditures forecasting, to ensure cost-effective operations and strategic investments.
Lead vendor selection, contract negotiations, and renewals to secure favorable terms, pricing, and service levels that align with organizational goals.
Conduct regular financial reviews, analyze costs versus benefits, and identify opportunities for cost optimization and efficiency improvements.
Ensure that all budgeting and financial planning activities support the broader IT and business objectives, providing transparency and accountability to stakeholders.
Build, mentor, and retain high-performing operational teams
Set clear priorities, manage workloads, and ensure appropriate staffing and coverage
Champion standard operating procedures (SOPs), documentation, and operational discipline
Act as a change executor, ensuring new technologies and processes are operationally ready before production
Work closely with the Director of Enterprise Infrastructure and Customer Excellence to align operational execution with strategic direction
Provide upward visibility into operational risks, capacity concerns, and service trends
Mentor operational leaders and managers to build leadership depth and succession readiness
Ensure consistent execution of operational priorities during leadership transitions or escalations