Manager - IT Operations

Phillips Pet Food•Easton, PA

10h•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager of IT Operations is a hands‑on technical leader responsible for the reliability, security, and performance of Phillips’ enterprise infrastructure across on‑prem, cloud, and hybrid environments. You will oversee daily IT operations, lead a team of Systems Administrators (Network & iSeries), the IT Support Supervisor, and Help Desk Specialists, and ensure consistent, high‑quality delivery of IT services to the business. This role blends deep technical expertise—especially in server administration, virtualization, cloud platforms, and Microsoft 365—with strong leadership, operational excellence, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of IT operations or infrastructure leadership experience.
7+ years of hands‑on server administration, virtualization, and enterprise infrastructure support.
Experience managing distributed teams.
Advanced hands‑on experience with: Windows Server, Linux, VMware vSphere Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, GPOs Azure/AWS cloud platforms Microsoft 365 administration Backup/DR systems, SAN/NAS Monitoring tools (SIEM, NOC platforms, endpoint analytics) Server security hardening and compliance frameworks
Strong understanding of ITIL, service‑desk operations, SLAs, and KPIs.
Demonstrated ability to lead multi‑disciplinary technical teams.
Proven success managing complex projects and competing priorities.
Knowledge of Zero Trust, MFA, conditional access, vulnerability management, and endpoint protection.
Experience supporting audits and maintaining compliance documentation.
Excellent communication and customer‑service orientation.
Strong analytical and decision‑making abilities.
Ability to translate technical information into business‑friendly language.

Nice To Haves

Microsoft (AZ‑104, MS‑102, SC‑300)
VMware (VCP)
ITIL Foundation
AWS/Azure Associate‑level
Security+ or similar security certifications

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop a multi‑disciplinary IT Operations team.
Manage staffing, hiring, onboarding, and performance reviews.
Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, customer service, and continuous improvement.
Coordinate on‑call rotations and ensure timely response to after‑hours alerts and incidents.
Oversee daily IT operations including the service desk, server infrastructure, cloud services, backups, monitoring, and endpoint management.
Define and improve SLAs, KPIs, and operational metrics.
Drive root‑cause analysis and lead post‑incident reviews.
Maintain operational documentation including SOPs, runbooks, diagrams, DR plans, and inventories.
Ensure alignment with ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Change, Request, Knowledge).
Administer Windows Server, Linux, VMware, and hybrid cloud workloads (Azure/AWS).
Manage server lifecycle: provisioning, patching, hardening, upgrades, and decommissioning.
Oversee Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, GPOs, identity governance, and privileged access.
Maintain secure configuration baselines (CIS, NIST, internal standards).
Manage SAN/NAS storage, backup platforms, replication, and disaster recovery readiness.
Partner with the Infrastructure Engineer (Server) on HA, clustering, and DR architecture.
Support and optimize Microsoft 365 services (Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Intune).
Manage cloud workloads, cost governance, and security controls.
Use automation (PowerShell, Microsoft Graph, IaC) to optimize operations.
Enforce Zero Trust principles, MFA, conditional access, and identity protection.
Partner with the Network Administrator to ensure resilient LAN/WAN/WLAN, firewall, VPN, and Zero Trust network operations.
Collaborate with the iSeries Administrator on IBM i operations, backups, HA/DR, and ERP (Infor A+) support.
Align teams on monitoring, incident response, and change management.
Lead Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings and ensure changes are properly vetted.
Oversee incident escalation, communication, and service restoration.
Maintain a structured problem‑management process to prevent recurring issues.
Assess operational performance and build strategic improvement plans.
Recommend technology upgrades, automation opportunities, and process enhancements.
Collaborate with the Director of IT Infrastructure on long‑term infrastructure roadmaps.
Lead modernization initiatives across infrastructure, monitoring, cloud, and support operations.