Research Platforms Team Lead

University of Iowa•Iowa City, IA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The University of Iowa is seeking a Research Platforms Team Lead to lead the people, platforms, and partnerships behind some of the university’s most critical research computing capabilities. This is a unique opportunity for an experienced technology leader who enjoys working at the intersection of people leadership, advanced infrastructure, and research innovation. You’ll lead a team of technical professionals responsible for services including high-performance computing, research storage, Linux-based infrastructure, and other research computing platforms that enable faculty, researchers, and academic teams to do complex, high-impact work. This role is about more than keeping systems running. You’ll help shape how research computing services evolve—partnering with researchers, academic departments, IT leaders, security professionals, data center teams, healthcare colleagues, and distributed technology units across the University of Iowa. You’ll identify emerging needs, guide technical solutions, establish priorities, and help ensure our research platforms remain reliable, scalable, secure, and positioned for growth. There is an expectation that the individual in this position will maintain effective, civil, and respectful working relationships with the University of Iowa campus community and uphold the University’s commitment to creative a welcoming and respectful environment for all. This position is not eligible for University sponsorship for employment authorization. ITS values work life balance and strives to provide flexible work options where possible. This position is eligible for on-site, hybrid, or remote work arrangements within the state of Iowa, and will require a work arrangement form to be completed upon the start of employment. Per policy, work arrangements will be reviewed annually, and must comply with the remote work program and related policies and employee travel policy when working at a remote location.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to the position, or an equivalent combination of education and additional related experience.
Experience (typically 7 years or more) working in information technology with progressive responsibility, preferably in a higher education environment.
Experience supporting, administering, or leading services related to high performance computing, research storage, Linux/Unix systems, or other research-adjacent IT platforms.
Demonstrated ability to provide technical direction for complex infrastructure services, including troubleshooting, escalation, documentation, lifecycle planning, and service improvement.
Some leadership experience (administrative, functional, or project based) in an IT environment.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience architecting IT systems highly preferred.
Prior experience supervising technical staff, including coaching, performance feedback, work assignment, and team development.
Familiarity with security, compliance, audit, data protection, or regulatory considerations in research or enterprise infrastructure environments.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a highly technical team, providing direction, coaching, prioritization, performance management, and day-to-day support.
Serve as a strong advocate for the Research Platforms team while balancing broader university and enterprise technology priorities.
Guide the design, implementation, integration, and support of complex enterprise research computing environments.
Oversee critical services and serve as an escalation point when complex or high-impact issues arise.
Partner directly with campus researchers, academic departments, research support organizations, and IT teams to understand needs and develop effective solutions.
Help shape service strategy, deployment planning, continuity planning, service expectations, and long-term platform growth.
Coordinate across a large and sophisticated technology ecosystem, including infrastructure, applications, data centers, cybersecurity, healthcare, teaching and learning technology, and collegiate IT.
Represent the Research Platforms team as a member of the Technology Platform Services Leadership Team.
Build trusted relationships with both technical and non-technical stakeholders and communicate clearly across disciplines.