Senior Infrastructure Operations Manager

Aculocity, LLC•Chicago, IL

About The Position

Aculocity operates as the technology arm of GVW Group. Aculocity supports seven operating companies across a global footprint, including four primary locations, two of which are manufacturing plants. Operations span North America, South Africa, Costa Rica, and India, requiring strong operational discipline, cultural awareness, and execution in tightly integrated IT and IT/OT environments. Role Summary This role is the senior operational leader for IT Infrastructure and Services across GVW Group. The role is accountable for day-to-day operational execution, service reliability, scalability, and discipline across enterprise infrastructure, cloud platforms, identity, networks, and end-user services. This is a hands-on leadership role, not a purely strategic or oversight position. The Senior Manager is expected to remain deeply engaged in operations, personally involved in major incidents, escalations, and complex technical decisions, while building and enforcing a disciplined, execution-focused operating model. This role owns operational outcomes, not security strategy or budgets, and acts as the senior escalation and execution authority for infrastructure and service operations across a global manufacturing environment. The role is expected to use and operationally manage AI-enabled tools and platforms to improve efficiency, reliability, and execution across IT operations and supported business services.

Requirements

12+ years in infrastructure, systems, or IT operations
7+ years in senior, hands-on operational leadership roles
Direct ownership of helpdesk and end-user service delivery
Experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, or engineering-heavy environments
Proven success operating in lean, high-demand organizations
Strong operational judgment, prioritization, and execution discipline
Calm, decisive leadership under sustained pressure
Willingness and ability to remain technically hands-on
Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information
Direct, concise communication style
Low tolerance for operational ambiguity or chronic failure
Professional curiosity and continuous improvement mindset

Nice To Haves

Global or multi-region IT operations responsibility
ERP, PLM, CAD, and engineering toolchains
Automotive or heavy manufacturing exposure
IT/OT convergence environments

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end operational performance across on-premises and cloud infrastructure, identity platforms, networks, and end-user computing
Ensure operational readiness and stability for ERP, PLM, CAD, and manufacturing-adjacent systems
Oversee virtualization, backups, core network services, and platform availability
Act as the senior escalation point for production incidents and systemic failures
Surface operational risks, capacity constraints, and technical debt with clear remediation paths
Partner with Security to ensure controls are operationally executed as designed
Run daily IT operations across all supported operating companies
Own incident response, escalation handling, and root cause analysis, using AI-enabled monitoring, correlation, and automation where it improves outcomes
Translate executive direction and priorities into clear, executable operational plans
Enforce accountability, ownership, and follow-through in lean, high-demand environments
Maintain operational discipline under pressure and during sustained incidents
Proactively identify and eliminate systemic operational weaknesses
Apply AI and automation to reduce manual operational work, accelerate incident detection and resolution, and improve service predictability
Ensure AI-enabled operational tools (monitoring, service desk, analytics, automation) are production-ready, governed, and reliable
Operationally manage AI platforms and workloads used by the business, ensuring availability, performance, and cost discipline
Integrate AI outputs into daily operational decision-making, incident response, and capacity planning
Partner with Data, Security, and Applications teams to ensure AI usage is safe, observable, and aligned with production requirements
Prevent uncontrolled or unsafe AI usage that introduces operational, security, or compliance risk
Own the helpdesk function and its performance across all supported entities
Define, enforce, and continuously improve service standards, SLAs, and escalation paths
Ensure predictable, high-quality support for a globally distributed and culturally diverse user base
Drive reduction of repetitive and manual work through automation and AI-assisted service workflows
Provide concise monthly and on-demand operational reporting focused on trends, risks, and failures
Participate directly in major incidents, escalations, and complex troubleshooting
Maintain deep, current working knowledge of the supported infrastructure, platforms, and the AI-enabled tools used to operate them
Lead by example through direct technical engagement, not delegation
Make informed decisions with incomplete information when required
Manage up to four direct reports, with additional indirect oversight as required
Delegate effectively while retaining accountability for outcomes
Set clear expectations and address underperformance directly
Ensure team capabilities align with real operational demand, not tool ownership or titles
Build an execution-oriented, resilient operations team
Own and enforce operational processes for incident, change, and asset management
Maintain concise, factual reporting focused on risks, failures, trends, and corrective actions
Eliminate ambiguity in ownership, accountability, and escalation paths
Ensure operational processes scale across regions while remaining practical
Act as the primary operational interface between Infrastructure, Security, Applications, Data, and Manufacturing stakeholders
Balance global standards with local operational realities
Push back on unworkable, unsafe, or operationally unsound requests
Support tightly coupled IT/OT environments with production awareness