Sr. Director IT Operations

Early Warning® • Chicago, IL

1d • $188,000 - $282,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr. Director, IT Operations is responsible for leading enterprise-wide IT Operations and Infrastructure capabilities that ensure the reliability, performance, and availability of the company’s products, platforms, and services. This role oversees 24x7 operations, including monitoring, alerting, incident management, and technical support, while also driving the strategy and execution of infrastructure hosting, cloud platforms, and technology lifecycle management. This leader serves as a critical connector across Technology, Security, and Business teams, ensuring operational excellence, rapid incident response, and continuous improvement of systems that support customers and internal stakeholders. The role is accountable for establishing scalable operating models, advancing automation, and aligning infrastructure and operations strategies with the company’s broader technology vision.

Requirements

• Typically, a minimum 15+ years of progressive experience in IT Operations, Infrastructure, or Technology leadership roles, including leading multiple teams and functions.
• Demonstrated experience managing enterprise-scale 24x7 operations in a highly available, customer-facing environment.
• Strong experience with ITSM/ITIL frameworks, including incident, problem, and change management.
• Deep understanding of infrastructure platforms, including data centers, cloud (public and private), compute, storage, networking, and identity management.
• Experience leading infrastructure lifecycle management, capacity planning, and largescale platform environments.
• Proven ability to lead during high-pressure incidents and drive fact-based decision making in real time.
• Strong experience in automation, DevOps practices, and modern operational tooling.
• Demonstrated ability to manage risk across technology operations and infrastructure domains.
• Proven ability to communicate effectively with senior leadership, technical teams, vendors, and business stakeholders.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and stakeholder management skills in complex, matrixed environments.
• Background and drug screen.
• Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire.
• This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in a related field.
• ITIL certification or advanced service management credentials.
• Experience in financial services or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience with large-scale cloud transformations or hybrid infrastructure environments.
• Experience leading data center migrations, consolidations, or cloud adoption initiatives.
• Familiarity with Agile and DevOps operating models.

Responsibilities

• Provides executive leadership across IT Operations and Infrastructure teams, fostering a high-performing, highly engaged organization focused on reliability, accountability, and customer outcomes.
• Leads enterprise 24x7 operations including monitoring, alerting, incident management, and technical support, ensuring rapid detection, response, and resolution of production issues.
• Establishes and drives a consistent IT Service Management (ITSM) framework, including incident, problem, and change management disciplines aligned with ITIL best practices.
• Owns enterprise monitoring and alerting strategy and governance, ensuring comprehensive visibility across applications, infrastructure, and data flows.
• Directs the strategy, engineering, and lifecycle management of infrastructure platforms, including data centers, private and public cloud environments, compute, storage, and network systems.
• Develops and executes infrastructure technology roadmaps aligned with enterprise architecture, scalability, resilience, and performance requirements.
• Leads technology lifecycle management, including hardware/software refresh programs, capacity planning, and prevention of technology obsolescence.
• Drives adoption of automation and modern tooling to improve provisioning, monitoring, incident response, and operational efficiency.
• Oversees business continuity and disaster recovery strategies, ensuring readiness, testing, and alignment with enterprise risk management requirements.
• Acts as the central point of accountability for major incident management, driving cross functional coordination and executive communication during critical events.
• Serves as the voice of the customer for operational performance, ensuring proactive communication and continuous improvement of service delivery.
• Partners with Security, Risk, and Compliance teams to ensure infrastructure and operations adhere to regulatory, security, and data protection standards.
• Collaborates with Engineering, Architecture, and DevOps teams to ensure operational readiness, scalability, and supportability of new systems and services.
• Manages vendor relationships, including cloud providers, colocation partners, and infrastructure vendors, ensuring service levels, cost efficiency, and performance expectations are met.
• Drives a culture of continuous improvement through metrics, performance management, and operational excellence frameworks.
• Supports the company’s commitment to risk management and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data.

Benefits

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed