North and South America IT Operations Manager

Job Description

Founded in 1912, Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) is a diversified, Fortune 200 global multi-industrial manufacturing leader with revenues totaling $15.9 billion in 2024. The company’s seven industry-leading segments leverage the unique ITW Business Model to drive solid growth with best-in-class margins and returns in markets where highly innovative, customer-focused solutions are required. ITW’s approximately 45,000 dedicated colleagues around the world thrive in the company’s decentralized and entrepreneurial culture.

The North and South America IT Operations Manager will be responsible for overseeing the design, implementation, and management of IT architecture and infrastructure for the Specialty Products segment within the ITW Enterprise. In this role you will work with multiple international manufacturing plants that are part of division and business unit structures in the Specialty Products segment.

The role requires strategic leadership to unify and optimize IT infrastructure to ensure high availability, reliability, and performance across all manufacturing plants while maintaining flexibility to support legacy systems and varying operational needs.

The ideal candidate will have experience managing complex IT environments within manufacturing sectors, a deep understanding of enterprise architecture, and the ability to standardize processes across diverse technical landscapes with different and multiple technology stacks. This role will work closely with Division leaders, plant managers, and the IT Business Application Managers and Analyst. The candidate will lead MSPs and plant IT support teams to ensure scalable, secure, and efficient IT systems.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture Strategy & Alignment:

• Develop and implement a cohesive regional IT infrastructure strategy aligned with the Enterprise and segment’s objectives, ensuring it accommodates the unique requirements of each division and plant.
• Standardize the IT architecture across divisions, integrating systems while ensuring minimal disruption to plant operations.
• Collaborate with group and division IT leaders to ensure IT solutions are scalable, secure, and compliant with industry standards.
  
  

Infrastructure Management

• Manage the regional IT infrastructure, ensuring high availability, reliability, and performance across all manufacturing plants.
• Oversee the implementation of networks, data centers, cloud solutions, and other infrastructure components across the region.
• Ensure proper maintenance, upgrading, and lifecycle management of IT hardware and software at each site.
• Lead initiatives to migrate and integrate legacy systems where feasible, balancing cost and operational efficiency.
• Lead IT infrastructure assessments and due diligence for consolidation and simplification.
• Develop roadmaps for unifying disparate IT environments, ensuring seamless connectivity and data flow between systems.
• Maintain operational continuity while driving the transition from legacy systems to modern, consolidated architectures.
  
  

Identity And Access Management

• Oversee regional identity management systems, ensuring secure and efficient access control.
• Provide guidelines and supervise MSPs and/or plant IT engineers in managing and maintaining Active Directory including Group Policies, user account provisioning and domain trust relationships between legacy and modern systems.
• Lead effort to standardize IAM practices integrating disparate identify systems int a unified structure at division level
• Collaborate with cyber security to implement robust authentication methods including single sign on (SSO) multifactor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC)
• Ensure compliance with data protection regulations (i.e. GDRP, CCPA) and internal policies related to identity and access management
• Perform regular audits and reviews of access permissions to identify and mitigate security risks
  
  

Collaboration With Stakeholders

• Act as the primary IT liaison between regional manufacturing plants and global IT teams, ensuring alignment of priorities and strategies.
• Work closely with manufacturing plant leadership, division heads, and other stakeholders to understand operational requirements and ensure IT solutions meet business needs.
• Partner with plant engineers, production managers, and other key personnel to identify opportunities where technology can drive efficiency, automation, and innovation.
  
  

Cybersecurity & Compliance

• Ensure all regional IT systems and infrastructure comply with ITW IT security policy.
• Work with Corporate cyber security team to implement best practices for protecting critical manufacturing systems from cyber threats.
• Conduct regular audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing across regional IT environments.
  
  

Team Leadership & Vendor Management

• Lead a regional team of infrastructure engineers, architects, and support personnel.
• Provide guidance, mentorship, and professional development.
• Manage relationships with external vendors, contractors, and service providers to ensure the timely and cost-effective delivery of IT services.
• Oversee contracts and service-level agreements (SLAs) for infrastructure-related services in the region.
  
  

Performance Monitoring & Reporting

• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track the performance and health of regional IT systems.
• Prepare regular reports for senior leadership, highlighting system performance, project progress, and any issues or risks.
• Implement tools and processes for proactive monitoring, issue detection, and problem resolution across IT environments.
  
  

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Stay updated with the latest industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in IT infrastructure, cloud computing, and manufacturing technology.
• Proactively identify opportunities to enhance system efficiency, reduce costs, and support manufacturing innovation (e.g., IoT, AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics in production environments).
• Lead pilot projects and proof-of-concept initiatives that explore the potential benefits of new technologies.
  
  

Key Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. A master’s degree or specialized certifications (e.g., TOGAF, ITIL, PMP) is preferred.
• Experience:
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in IT infrastructure management, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience supporting IT environments within manufacturing settings, including managing the unique challenges of operational technology (OT) integration.
• Strong background in managing IT infrastructures in a multi-divisional or multinational context.
• Travel up to 35% beyond onboarding.
• Fluent in English and Spanish (preferred)
• Technical Skills: Expertise in network architecture, cloud computing (AWS, Azure, etc.), virtualization, data center management and Identity management.
  
  

Compensation Information

The compensation package for the role offers a competitive base salary ranging from $140K - $175K annually. This position is eligible to participate in the management incentive plan (MIP). ITW considers various factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience, education and training, geographic location, key skills, as well as market and business considerations.