Director, Infrastructure

Director, IT Infrastructure

Full Time

New York, NY (3 days onsite)

Primary Function:

The Director of IT Infrastructure is responsible for the design, implementation, and management of secure, reliable, and scalable IT infrastructure that underpins our business operations. This hands-on role involves designing, implementing, and troubleshooting infrastructure to ensure secure, reliable performance across on-premises and cloud environments while minimizing downtime and enhancing user experience. Key responsibilities include collaborating with cross-functional teams and external partners to drive infrastructure resilience, optimizing cloud costs, and fostering a user-centric approach to technology solutions. Additionally, the Director leads, mentors, and develops the Infrastructure Team to achieve operational excellence and align with organizational goals.

Responsibilities

Infrastructure Design, Architecture and Operations:

• Design and architect scalable, resilient, and secure IT infrastructure solutions, including on-premises and cloud environments leveraging Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. Evaluate existing infrastructure and propose enhancements to meet evolving business needs. Engage and collaborate with technology partners as necessary.
• Consolidate and modernize local infrastructure in HQ and regional offices leveraging Azure, cloud services and SaaS.
• Document all systems and office locations for Network, Infrastructure, IP addresses, etc.
• Manage server and infrastructure lifecycle, including installation, configuration, and maintenance of server and network, hardware and software.
• Install, configure and support network equipment including routers, proxy servers, switches, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, and other routing protocols and infrastructure equipment.
• Monitor system performance and troubleshoot issues to ensure optimal functionality, responsible for both incident and problem management.
• Perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) on major issues with a focus on finding ways to prevent repeated future problems.
• Deploy, maintain and monitor backup solutions to safeguard critical data. Create and test recovery plans to minimize downtime in case of system failures.
• Collaborate with and manage third-party support Managed Service Providers (MSP) and service vendors to ensure that SLAs are met. Report SLA compliance monthly.
• Negotiate agreements with new vendors for Service Level agreements.
• Procure network equipment and manage subcontractors involved with network installation.
• Ensure adherence to Change Control policies and procedures by reviewing, documenting, and obtaining necessary approvals for all change requests, and coordinating their implementation to minimize operational disruption.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation of system configurations and procedures.
• Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Network Security:

• Design and implement network security measures across on-premises and cloud environments, leveraging Microsoft Azure networking services and security features.
• Configure and manage firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, core and intermediate switches, VPNs, and secure remote access solutions.
• Collaborate with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Rapid7 vendor (or future other Managed Detection & Response MDR solutions) and across IT teams to ensure alerts are responded to, investigate and remediate any anomalies reported.
• Work closely with the Lead Cybersecurity Analyst to ensure adoptions of Cybersecurity Policies, best practices and SOPs.

Identity and Access Management (IAM):

• Implement IAM solutions to manage user access rights and privileges effectively, leveraging Microsoft Azure Active Directory, SSO, and other relevant tools.
• Develop and enforce Access Control policies, authentication mechanisms, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods. Safeguard network integrity and protect against unauthorized access.
• Utilize the Principle of Least Privilege to limit users and systems to the minimum access rights required to perform their roles.
• Utilize Privileged Access Management (PAM) to protect their critical systems and data from unauthorized access to privileged accounts.

Qualifications

Skills:

• The ability to lead a team to be successful and competent. Mentor that team to grow in knowledge and understand of both the business needs and how IT can help them to achieve them.
• Be able to explain complex technology issues or solutions to management and/or the business in a way that they can understand it.
• A thorough understanding of networking concepts and protocols, proficient in Microsoft and Linux operating systems, security controls and patch management, virtual environments (VMware), Active Directory, Group Policies, Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Intune.
• Knowledge of PowerShell, XML, JSON, Active Directory and Cloud Architecture.
• Strong knowledge of security best practices and compliance requirements.
• Technical understanding of vulnerabilities and how attackers can exploit vulnerabilities to compromise systems.
• Experience with digital certificates and disk encryption.
• Familiarity with containerization technologies.
• Understanding of user-centric infrastructure design concepts.
• Hands-on experience in infrastructure implementation, support and maintenance.
• Hands-on experience with relevant compliance and vulnerability management technologies such as Nessus, Artic Worf, Qualys and Rapid7.
• Strong analysis and problem-solving abilities. Technical eye for details.
• Solid teamwork and interpersonal skills with a customer service focus and a solid understanding of ITIL process.
• Highly self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Able to manage multiple priorities and complex tasks in parallel.

Work Experience:

• The ideal candidate has 10 years of experience in Information Technology Infrastructure and Operation, including supporting a distributed on-premises environment, and cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure, with 5 years managerial experience.
• Experience with supporting multiple remote offices without on-site IT support staff.
• Familiarity with information security policies, standards, industry best practices, and frameworks (i.e. NIST).

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related area, or equivalent experience.
• MS Azure, AWS, cybersecurity and other relevant MS, CompTIA, Cisco and VMware certifications are preferred.