Associate Director, Cloud Computing & Systems Engineering

Job Description

Associate Director, Cloud Computing & Systems Engineering

Division of Information Technology

Position Reports To: AVP Enterprise Technology

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Computing & Systems Engineering is hands on role that provides senior technical and operational leadership for the University’s hybrid cloud and enterprise systems engineering environment.

This role is responsible for strategy, operations, and continuous improvement across public cloud platforms (Microsoft, Google, etc.), on-prem data center infrastructure, disaster recovery, backup, and core systems services.

The successful candidate brings significant cloud experience, strong operational leadership, and a working understanding of AI-enabled platforms.

This role balances governance and process maturity with the agility required to rapidly deliver modern cloud and AI solutions.

Experience with research computing is desirable but not required.

The Associate Director partners closely with business leaders and internal technology teams, including Security, Data, Platform, Networking, and Application Development to deliver secure, scalable, and cost-effective services.

Key Responsibilities

· Lead strategy, architecture, and operations for hybrid cloud, enterprise systems, data center, DR, and backup services

· Mature cloud operations through automation, monitoring, security, reliability, and operational metrics

· Enable cloud-native, serverless, and AI-ready platforms to support institutional priorities

· Apply FinOps practices to optimize cloud spend and improve cost transparency

· Manage and develop the Systems Engineering team, including hiring, mentoring, and performance management

· Partner with business, academic, and IT stakeholders to deliver scalable, secure solutions

· Guide modernization efforts and evaluate emerging cloud, AI, and compute technologies

· Support research and advanced computing initiatives as a desired area of focus

Required Qualifications

· 7+ years of IT experience, including 5+ years designing, operating, and supporting public cloud platforms

· 3+ years of progressive leadership or senior technical management experience

· Strong experience with hybrid cloud (Azure, GCP, etc.), M365 and enterprise infrastructure

· Knowledge of cloud operations, security, disaster recovery, and automation

· Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to diverse stakeholders

· Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience supporting research computing, HPC, or advanced computing environments

· Working knowledge of AI/ML platforms or data-intensive workloads

· Experience with FinOps and cloud cost optimization

· Scripting or automation experience (Python, PowerShell, Terraform, etc.)

· Public cloud certifications

· Experience in higher education or research environments


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