This is a hybrid role. 3 days onsite at their Toronto Office.
Please read the full job description and apply if you really qualify for this role.
Position Summary
Reporting to the Sr. Director of Infrastructure & Unified Communications, the Director of IT Infrastructure is accountable for all aspects of Technology Infrastructure, Systems, and End User Services. This role is responsible for the design, deployment, management, monitoring, and security of storage and compute infrastructure, ensuring the reliability and scalability of Beanfield’s systems. Additionally, the Director oversees IT services for internal teams, delivering efficient end-user support and internal IT management.
The Director will lead the recruitment, development, and succession planning for the IT Infrastructure Engineering team while managing the IT department to ensure alignment with Beanfield’s business objectives and IT strategy. As a key member of the senior IT leadership team, this role plays a critical part in shaping and executing the Beanfield’s 5-year Technology Strategy, ensuring it supports the company’s long-term success and aligns with its strategic goals.
Strategic Planning (30%):
- Collaborate with the Systems Engineering Team to develop the overall infrastructure strategy, setting standards and defining capability needs across storage, compute, and virtualization environments, including VM clusters running critical systems. Ensure lifecycle management is in place to sustain and evolve the infrastructure.
- Work with management and department leaders to assess both near- and long-term infrastructure requirements for systems infrastructure, and cloud services, ensuring these align with Beanfield’s strategic goals and operational demands.
- Lead strategy around containerization for Beanfield
- Provide budgetary inputs to support a 5-year technology forecast, identifying key infrastructure projects and expenses required to maintain lifecycle standards and meet future system capability needs. Ensure budget planning aligns with Beanfield’s business objectives.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders to define and prioritize infrastructure capability needs, translating business requirements into technical solutions that address current and future demands.
- Plan and coordinate infrastructure projects by estimating and prioritizing work efforts, ensuring reliable and consistent delivery according to strategic goals and timelines.
- Contribute to innovation efforts, driving continuous improvements in infrastructure operations. Participate in Beanfield’s innovation and R&D initiatives to identify opportunities for enhancing people, processes, and technology within the IT infrastructure landscape.
- Work with business leaders to evaluate emerging opportunities, risks, and threats, developing strategic plans to ensure the technology infrastructure remains secure, scalable, and adaptable to changing business needs.
- Ensure that ITIL V4 and other relevant frameworks form the foundation for policies, processes, and standards in systems engineering, infrastructure, and cloud management.
IT Systems & Infrastructure Operations (30%):
- Oversee the design, deployment, and management of systems infrastructure, virtualization, associated software and operating systems.
- Ensure the creation and maintenance of comprehensive operational documentation, including infrastructure configuration, disaster recovery plans, and service records to support business continuity and disaster recovery strategies.
- Direct compliance audits for server, security, system backup procedures, and disaster recovery processes in alignment with Beanfield's business continuity and IT security policies.
- Provide leadership and support for all corporate applications not developed in-house
- Monitor system performance, conduct regular testing, and develop performance reports to ensure system reliability and identify areas for improvement.
- Oversee troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and incident management processes, ensuring swift resolution of issues impacting system uptime and performance.
- Lead the optimization of infrastructure operations through the development and testing of scripts, programs, and configurations, supporting routine system maintenance and operational tasks.
- Ensure all server, storage, and virtualization assets meet Beanfield’s Threat Vulnerability Management and hardening standards, with a focus on compliance with security protocols.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure smooth and reliable operation of systems that support key business processes, working closely with the IT service desk for internal team support.
- Develop and manage the KPI and reporting functions, ensuring accurate tracking of infrastructure performance metrics, resource utilization, and system efficiency. Provide regular reports to senior leadership to inform decision-making and optimize operations.
- Oversee the management of Linux-based systems and open-source environments, including Redhat, Ubuntu, AlmaLinux and other distributions, ensuring high availability, performance, and security across all enterprise operations.
- Lead the administration and optimization of critical corporate applications, including Kea DHCP, Bind, KVM, VMware, Proxmos, and open-source infrastructure components. Ensure seamless integration and functionality to support business processes and network services.
- Provide oversight and expertise in PostgreSQL and other database systems, ensuring data integrity, optimization, and support for enterprise applications.
- Proficiency in containerization and orchestration technologies such as Podman, Docker, and Kubernetes, with a focus on deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications to support infrastructure operations.
Resource and Financial Management (20%):
- Technology Acquisition and Research: Direct the research and evaluation of hardware, software, and systems products to support strategic technology decisions. Oversee procurement processes and vendor selection to ensure that Beanfield invests in scalable, cost-effective infrastructure solutions.
- Budget Planning and Financial Oversight: Lead the annual budget planning process for Systems Engineering and Infrastructure, aligning financial forecasts with strategic technology goals. Monitor and manage budgetary allocations for ongoing operations, upgrades, and new initiatives, ensuring prudent cost management.
- Cost-Benefit and ROI Analysis: Conduct thorough cost-benefit and return on investment analyses for proposed systems and infrastructure projects, providing executive leadership with data-driven insights to aid in decision-making and resource allocation.
- Vendor and Procurement Management: Oversee the procurement of new technology and manage vendor relationships, including contract negotiations and performance evaluations. Ensure that vendor partnerships support the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective systems infrastructure.
- Team Development and HR Leadership: Lead recruitment, development, and retention efforts for the Systems Engineering team. Foster an environment of continuous learning and professional growth, ensuring the team is equipped to meet current and future technology needs.
- Portfolio and Resource Optimization: Design and implement portfolio management strategies, providing stakeholders with accurate and timely information on the status of projects and programs. Identify opportunities for resource optimization, cost savings, and improvements in system performance and financial efficiency.
- Oversee IT Service Desk Operations: Provide strategic oversight for IT Service Desk operations, ensuring efficient support and technical issue resolution for corporate and remote offices. Lead the delivery of centralized end-user services, driving high user satisfaction and service efficiency.
- Manage IT Hardware Lifecycle: Oversee the entire asset lifecycle for end-user devices, including procurement, deployment, maintenance, and decommissioning of laptops, desktops, and other IT equipment and end user software. Ensure proper warranty and maintenance support, while optimizing resources to meet nationwide user demands.
- IT Resource Allocation: Provide strategic oversight for IT resource planning, working with the Manager to ensure that the department's tools, services, and staff are optimized to meet and handle nationwide end-user demands.
- Manage IT Policy Compliance and Risk Mitigation: Ensure compliance with IT policies related to hardware usage, security, and software licensing. Develop and manage risk mitigation strategies, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans that align with Beanfield’s strategic objectives and SOC 2 Type II compliance.
- Manage Mobile Device Management (MDM): Oversee the deployment and management of company provided devices across the organization, ensuring compliance with security policies and seamless integration of MDM solutions. Ensure that devices are secure, updated, and effectively managed to meet the needs of a dynamic workforce.
- Promote End-User Training and Knowledge Sharing: Ensure the creation and management of "How To" documentation and FAQs within a knowledge repository. Provide training and support to users, promoting the use of self-service tools and increasing productivity through well-documented, user-friendly resources.
Key Qualifications:
- 10+ years of progressive experience in managing systems engineering functions, with expertise in IT operations, systems architecture, information security, and infrastructure management in Linux-based environments.
- Substantial exposure to IT infrastructure and cloud platforms, with a proven ability to manage complex systems at scale, including Linux server environments, VM clusters, and hybrid cloud services.
- Leadership in multi-year systems engineering roadmaps, aligning infrastructure initiatives with Beanfield’s long-term business goals while ensuring compliance with regulatory and security standards.
- Must have - Linux Enterprise Server Platforms: Extensive experience with managing and optimizing Linux-based systems (e.g., Red Hat, Ubuntu, CentOS) in enterprise environments.
- Windows Server and Cloud Integration: Strong expertise in managing Windows-based environments, including configuration, optimization, and integrating Windows systems with cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure to create resilient and efficient hybrid cloud architectures.
- Must have - Hypervisor Technologies: In-depth knowledge of virtualization technologies, including VMWare, Proxmox, KVM, with experience in managing virtualized environments for scalable, high-performance infrastructure.
- Systems Monitoring Tools: Expertise with systems monitoring solutions, such as LibreNMS, Nagios, to track system health, performance metrics, and proactively manage infrastructure.
- Backup Technologies: Knowledge of enterprise-level backup solutions to ensure data integrity and disaster recovery readiness including Rubrik, Veeam.
- Container and Orchestration Technologies: Proficiency in containerization and orchestration technologies such as open source Podman, Docker and Kubernetes, with a focus on deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications.
- Cloud Platforms (AWS/Azure): Extensive experience with managing and deploying cloud infrastructure using AWS and Azure, with a focus on scalability, security, and integrating hybrid cloud solutions with on-premises systems.
- Proven expertise in strategic planning and execution, with experience directing large-scale systems engineering projects, managing multiple budgets, and leading cross-functional teams to achieve technology objectives.
- Experience managing geographically distributed teams, ensuring effective collaboration and performance across diverse groups while maintaining alignment with Beanfield’s operational and business needs.
- Strong organizational change management skills, with the ability to lead system transition initiatives, implement new technologies, and drive operational efficiencies in infrastructure and end-user services.
- Ability to collaborate with senior leadership, assessing business needs to develop stable, reliable, and cost-effective systems engineering solutions that align with Beanfield’s corporate strategy.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment across departments and teams.
- Experience in supporting corporate applications by engineering robust, secure, and scalable infrastructure solutions that ensure high availability and performance.
