About the Opportunity
Job Summary
Northeastern University is seeking an Assistant Director that will
be responsible for managing the organization's hybrid
infrastructure, encompassing Cloud, On-Premises Compute, Storage,
and Backup systems. This role ensures real-time network health
monitoring, proactive incident management, and maintaining
operational standards. This role requires a proactive professional
with strong technical skills and the ability to lead a team in
maintaining, optimizing and securing our physical and virtual
estates.
This role is also hands-on and bridges strategy and execution
driving design, implementation, and optimization of both cloud
infrastructure and on-premises datacenter solutions that align with
the university's cloud and Infrastructure strategy. The ideal
candidate will have deep expertise in Cloud (AWS and Azure)
architecture, governance, security, networking, and automation. You
will collaborate with security teams, and application teams to
ensure scalability, data sovereignty, cost optimization, and
security best practices.
This role requires occasional availability outside of traditional
working hours to address urgent business needs as they arise,
including, but not limited to, responding to security incidents,
supporting software deployments, resolving software issues or
system breaks, and addressing other critical operational
requirements. The ideal candidate must be proactive and adaptable,
ensuring minimal disruption to business operations by promptly
addressing any issues, regardless of time or day. Flexibility and a
strong sense of urgency are essential for success in this
position.
This role requires flexibility in performing duties outside of the
primary responsibilities to support evolving business needs. The
ideal candidate must be adaptable and willing to take on additional
tasks or projects as required, ensuring smooth operations across
the organization. This may include stepping in to assist with
cross-functional teams, handling unexpected challenges, or
contributing to initiatives that support business growth and
success. A proactive mindset and the ability to pivot quickly are
essential for thriving in this dynamic environment.
Hybrid work schedule:
This role is hybrid and in the office three days a week to
facilitate collaboration and teamwork. In-office presence is an
essential part of our on-campus culture and allows for engaging
directly with staff and students, sharing ideas, and contributing
to a dynamic work environment. Being on-site allows for stronger
connections, more effective problem-solving, and enhanced team
synergy, all of which are key to achieving our collective goals and
driving success.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.
The University is unable to work sponsor for this role, now or in
the future
Minimum Qualification
- Experience: Minimum 7+ years of experience in enterprise
infrastructure architecture (hybrid, on-premises, and cloud) with
at least 3 years in a managerial role.
Deep understanding of Cloud networking, security, compute,
storage, and hybrid connectivity.
Proficiency in Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates, and PowerShell
for infrastructure automation.
Strong knowledge of Azure AD, RBAC, PIM, Conditional Access,
Zero Trust Security, and regulatory compliance across both physical
infrastructure and cloud environments.
Expert-level experience with cloud networking (including VNets,
VPNs, dedicated cloud interconnects, Load Balancers, and Firewall)
integrated with a deep understanding of core on-premises routing,
switching, and edge security components.
Proven track record in cost governance (FinOps) and budget
forecasting, balanced with on-premises hardware lifecycle planning
and capacity management.
Experience implementing and managing comprehensive log
management, performance metrics, and application health monitoring
systems alongside enterprise-grade infrastructure ecosystems (e.g.,
Zabbix, SolarWinds, Nagios). This includes designing and
maintaining application monitoring dashboards tailored for
leadership to provide clear visibility into system health,
performance trends, and business impact.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working in multi-cloud environments (Azure &
AWS).
- Familiarity with managing and integrating relational databases,
NoSQL data stores, data lakes, and large-scale data analytics
platforms.
- Experience with Zero Trust security models and cloud governance
frameworks.
Key Accountabilities & responsibilities
- Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of engineers and
administrators, fostering a collaborative and high-performance work
environment.
- Real-time Health Monitoring: Implement and manage tools to
continuously monitor health and performance.
- Incident Triage, Identification, and Remediation: Quickly
identify, triage, and remediate incidents to minimize impact.
- Outage and Impact Assessment: Assess the impact of outages and
work towards rapid resolution.
- Incident Communication and Status: Provide timely communication
and status
- Incident Management and Escalation: Oversee incident management
processes and escalate issues as necessary.
- Budget Management: Develop and manage the network
infrastructure budget, ensuring cost-effective solutions and
efficient resource allocation.
- Compliance: Ensure compliance with industry standards,
regulations, and best practices.
Cloud Architecture & Design:
- Design and implement scalable, secure, and resilient Azure
cloud architectures that align with Northeastern University's cloud
strategy.
- Develop reference architectures, best practices, and governance
frameworks for cloud adoption.
- Define and implement hybrid cloud architectures, integrating
on-premises data centers with Azure services.
Security & Compliance:
- Lead cloud security hardening initiatives, implementing Azure
Security Center, Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Sentinel, and Zero
Trust security models.
- Establish governance and compliance frameworks to ensure
adherence to NIST 800-171, GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulatory
requirements.
- Design and implement Azure Identity and Access Management
(IAM), including Azure Active Directory (AAD), Role-Based Access
Control (RBAC), Privileged Identity Management (PIM), and
Conditional Access Policies.
Cloud Infrastructure & Networking:
- Architect and oversee Azure network components, including
Virtual Networks (VNets), VPN Gateways, ExpressRoute, Load
Balancers, Azure Firewall, and Network Security Groups (NSGs).
- Ensure high availability and performance across cloud workloads
through proper network design and resource allocation.
- Drive modernization efforts by leveraging Azure Virtual WAN,
Private Link, and hybrid connectivity solutions.
Cost Optimization & Governance:
- Develop and enforce cost governance strategies, leveraging
Azure Cost Management + Billing, Reserved Instances, Spot VMs, and
Azure Hybrid Benefit.
- Implement tagging strategies, FinOps methodologies, and cloud
cost optimization best practices.
- Work closely with finance teams to provide cost forecasts,
budget controls, and resource efficiency recommendations.
Automation & Infrastructure as Code (IaC):
- Define Infrastructure as Code (IaC) best practices using
Terraform, Bicep, and ARM templates to automate cloud
deployments.
- Oversee CI/CD integration for infrastructure automation using
Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or Terraform Cloud.
- Implement configuration management and policy enforcement using
Azure Policy, Azure Blueprints, and Desired State Configuration
(DSC).
Position Type
Information Technology
Additional Information
Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work
experience, education and skills when extending an offer.
Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit
eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid
time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as
well as commuting & transportation. Visit
https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for
more information.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive
consideration for employment without regard to race, religion,
color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability
status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable
law.
Compensation Grade/Pay Type:
114S
Expected Hiring Range:
$130,945.00 - $189,868.75
With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend
on several factors, which may include your education, experience,
location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay
comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role.
Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to
change.
To apply, visit https://northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/careers/job/Boston-MA-Main-Campus/Assistant-Director---Cloud_R141495
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