Director, Digital Infrastructure & Platform Architecture

Impact:

• Shape enterprise-scale digital infrastructure platforms rather than inherit static environments
• Lead modernization across enterprise network architecture, cloud connectivity, automation, and security-aligned platforms
• Enable digital learning, research computing, clinical systems, analytics platforms, and AI experimentation
• Develop enterprise leadership capability through exposure to governance, strategy, and cross-institutional collaboration

Required Skills:
• Master’s degree in computer science, engineering, information technology, or related field; or Bachelor’s degree with equivalent senior-level leadership experience.
• Progressive experience contributing to or leading enterprise-scale digital infrastructure, connectivity, or platform initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to design, assess, and govern secure, scalable, and resilient infrastructure platforms in complex environments.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary technical teams, vendors, and budgets across multi-year initiatives.
• Ability to engage executive leadership, faculty, researchers, and operational partners in collaborative, outcome-focused environments.
• Experience with operational and capital budgeting, lifecycle planning, and vendor management.

Preferred Skills:
• Experience supporting research-intensive, clinical, or data-intensive environments
• Exposure to product, platform, or service portfolio management approaches
• Familiarity with higher education and/or academic medical environments
• Experience partnering across cloud, data, analytics, security, and enterprise architecture domains

Day to day Responsibilities:
Digital Infrastructure & Platform Strategy (30%) – Essential
• Provide enterprise leadership for digital infrastructure and connectivity platforms, including campus and data-center network architecture, cloud connectivity, and foundational infrastructure services.
• Define and govern a multi-year digital infrastructure and platform architecture roadmap aligned with Forward-Focused priorities, R1 research growth, and medical/clinical requirements.
• Position infrastructure as an integrated enterprise platform enabling secure digital experiences, analytics, data movement, AI adoption, and research scalability.
• Modernize architectures to reduce technical debt, improve resilience, and ensure long-term institutional readiness.
• Partner with academic, research, and administrative leaders to translate evolving needs into scalable platform capabilities and investment strategies.

Cloud, Network, Automation & Security-Aligned Architecture (25%) – Essential
• Lead architectural oversight of enterprise network and connectivity platforms, including wired, wireless, data-center, and cloud-adjacent networks.
• Provide strategic direction for hybrid and multi-cloud architectures spanning on-premises, AWS, Azure, GCP, SaaS, and edge environments.
• Guide adoption of automation, infrastructure-as-code, and orchestration to improve reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure alignment with Zero Trust principles, identity-aware networking, segmentation, and security-aligned architecture in close partnership with the CISO organization.
• Establish enterprise practices for monitoring, observability, resilience, continuity of operations, and disaster recovery.
• Provide architectural oversight for infrastructure supporting research computing, clinical systems, facilities technologies, IoT, and physical security platforms.

Product, Service & Portfolio Management (20%) – Essential
• Deliver infrastructure as a managed portfolio of enterprise platforms and services, applying
modern service and product management practices.
• Maintain transparency through service definitions, architecture standards, lifecycle
documentation, and risk assessments.
• Coordinate dependencies across infrastructure, cloud, data, analytics, and integration
domains in partnership with Data & Analytics leadership

Leadership, Partnership & Talent Development (15%) – Essential
Collaborate with the CIO, CISO, Digital Innovation, Data & Analytics, Client Services, and Enterprise Architecture leaders to execute enterprise technology strategy.
• Lead teams responsible for enterprise network architecture, cloud connectivity, and infrastructure platform design, while aligned operational and client services teams deliver day-to-day service execution.
• Clearly define team ownership and boundaries, ensuring alignment with future operating models and avoiding duplication across operational and security functions.
• Build and develop high-performing teams focused on architecture, cloud platforms, automation, and security-aligned infrastructure.
• Establish strong partnerships with academic, research, and clinical stakeholders through influence and collaboration rather than centralized control.
• Represent Digital Infrastructure & Platform Architecture in University governance, initiatives, and cross-functional working groups.

Continuous Improvement & Professional Practice (10%) – Essential
• Monitor emerging trends in digital infrastructure, networking, cloud platforms, automation, AI readiness, and research computing.
• Maintain professional currency through peer networks, conferences, and vendor engagement supported by the University.
• Ensure compliance with University policies, procurement requirements, ethical standards, and applicable regulations.

Representative Technology Competencies
• Enterprise/campus LAN/WAN connectivity; 10 and 100G Ethernet; Metro-Ethernet; DWDM/wave; VPN; SD-WAN; SASE; Wi-Fi 6/6E/7; private cellular including DAS and neutral host.
• Internet and cloud networking including BGP, Autonomous Systems, regional Internet
registries, AWS, Azure, GCP, Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, and Cloud Interconnect.
• Enterprise routing and switching technologies including traditional layer-2/layer-3, ACI,SD-Access, MPLS, VXLAN, shortest-path bridging, and user-based tunneling.
• Hardware and software platforms from vendors such as Cisco, Arista, Extreme, Juniper, and HPE/Aruba.
• Network services and management platforms including DNS/DHCP/IPAM (Infoblox or EfficientIP), Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass, Catalyst Center, CloudVision, Apstra, CloudIQ, and ThousandEyes.
• Network monitoring, visibility, and analytics platforms including SolarWinds, Nagios, Cacti, Gigamon, IXIA, and similar.
Automation and infrastructure-as-code technologies including Ansible, Terraform, Pulumi, Python, APIs, GitHub, NetBox, and Nautobot.
• Security and governance concepts including firewalls, intrusion prevention, network detection and response, DDoS protection, CASB, Zero Trust, defense-in-depth, segmentation, FERPA, HIPAA, ITIL, and Monday.com.