Director of IT Operations, Kraken

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field; Master's degree preferred
• At least 10 years of experience in IT operations, with a focus on HelpDesk Support, IT Lifecycle, and Virtual Machines, and a strong understanding of security, scale, and efficiency principles
• Proven track record of leadership and management experience, with a minimum of 5 years in IT leadership role
• Strong understanding of IT service management frameworks, such as ITIL, and security standards, such as ISO
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to analyze complex technical issues, identify root causes, and develop effective solutions, with a focus on security, scale, and efficiency
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects and initiatives
• Experience with IT service management tools, such as Jira ServiceDesk, ServiceNow, BMC Helix, or similar platforms, and security tools, such as Splunk, Sumo Logic, or similar platforms

Desirable

• The IT Operations team will be responsible primarily for owning and managing the IT HelpDesk, IT Lifecycle and IT Infrastructure for the employees of Kraken
• The IT HelpDesk is a global employee help desk for all queries and issues related to IT Hardware and Software used within the company
• This team operates round the clock to provide best in class support to employees adhering to strict SLAs
• The IT Lifecycle team is responsible for various phases of the hardware lifecycle including procurement, shipment, return and recycle/disposal of all hardware used by employees of Kraken
• The IT Infrastructure team is responsible for managing and maintaining the company's IT infrastructure with a focus on cloud infrastructure
• Managing the Virtual Machine (VM) strategy and its technology stack for the company is a core responsibility of this team
• The Director of the IT Operations team will leverage a deep understanding of IT service management (ITSM) and hands-on experience in managing IT HelpDesk, infrastructure, and IT lifecycle within hyper-growth, high-security companies where agility and scalability are essential
• You will use your thought leadership to oversee the design and implementation of day-to-day operations for critical IT functions, ensuring high-quality service delivery while driving continuous improvement and innovation as the company expands into new markets
• You will collaborate with IT leaders and cross functional partners to align operations with business objectives and will guide transformational IT initiatives to enhance process efficiency and employee productivity using data-driven approaches, automation, and AI
• Additionally, you will manage a large, globally distributed team serving as the main point of contact for IT operations
• This role reports to the Head of IT
• Oversee the IT HelpDesk team, providing strategic direction and guidance to ensure timely and effective resolution of end-user issues, while maintaining the highest levels of security and compliance
• Develop and implement scalable processes to improve first-call resolution rates, reduce ticket volumes, and enhance overall customer satisfaction, leveraging HelpDesk metrics & trends to identify optimizations and implementing automation & AI-powered tools to increase efficiency
• Collaborate with other IT and Security teams to identify and resolve root causes of recurring issues, implementing preventative measures to minimize future occurrences and reduce risk
• Manage the IT Lifecycle team and partner with cross functional teams responsible for the agreements surrounding procurement, deployment, maintenance, and retirement of IT asset inventory (hardware and software) while identifying efficiency gains/cost optimizations and ensuring compliance with organizational security & regulatory requirements
• Develop, publish and maintain policies, procedures, and standards for IT asset management to minimize risk of security breaches
• Collaborate with business operations teams to ensure seamless integration of new technologies and services, minimizing disruptions to business, and ensuring scalability to meet growing demands
• Oversee the Virtual Machine (VM) team, responsible for the design, deployment, and management of virtualized infrastructure, analyzing metrics and trends to identify opportunities for improvement and implementing changes to optimize service delivery
• Develop and implement strategies to optimize VM performance, capacity, and utilization, ensuring alignment with business needs and regulatory requirements, and minimizing risk of security breaches
• Collaborate with Security, IT & Engineering teams to ensure seamless integration of VMs with other infrastructure components, such as storage and networking, ensuring scalability and efficiency
• Identify, and analyze operations data (support ticket trends, user adoption, system issues/ service disruptions, etc.) and recommend improvements and opportunities to senior IT leadership