Head of IT, Riverlane

• Proven experience in a senior IT leadership role, ideally within a technology-driven, engineering or research-intensive organisation
• Strong hands-on technical background in Linux systems administration, networking, and cloud/on-prem infrastructure
• Demonstrable experience managing or supporting HPC environments, including job scheduling systems, storage architectures (e.g. GPFS, Lustre, NFS), and cluster management
• Experience owning DevOps tooling and practices: CI/CD, containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes), infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible), and version control systems
• Solid understanding of information security principles and experience implementing or managing security frameworks
• Excellent stakeholder management skills — comfortable engaging with scientists, engineers, executives, and external vendors alike
• A proactive, ownership-oriented mindset with the ability to both set strategy and roll up your sleeves
• Studies have shown that women tend to apply to jobs if they meet all or almost all of the requirements whereas men apply even if they meet only some of the requirements. If that sounds like you then please apply – we are happy to review your application and let you know if we think you might be a good fit

Desirable

• As Head of IT, you will own and lead everything that keeps Riverlane's technology estate running — from corporate IT operations to the development and management of our on-premises high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role that sits at the intersection of enterprise IT and deep technical infrastructure, making it uniquely exciting for someone who thrives in fast-moving, engineering-led organisations
• You will be Riverlane's most senior IT leader, setting strategy, owning delivery, and working closely with engineering, operations, security, and finance stakeholders to ensure our infrastructure is world-class, secure, and ready to scale
• Own and evolve the company-wide IT strategy, policies, and roadmap, ensuring alignment with Riverlane's growth trajectory and security requirements
• Manage and continuously improve all corporate IT systems, including endpoint management, identity and access management (IAM), collaboration tools, SaaS platforms, and networking
• Lead IT procurement, vendor management, and licence optimisation across all tools and platforms
• Ensure robust IT support processes are in place, maintaining high availability and responsiveness for a technically demanding workforce of scientists and engineers
• Own and develop Riverlane's information security posture, including policies, risk management, access controls, and compliance with relevant standards (e.g. ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials)
• Lead the IT aspects of any audits, due diligence processes, or regulatory requirements
• Manage and mentor any IT support staff, building out the team as the company grows
• Take ownership of Riverlane's on-premises high-performance computer, serving as the primary technical authority for its architecture, performance, reliability, and availability
• Lead the DevOps strategy for the HPC environment, including CI/CD pipelines, containerisation, workload scheduling (e.g. Slurm, Kubernetes), and infrastructure-as-code practices
• Collaborate closely with quantum scientists and hardware engineers to understand their compute requirements and translate them into robust, scalable infrastructure solutions
• Learn to ensure the HPC environment is optimised for the unique demands of quantum error correction research and development
• Define and enforce best practices around HPC system security, backup, disaster recovery, and capacity planning
• Evaluate and integrate new technologies to extend the HPC capability as Riverlane's research scales toward MegaQuOp and beyond
• Act as the bridge between the engineering/science teams and the IT function, translating complex research infrastructure requirements into well-managed, reliable systems

• Please upload a CV and covering letter by clicking 'Apply Now'. Your covering letter should explain why you are applying for the job and what skills and experience you can bring to the role
• We review CVs as we receive them and interview as soon as we have applications that look like a good match. We do not use closing dates, so please apply as soon as possible to avoid missing out on this role. We advertised this role on DATE