IT Infrastructure Lead

Overview

The IT Infrastructure Lead is tasked with the comprehensive design, management, and optimization of the company's IT infrastructure. This includes hands-on engagement with on-premises data centers, private cloud environments, and Microsoft Azure services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS). The role is critical for ensuring high availability, security, swift incident resolution, and strict adherence to standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, NCA ECC, and Aramco Cybersecurity Compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain enterprise data center infrastructure, ensuring operational resilience and availability.
• Configure, administer, and troubleshoot virtualization technologies, especially VMware and Nutanix HCI, including performance tuning and capacity planning.
• Conduct root cause analysis on complex issues in compute, storage, and virtualization components.
• Implement and oversee backup, recovery, and failover processes for infrastructure workloads.
• Keep technical architecture and infrastructure documentation accurate and up-to-date.
• Administer Microsoft Azure cloud services across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS platforms, focusing on virtual machines, storage, networking, hybrid connectivity, and SaaS products such as Microsoft 365 and Entra ID.
• Ensure secure configuration and continuous operation of Azure services and troubleshoot related service degradations.
• Maintain enterprise networking and security devices including firewalls, NAC systems, wireless infrastructure, and centralized logging solutions.
• Design, implement and manage firewall policies, VPN access, network segmentation, and secure routing.
• Support cybersecurity incident investigations and containment measures.
• Act as primary escalation point for infrastructure incidents, resolving major disruptions and managing change processes.
• Operate endpoint management and security platforms, applying consistent patching and configurations, and conducting investigations into recurrent security alerts.
• Maintain monitoring and observability across on-premises, private, and Azure cloud environments, continuously tuning and optimizing to enhance stability and user experience.
• Ensure infrastructure compliance with required governance frameworks and support audit activities by maintaining needed logs and evidence.
• Coordinate with vendors for infrastructure lifecycle management, upgrades, and renewals, verifying technical and security compliance of implementations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related area.
• 6 to 10 years of practical experience managing IT infrastructure and cloud operations, including data center, virtualization, networking, and hybrid cloud environments.

Technical Proficiencies

• Expertise with VMware virtualization platforms and Nutanix Hyperconverged Infrastructure.
• Skillful administration of Microsoft Azure services encompassing IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD).
• Proficiency in managing enterprise networking and security equipment and policies.
• Strong capabilities in incident, change management, and problem resolution across IT infrastructure.
• Competence in monitoring tools, troubleshooting, technical documentation, and operational governance.

Preferred Certifications

• Microsoft Azure certifications such as AZ-104 or AZ-305.
• VMware Certified Professional (VCP).
• Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP).
• Fortinet NSE certifications.
• ITIL v4 Foundation.
• ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer certification.

Performance Indicators

• Uptime and availability of infrastructure and cloud services.
• Effectiveness and timeliness of incident resolutions.
• Compliance with SLAs and configuration management standards.
• Audit readiness and adherence to cybersecurity policies.
• Reduction in repeated technical issues through proactive measures.