Senior Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations

Role Summary

Senior Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations responsible for delivering mission-critical technology infrastructure and leading the global Infrastructure & Operations team, spanning strategic planning, system architecture, infrastructure engineering, and operational excellence. You will provide a secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure, cloud platforms, and customer-focused support capabilities that enable collaboration, productivity, and innovation. This role is located onsite in San Francisco, with four days on-site per week.

Responsibilities

• Own the infrastructure architecture, ensuring simplification, rationalization, and modernization across cloud, network, systems, and collaboration platforms.
• Oversee global infrastructure, including firewalls (Palo Alto), networking (Cisco/Meraki), VMware, Windows/Linux servers, enterprise storage, identity services, and certificate management.
• Oversee backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity readiness, ensuring resilient, tested, and compliant infrastructure operations.
• Ensure seamless hybrid work by overseeing collaboration platforms - including Microsoft 365, audio visual and meeting-room technology, and productivity tools – to deliver a cohesive, productive digital workplace.
• Oversee endpoint engineering across Windows, macOS, Intune, Automox, and associated deployment frameworks, ensuring standardization, security, and life cycle consistency.
• Deliver a high-performing Service Desk function that provides predictable, scalable, and responsive support - including onsite, remote, VIP/executive, and event support – to ensure a consistently high-quality and productive employee experience.
• Oversee operational support across multiple geographies – to include on-site support, site expansions, lab environments, corporate moves, and infrastructure buildouts.
• Oversee Vir’s AWS ecosystem to deliver secure, resilient, and cost-conscious cloud architecture supporting Bioinformatics, Research and rest of the company, while ensuring strong performance through the cloud MSP.
• Collaborate with peers within IT (e.g. Infosec, R&D, SG&A, Lab IT, PMO, Compliance) and business leaders to ensure infrastructure investments are properly prioritized, scoped, delivered and managed in support of business-driven requirements.
• Select, evaluate and develop personnel to ensure efficient operation of the functions.
• Provide strong oversight of vendors and MSPs, ensuring high-quality delivery and accountability, competitive pricing, and ongoing service optimization.
• Prepare and manage infrastructure-related cost estimates, budgets, schedules and delivery.
• Create, maintain and mature IT policies, procedures, and systems to ensure regulatory, compliance, and quality needs are met, while driving continuous improvements across people, process and technology.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, or relevant experience
• 18+ years of progressive experience across IT Infrastructure, Cloud and Operations, with 8+ years leading multi-disciplinary technical teams and MSPs in complex, high-growth environments.
• 5+ years in biotech, pharma, or life sciences IT, with direct support for research and lab environments.
• Broad technical skillsets spanning cloud (AWS), network, systems, collaboration platforms, endpoints across both Windows and macOS ecosystems.
• Proven ability to architect, simplify, scale, secure, modernize and standardize enterprise IT infrastructure.
• Strong experience operating and optimizing AWS environments, including managing outsourced DevOps, enforcing cost-efficient architectures in support of scientific computation (e.g. Research Bioinformatics/Data Science team).
• Demonstrated leadership of service desk, endpoint engineering, and digital workplace technologies, delivering exceptional employee and executive experiences in a hybrid-work environments.
• Demonstrated vendor and MSP management expertise, including contract negotiations, pricing discipline, SLA accountability, and service optimization.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-engagement abilities, capable of translating complex technical concepts for executive, scientific, and cross-functional audiences.
• A systems-thinking approach that unifies architecture, engineering, operations, service delivery, and user experience under a simplified, scalable technology strategy.
• Strong experience in SOX and GxP regulated environments
• Ability to travel up to 10%, including to Europe

Skills

• Cloud architecture and engineering (primarily AWS)
• Network and systems administration
• Collaboration platforms and digital workplace technologies
• Endpoint engineering across Windows and macOS
• Vendor and MSP management
• Strategic planning, budgeting, and governance
• Executive communication and stakeholder management

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, or relevant experience

Additional Requirements

• Travel up to 10%, including to Europe