Director Technology, Operations & Observability

CRATE & BARREL
Northbrook, IL

As a Director - Technology, Operations & Observability, you will own the vision, strategy, and execution for enterprise-wide observability and operations. You will lead through your teams and cross-functional partnerships, championing the use of modern technology to streamline information flow and processes. This ensures rapid incident detection and response, while elevating awareness for trend analysis and continuous learning. This role is accountable for a unified observability platform that power our insights into the performance and stability of our technology stack, stewarding our change and incident management processes leveraging automation and AI technology to provide a top of class experience that elevates the right information at the right time, enabling better change planning and risk assessment, faster incident mitigation and fostering a culture learning and continuous improvement.
  • This position is fully remote

  • This role is a People leader position

A day in the life as a Director, Technology Operations & Observability…

  • Accountable for the strategy, development, and operation of a unified platform that serves as the authoritative source for real-time performance and stability insights across the entire technology stack

  • Own the transformation of critical operational processes, specifically Change Management and Incident Management, by aggressively leveraging automation, AI, and Machine Learning technologies

  • Drive the creation of a 'top-of-class' operational experience that uses intelligence to deliver the right information at the right time. Go beyond the traditional ITSM practices, creating an integrated technology and process lifecycle that is ingrained in our behaviors and evolves and improves over time

  • Serve as the primary champion for driving operational health routines, standards, and best practices across Technology. This includes fostering a culture of continuous learning, post-incident review, and proactive improvement, ensuring strong operational alignment between technology and the business

  • Provides strategic leadership and direction for multiple IT operations teams, leading strategic planning and execution of initiatives to define goals, develop comprehensive implementation plans, and ensure successful outcomes aligned with overarching organizational priorities

  • Defines and drives the long-term technical and operational vision and strategic roadmap for IT Operations, ensuring alignment with overall company strategy and leveraging deep expertise in systems, tools, and methodologies within the domain

  • Drives operational excellence, innovation, and efficiency across the department, championing agile practices, and other relevant methodologies

  • Removes significant roadblocks that may impede the progress of multiple teams, proactively addressing complex, cross-functional challenges, mitigating enterprise-level risks, and fostering a collaborative and solutions-oriented environment

  • Champions the strategic evolution of IT Operations by identifying and evaluating emerging trends, cutting-edge technologies, and new operational paradigms, driving their adoption, along with modern architectural patterns and best practices, to foster continuous improvement and innovation across the organization

  • Builds and maintains a strong organizational culture that attracts, retains, and develops top technical and operational talent

  • Manages resource allocation and long-range capacity planning, ensuring fiscal responsibility and optimal utilization of resources within their organization

  • Represents the IT Operations department in senior leadership forums and contributes significantly to broader organizational strategy and decision-making

What you’ll bring to the table…

  • Exceptional leadership, strategic thinking, and organizational development skills

  • Proven ability to develop and execute comprehensive IT operations strategies that align with business objectives and drive significant organizational success

  • Expertise in managing large-scale, enterprise-wide IT programs and service portfolios, ensuring alignment with strategic goals, maximizing business value, and mitigating critical risks

  • Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical and operational concepts clearly and persuasively to senior executives and key stakeholders

  • Demonstrated experience in managing large budgets, complex resource planning, and strategic vendor relationships

  • Deep understanding of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in IT operations and service delivery, with the ability to drive organizational transformation and enhance the digital employee and customer experience

  • Strong negotiation, influencing, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to drive consensus and alignment among diverse stakeholders, including executive leadership.

  • Extensive experience in talent management, including recruiting, developing, and retaining senior IT leaders and managers

  • Proven ability to lead and develop large, diverse teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning, and building a high-performing IT organization

We’d love to hear from you if you have…

  • 12+ years of progressive professional IT experience, with at least 5+ years in senior leadership roles (e.g., Senior Manager, Director) managing large teams and complex, strategic initiatives.

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field (MBA

  • Demonstrable experience in setting and executing technical and operational strategy for a significant IT function

  • Proven success in building, leading, and motivating high-performing technical and operational teams

  • Extensive experience with agile/lean development practices and scaling them across multiple large teams or departments

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