Director of Research Computing & Cyberinfrastructure

Project Overview

The Division of IT requires an experienced leader
to provide immediate organizational stabilization and transformational
leadership during a period of significant departmental change. The department
is facing organizational, operational, and cultural challenges that require
decisive leadership, objective assessment, and rapid implementation of
corrective actions before recruiting a permanent Director. This 9–12-month
interim assignment will focus on rebuilding organizational culture, aligning
resources with institutional priorities, improving operational effectiveness,
and establishing sustainable management practices. The Interim Director will be
empowered to make organizational decisions necessary to position the department
for long-term success while maintaining continuity of critical IT services and
customer engagement.

The Interim Director will conduct a comprehensive
assessment of research technology infrastructure, services, operational
procedures, active and anticipated projects, and budget requirements.
Responsibilities include aligning operational procedures with divisional
standards, leveraging service desk ticketing systems for support requests,
client communications, project tracking, and reporting analytics, and
establishing effective governance, communication, and decision-making
processes. The role also involves documenting organizational recommendations,
strategic priorities, lifecycle budgets, professional development needs, and
transition plans for permanent leadership, while recruiting, mentoring, and
preparing team members for long-term success. Success will be measured by
improvements in organizational culture, employee accountability, operational
performance, customer satisfaction, governance maturity, and departmental
readiness for permanent executive leadership.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Provide
  leadership for all departmental operations, research technology
  infrastructure, and related services.
  
• Supervise
  managers, professional staff, and student staff.
  
• Establish
  performance expectations and monitor organizational outcomes.
  
• Make
  timely operational and resource allocation decisions.
  
• Lead
  organizational change initiatives and culture transformation efforts.
  
• Evaluate
  organizational effectiveness and recommend structural improvements.
  
• Develop
  and monitor departmental priorities and performance metrics in
  collaboration with executive leadership.
  
• Coordinate
  departmental budgets and strategic resource allocation in collaboration
  with executive leadership.
  
• Ensure
  compliance with university policies, security standards, audit
  requirements, and regulatory obligations.
  
• Remove
  organizational obstacles that inhibit productivity, innovation, and
  collaboration.
  
• Provide
  executive-level reports and recommendations to executive leadership.
  
• Develop
  succession planning and transition documentation for permanent leadership.
  

Requirements

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree In Computer
  Science or a closely related discipline
  
• Master’s degree in science, technology, or a related field.
  

Required Skills:

• 8+ years
  of experience leading organizational transformation, change management,
  and service delivery optimization
  
• 8+ years
  of experience leading large, complex technology projects
  
• 8+ years
  of experience with personnel management, coaching, and performance accountability
  

Preferred Skills:

• Experience
  with research cyberinfrastructure, high-performance computing, high-speed
  storage, and networking technologies.
  
• Experience
  implementing governance and operational maturity frameworks.
  
• Experience
  managing organizational change in higher education.
  
• Knowledge
  of ITIL frameworks and IT service management best practices.
  
• Experience
  with cloud infrastructure and services, including AWS and Microsoft Azure.
  
• Familiarity
  with AI infrastructure and cloud-based AI technologies across AWS,
  Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
  
• Experience
  as a Carpentries Instructor, delivering technical training and supporting
  skill development.
  
• Training
  or hands-on experience with High-Performance Computing (HPC) technologies,
  including Slurm workload management and InfiniBand networking.
  

Benefits