IT Manager II | Server and Storage Systems

IT Manager | Server and Storage Systems

Location: 5000 Kansas Avenue Kansas City, KS 66106

Work Model: Hybrid

Department: Information Technology

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Job Summary 

The IT Manager leads enterprise-level infrastructure modernization, architecture strategy, and critical operational resiliency. This role bridges the gap between high-level architectural design and hands-on engineering management, ensuring AWG infrastructure—spanning legacy data centers, Cloud environments and modern SaaS environments—is secure, compliant, and scalable. You will lead, mentor, and manage a team of 8-10 IT infrastructure professionals, championing the transition to modern infrastructure practices by driving Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and automation via Terraform. 

 Key Responsibilities 

• Team Leadership & Management: 
• Directly lead, mentor, and manage a high-performing team of 8-10 IT infrastructure professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and technical excellence. 
• Balance team capacity between critical operational support and long-term engineering initiatives, ensuring clear prioritization and professional growth for all team members. 
• Promote cross-training between disparate technical disciplines (e.g., legacy systems vs. cloud/SaaS) to build redundancy and bridge skill gaps. 
• Enterprise Architecture & Strategy: 
• Define and enforce technical standards, architectural roadmaps, and lifecycle management for enterprise hardware and software. 
• Lead engineering steering initiatives to ensure infrastructure aligns with long-term business goals and technical debt reduction. 
• Consult with internal teams to provide guidance on systems architecture, cloud adoption, and future-state technology direction. 
• IaC & Automation Leadership: 
• Drive the enterprise-wide adoption of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles to eliminate manual configuration and improve consistency. 
• Lead the standardization, development, and maintenance of Terraform modules to automate the provisioning and lifecycle management of cloud and hybrid environments. 
• Integrate IaC practices into CI/CD pipelines to ensure scalable, reproducible, and compliant infrastructure deployments. 
• Legacy Data Center & Hybrid Infrastructure: 
• Oversee the full lifecycle management of on-premises data center infrastructure (compute, storage, and networking). 
• Manage production environments, including troubleshooting complex, unsupported legacy systems and planning phased migrations to modern platforms. 
• Maintain robust connectivity and integration between legacy data center footprints and modern cloud/SaaS environments. 
• SaaS Governance & Integration: 
• Partner with application and business teams to manage the selection, implementation, and lifecycle of SaaS solutions, ensuring alignment with organizational security and operational standards. 
• Develop frameworks for SaaS integration, focusing on data flow, automated provisioning, and vendor management. 
• Monitor SaaS performance and compliance, ensuring these tools effectively support business unit requirements. 
• Identity & Access Management (IAM) Modernization: 
• Lead the IAM modernization program anchored in Microsoft Entra, focusing on workforce and external identity flows. 
• Design and implement modern authentication, Privileged Access Management (PAM), Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), and automated provisioning. 
• Project Leadership & Governance: 
• Lead cross-functional technical teams through project planning, scope definition, and execution, adhering to PMO standards. 
• Manage stakeholder communications, including executive reporting and business unit engagement. 
• Ensure compliance with operational requirements, including service certification and audit readiness. 

Qualifications 

• People Management: Proven experience leading, managing, and mentoring a technical team of 8-10+ professionals. Demonstrated success in building high-performing teams, performance management, and career development. 
• Technical Expertise: Deep, hands-on proficiency in Terraform and implementing robust IaC frameworks. Substantial experience managing hybrid environments, including Azure cloud, Microsoft Entra,  SaaS platforms, and legacy on-premises data center infrastructure. 
• Strategic Leadership: Proven ability to manage large-scale architectural projects, organizational change, and complex vendor relationships. 
• Communication: Strong capability to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders and manage relationships across diverse internal and external business units. 
• Project Management: Demonstrated proficiency in defining project scope, establishing RACI matrices, maintaining SOPs, and adhering to PMO governance. 

Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and 3,500 locations throughout 33 states from 9 wholesale division support centers. Consolidated sales for AWG in 2025 were $12.2 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, and pharmaceutical products. For more information, visit AWGinc.com.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance
• Health Savings Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Paid Vacation, Holiday, and Sick Time
• 401(k) with 4% match along with 3 other contributions
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Basic & Supplemental Life and AD&D
• Employee Assistance Program
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability 
• Wellness Program

• Yearly Holiday Bonus