Assistant Director - Cloud

About the Opportunity

Northeastern University is seeking an Assistant Director that will be responsible for managing the organization's hybrid infrastructure, encompassing Cloud, On-Premises Compute, Storage, and Backup systems. This role ensures real-time network health monitoring, proactive incident management, and maintaining operational standards. This role requires a proactive professional with strong technical skills and the ability to lead a team in maintaining, optimizing and securing our physical and virtual estates.

This role is also hands-on and bridges strategy and execution driving design, implementation, and optimization of both cloud infrastructure and on-premises datacenter solutions that align with the university’s cloud and Infrastructure strategy. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Cloud (AWS and Azure) architecture, governance, security, networking, and automation. You will collaborate with security teams, and application teams to ensure scalability, data sovereignty, cost optimization, and security best practices.

This role requires occasional availability outside of traditional working hours to address urgent business needs as they arise, including, but not limited to, responding to security incidents, supporting software deployments, resolving software issues or system breaks, and addressing other critical operational requirements. The ideal candidate must be proactive and adaptable, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations by promptly addressing any issues, regardless of time or day. Flexibility and a strong sense of urgency are essential for success in this position.

This role requires flexibility in performing duties outside of the primary responsibilities to support evolving business needs. The ideal candidate must be adaptable and willing to take on additional tasks or projects as required, ensuring smooth operations across the organization. This may include stepping in to assist with cross-functional teams, handling unexpected challenges, or contributing to initiatives that support business growth and success. A proactive mindset and the ability to pivot quickly are essential for thriving in this dynamic environment.

Hybrid work schedule:

This role is hybrid and in the office three days a week to facilitate collaboration and teamwork. In-office presence is an essential part of our on-campus culture and allows for engaging directly with staff and students, sharing ideas, and contributing to a dynamic work environment. Being on-site allows for stronger connections, more effective problem-solving, and enhanced team synergy, all of which are key to achieving our collective goals and driving success.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. The University is unable to work sponsor for this role, now or in the future

• Experience: Minimum 7+ years of experience in enterprise infrastructure architecture (hybrid, on-premises, and cloud) with at least 3 years in a managerial role.

• Deep understanding of Cloud networking, security, compute, storage, and hybrid connectivity.

• Proficiency in Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates, and PowerShell for infrastructure automation.

• Strong knowledge of Azure AD, RBAC, PIM, Conditional Access, Zero Trust Security, and regulatory compliance across both physical infrastructure and cloud environments.

• Expert-level experience with cloud networking (including VNets, VPNs, dedicated cloud interconnects, Load Balancers, and Firewall) integrated with a deep understanding of core on-premises routing, switching, and edge security components.

• Proven track record in cost governance (FinOps) and budget forecasting, balanced with on-premises hardware lifecycle planning and capacity management.

• Experience implementing and managing comprehensive log management, performance metrics, and application health monitoring systems alongside enterprise-grade infrastructure ecosystems (e.g., Zabbix, SolarWinds, Nagios). This includes designing and maintaining application monitoring dashboards tailored for leadership to provide clear visibility into system health, performance trends, and business impact.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in multi-cloud environments (Azure & AWS).

• Familiarity with managing and integrating relational databases, NoSQL data stores, data lakes, and large-scale data analytics platforms.

• Experience with Zero Trust security models and cloud governance frameworks.

• Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of engineers and administrators, fostering a collaborative and high-performance work environment. 
• Real-time Health Monitoring: Implement and manage tools to continuously monitor health and performance.
• Incident Triage, Identification, and Remediation: Quickly identify, triage, and remediate incidents to minimize impact.
• Outage and Impact Assessment: Assess the impact of outages and work towards rapid resolution.
• Incident Communication and Status: Provide timely communication and status
• Incident Management and Escalation: Oversee incident management processes and escalate issues as necessary.
• Budget Management: Develop and manage the network infrastructure budget, ensuring cost-effective solutions and efficient resource allocation. 
• Compliance: Ensure compliance with industry standards, regulations, and best practices. 

Cloud Architecture & Design:

• Design and implement scalable, secure, and resilient Azure cloud architectures that align with Northeastern University’s cloud strategy.
• Develop reference architectures, best practices, and governance frameworks for cloud adoption.
• Define and implement hybrid cloud architectures, integrating on-premises data centers with Azure services.

Security & Compliance:

• Lead cloud security hardening initiatives, implementing Azure Security Center, Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Sentinel, and Zero Trust security models.
• Establish governance and compliance frameworks to ensure adherence to NIST 800-171, GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulatory requirements.
• Design and implement Azure Identity and Access Management (IAM), including Azure Active Directory (AAD), Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Privileged Identity Management (PIM), and Conditional Access Policies.

Cloud Infrastructure & Networking:

• Architect and oversee Azure network components, including Virtual Networks (VNets), VPN Gateways, ExpressRoute, Load Balancers, Azure Firewall, and Network Security Groups (NSGs).
• Ensure high availability and performance across cloud workloads through proper network design and resource allocation.
• Drive modernization efforts by leveraging Azure Virtual WAN, Private Link, and hybrid connectivity solutions.

Cost Optimization & Governance:

• Develop and enforce cost governance strategies, leveraging Azure Cost Management + Billing, Reserved Instances, Spot VMs, and Azure Hybrid Benefit.
• Implement tagging strategies, FinOps methodologies, and cloud cost optimization best practices.
• Work closely with finance teams to provide cost forecasts, budget controls, and resource efficiency recommendations.

Automation & Infrastructure as Code (IaC):

• Define Infrastructure as Code (IaC) best practices using Terraform, Bicep, and ARM templates to automate cloud deployments.
• Oversee CI/CD integration for infrastructure automation using Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or Terraform Cloud.
• Implement configuration management and policy enforcement using Azure Policy, Azure Blueprints, and Desired State Configuration (DSC).

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:

Expected Hiring Range:

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.