Compute Virtualization & Storage - Group Lead, EIT

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a prestigious research and development organization that plays a vital role in the study of the universe. Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a nonprofit organization that manages and operates the NRAO under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The Observatory is a hub for technological and scientific collaboration, operating state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. The Observatory has been instrumental in the study of black holes, galaxies, and the early universe.

The NRAO Enterprise IT (EIT) is seeking a Group Lead/Manager for Compute Virtualization & Storage Services to join the team. The Manager, Compute Virtualization & Storage Services, is responsible for the leadership, management, operational performance, and strategic development of enterprise compute, virtualization, storage, backup, and recovery services. This position provides direct supervision of technical staff while establishing standards, procedures, service-level objectives, and performance metrics that ensure reliable, secure, scalable, and efficient infrastructure services across all organizational locations. The Manager is accountable for operational excellence, team performance, service reliability, capacity planning, lifecycle management, operational governance, vendor management, and continuous improvement initiatives supporting compute and storage platforms.

This position is based preferably at the NRAO headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia; or Albuquerque, NM.

What You Will be Doing:

• Directly supervise Compute, Virtualization, Storage, and Backup Services personnel.
• Establish performance objectives and service expectations.
• Conduct performance evaluations and career development planning.
• Oversee enterprise server and virtualization environments.
• Manage storage infrastructure and backup operations.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures for compute, virtualization, storage, and backup services.
• Establish operational runbooks and recovery procedures.
• Define and monitor KPIs and service level objectives (SLOs).
• Develop operational dashboards and reporting processes.
• Develop operating budgets and capital expenditure forecasts.
• Manage vendor relationships and support contracts.
• Lead operational maturity, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Provides direct supervision of the Compute Virtualization & Storage Team. Responsible for hiring, performance evaluations, workload management, corrective action, training, succession planning, and professional development activities.

Work Environment

Work is mission driven, team oriented and typically performed in an office setting within a research or development environment. There may be periodic visits to network and data center facilities. Occasional travel between organizational locations may be required. Participation in major incidents, maintenance activities, recovery testing, and strategic planning sessions may occur outside normal hours.

• a Bachelor degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Business Administration, or related field, or equivalent experience
• a minimum seven years of progressively responsible infrastructure experience
• a minimum of three years of supervisory experience managing technical teams
• experience supporting enterprise compute, virtualization, storage, and backup environments

Technical Knowledge:

• Compute Infrastructure Management
• Virtualization Platforms
• Storage Systems
• Data Protection and Backup Technologies
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
• IT Service Management (ITSM)
• Capacity Planning
• Infrastructure Monitoring
• Lifecycle Management
• Vendor Management
• Budget Planning

While not required you may have:

• Experience supporting geographically distributed organizations.
• Experience implementing infrastructure automation initiatives
• Experience developing infrastructure operational maturity programs

Certifications

• ITIL Foundations
• Project Management Professional (PMP), * Leadership
• Operational Excellence
• Strategic Thinking
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Problem Solving
• Accountability
• Continuous Improvement

The starting salary of this position is between $123,800 and $153,000. Factors which may affect starting pay may include; education, experience, skills, competencies, other qualifications of the successful candidate, as well as internal equity and labor market conditions., Associated Universities, Inc (AUI) offers a comprehensive benefits package addressing the needs of employees and their families with most benefits beginning on the first day of employment, subject to eligibility requirements. AUI provides:

• Excellent paid time off (13 holidays, annual accrual of up to 24 vacation days)
• Medical, dental and vision plans are effective on the first day of employment.
• AUI’s retirement benefit contributes an amount equal to 10 percent of a qualified participant’s base pay with no required employee contribution., $123,800.00