Vice President - Platform Operations

Core42; Abu Dhabi; Hybrid; AED 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative company is seeking a Head of IT Operations to spearhead the transformation of cloud infrastructure and service delivery. This role involves leveraging AI and automation to enhance reliability and performance of a Private Cloud platform. The ideal candidate will lead the evolution to modern operational paradigms, championing practices like GitOps and Infrastructure as Code. With a focus on building high-performing teams and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, this position offers the chance to redefine industry standards and drive significant impact in the cloud and AI space. Join a forward-thinking organization that values collaboration and innovation.

Benefits

Healthcare

Education support

Leave benefits

Structured training programs

Innovative projects

Qualifications

• 10+ years in cloud operations and infrastructure management.
• Experience with AI-driven operational strategies and automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the evolution to modern Site Reliability Engineering practices.
• Implement observability solutions for actionable insights.

Skills

Visionary leadership

Strategic decision making

Business Continuity planning

Security risk Awareness

Exceptional analytical skills

Strong written and verbal communication

Stakeholder Engagement

Growth mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Relevant certifications in cloud platforms

Tools

GitOps

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

AIOps

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

We are seeking a visionary Head of IT Operations to lead our next generation of cloud infrastructure and service delivery. This role will spearhead the transformation of our operational model, leveraging AI, automation, and modern practices to ensure exceptional reliability, scalability, and performance of our Private Cloud platform. The ideal candidate will balance technical expertise with strategic leadership to pioneer new operational paradigms that redefine industry standards.

Core42 is the UAE’s national-scale enabler for cloud and generative AI, combining G42 Group’s expertise across multiple technology disciplines into a single platform for public sector and large enterprise transformations. Building on our capabilities as sovereign cloud and HPC specialist, we bring generative AI, cybersecurity, professional and managed services expertise to enable national-scale program deployments across industries.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Designing and implementing a forward-thinking operational strategy that incorporates AI-driven predictive analytics, self-healing systems, and continuous optimization.
• Lead the evolution from traditional IT operations to a modern Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and platform-as-product approach.
• Develop strategies to progressively reduce toil through intelligent automation and enhance service quality.
• Partner with executive leadership to align operational capabilities with business objectives and technology roadmaps.

Technology & Innovation

• Champion the adoption of GitOps, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and declarative configuration management.
• Implement observability solutions that provide actionable insights through advanced telemetry and AIOps.
• Design and oversee zero-trust security architecture integrated throughout operational practices.
• Create scalable operational frameworks that support hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge computing environments.
• Lead initiatives to optimize resource utilization, energy efficiency, and sustainability in cloud operations.

Team & Culture Development

• Build and mentor high-performing teams that embrace DevOps culture, continuous learning, and innovative problem-solving.
• Foster a blameless culture focused on learning from incidents and continuous improvement.
• Develop talent pipelines to address emerging skill requirements in cloud-native technologies and AI operations.
• Promote inclusive practices that leverage diverse perspectives to enhance operational resilience.
• Architect service delivery models that balance standardization with customer-specific requirements.
• Implement advanced reliability engineering practices including chaos engineering and scenario planning.
• Design service level objectives (SLOs) and experience-based metrics that meaningfully reflect customer value.
• Create transparent, data-driven processes for capacity planning, performance optimization, and cost management.

Governance & Risk Management

• Establish modern governance frameworks that balance agility with appropriate controls.
• Develop comprehensive risk management strategies for emerging threats and technologies.
• Ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements through automated policy enforcement.
• Lead incident response capabilities including AI-assisted root cause analysis and prevention.

Qualifications

Experience & Knowledge

• 10+ years of progressive experience in cloud operations, infrastructure management, or related fields.
• Prior experience in designing and successfully implementing a forward-thinking operational strategy that incorporates AI-driven predictive analytics, self-healing systems, and continuous optimization.
• Proven expertise, trust, and strong relationships with large customers in the service industry, specializing in scalable cloud service provider and hyperscaler operations, including infrastructure, multi-tenancy, integration, and security.
• Demonstrated success transforming traditional IT operations into modern, cloud-native practices.
• Deep understanding of private cloud architectures, container orchestration, and modern data platforms.
• Experience implementing AIOps, MLOps, or other AI-enhanced operational models.
• Strong background in automation, CI / CD pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code.
• Proven track record of leading operational transformation in complex technology environments.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• Relevant certifications in cloud platforms, IT service management, or site reliability engineering.
• Knowledge of emerging frameworks for AI governance and responsible technology operations.

Skills & Attributes

• Visionary leadership with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value.
• Strategic decision making – Ability to assess complex situations and make informed, effective decisions.
• Business Continuity planning – knowledge of risk management and Operational excellence.
• Security risk Awareness – Understanding of potential threats and proactive risk mitigation strategies.
• Exceptional analytical skills with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Strong written and verbal communication abilities to influence across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Stakeholder Engagement – Ability to collaborate with senior leadership, business owners and Key customers.
• Demonstrated ability to build resilient teams and navigate organizational change.
• Growth mindset that embraces continuous learning and adaptation to emerging technologies.

What we look for :

If you are a performance-driven, inquisitive mind with the agility to adapt to ambiguity, you will fit right in. You should be eager to explore opportunities to build meaningful collaborations with stakeholders and aspire to create unique customer-centric solutions. Bias for action and a passion to conquer new frontiers in the AI space is at the heart of the Core42 community.

What working at Core42 offers :

Culture : An open, diverse and inclusive environment with a global vision that encourages personal growth and focuses on groundbreaking, industry-first innovations.

Career : Outstanding learning, development & growth opportunities via structured training programs and innovative, high-tech projects.

Work-Life : A hybrid work policy to strike the perfect balance between office and home.

Rewards : A competitive remuneration package with a host of perks including healthcare, education support, leave benefits and more.

To confidently demonstrate that you meet the criteria above, please contact us.