Director, IT Infrastructure

JobSpace; Auckland; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab seeks a Director, IT Infrastructure to lead a global team delivering scalable, secure IT solutions that enable engineering and manufacturing excellence. The role shapes strategy, drives 24x7 operations, and partners with the CIO to advance Rocket Lab’s mission.

Based onsite at Auckland or Long Beach, CA, the position requires deep technical leadership, a track record in high‑tech environments, and willingness to travel up to 30% to support international facilities.

Qualifications

• 12+ years' experience in IT infrastructure with operations, data centers, virtualization, networks, and security.
• IT leadership in a globally diverse organization.
• Experience in high tech, engineering and/or manufacturing environments.
• US citizenship is required.

Responsibilities

• Develop a high performing, globally dispersed IT engineering team.
• Lead compute, storage, network, OS, and DevOps for Rocket Lab.
• Define and manage IT infrastructure priorities with business leaders.
• Develop processes for global infrastructure services across sites.
• Ensure security and compliance standards across the fleet.
• Vendor relationships and favorable procurement agreements.
• Travel domestically and internationally up to 30%.

Skills

IT leadership

Global experience

Engineering/manufacturing experience

12+ years experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or information systems

Tools

Windows

Linux

VMWare

iSeries

Networking

SAN

Switches

Firewall

WiFi / Access Points

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Based onsite at either our Long Beach, CA or Auckland, NZ facilities, the Director, IT Infrastructure reports to the CIO and develops IT support system strategies, processes and procedures to deliver reliable, repeatable, and scalable information technology solutions to meet Rocket Lab's expanding business needs. This employee will ensure the efficient delivery of technology to meet the needs of Rocket Lab employees while ensuring high level of security and compliance standards.

What You'll Get To Do:

• Development of a high performing team of IT engineers, located around the world, with priority on enabling our engineers to design, develop, and manufacture world class technology products and solutions.
• Leader in compute, storage, network, OS, and Devops technologies required to support a dynamic engineering company that is developing the latest Rocket and Satellite technology.
• Defines and manages IT infrastructure priorities with business leaders of Space Systems and Launch Operation teams to ensure aggressive business priorities are achieved by the team.
• Develops industry leading processes and procedures for manage global infrastructures services across many Rocket Lab facilities, with on-premises infrastructure as well as cloud-based infrastructure, while delivering high availability and uptime.
• Ensures fleet of infrastructure equipment meets Rocket Lab security and compliance standards.
• Develops relationships with vendors for procurement of IT software and hardware. Negotiates most favorable agreements for Rocket Lab.
• Develop strategy for 24x7 global support model.
• Travel domestically and internationally up to 30% of the time to support IT infrastructure operations globally.

You'll Bring These Qualifications:

• 12+ years' experience with increasing responsibility in IT infrastructure with Operations, Data Centers, Virtualization, O365, Networks, Support, and Security.
• IT leadership in a globally diverse organization.
• Experience in high tech, engineering and/or manufacturing organizations.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or other relevant fields.
• US citizenship is required, due to program requirements.

These Qualifications Would Be Nice To Have:

• Experience in a high-availability 24/7 Cloud/AWS/Azure and On-Prem environment.
• Technical expertise in components like Windows, Linux, VMWare, iSeries, Networking, SAN, Switches, Firewall, Wifi and Access Points, etc.
• Experience with M&A (due diligence, integration planning, execution) and impacts on IT.
• Prior experience in rapid growth environment.

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.

What To Expect:

We're on a mission to unlock the potential of space to improve life on Earth, but that's not an easy task. It takes hard work, determination, relentless innovation, teamwork, grit, and an unwavering commitment to achieving what others often deem impossible. Our people out-think, out-work, and out-pace. We pride ourselves on having each other's backs, checking our egos at the door, and rolling up our sleeves on all tasks big and small. We thrive under pressure, work to tight deadlines, and our focus is always on how we can deliver, rather than dwelling on the challenges that stand in the way.

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