Associate Director, Infrastructure & Operations Solution Delivery Partner

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; United States; Remote; USD 169,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision,

Prescription drug coverage

401(k) match

Tuition reimbursement and student loan

Disability insurance

Paid holidays and paid leave

Job summary

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is seeking a senior Infrastructure and Operations leader to own the horizontal delivery and service management engine of the I&O function in the United States.

You will partner with IT Business Partners, Platform Leads, EPMO, Finance, Enterprise Architecture, Information Security, Testing and Validation, and Solution Delivery Partners to translate enterprise demand into prioritized, working infrastructure and workplace services.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of progressive IT experience.
• 3-5 years leading infrastructure, operations, service management, or technology delivery initiatives.
• Experience in regulated environments with ITIL-based service design and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate end-to-end delivery activities for platforms and services.
• Support Lean-Agile, SDLC, and delivery management practices across I&O teams.
• Establish capacity vs demand and manage dependencies in a regulated environment.
• Ensure release management and change-and-adoption discipline with operational readiness.
• Communicate delivery status, risks, and recommendations to leadership.
• Partner with security, testing, and compliance for regulatory requirements.
• Lead cross-functional delivery across Hybrid Cloud, Digital Workplace, and ESMS platforms.
• Facilitate quarterly roadmap planning and budgeting coordination.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Lean-Agile

SDLC

SAFe

Stakeholder management

ITIL-based service design

Delivery planning

Communication

Problem solving

Regulated environments

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field

MBA with technology focus (preferred)

Tools

ITIL Certification

PMI PMP

CSM/SAFe certifications

Job description

The Infrastructure and Operations Solution Delivery Partner is a leadership role responsible for building and running the horizontal delivery and service management engine of the I&O function. The role will partner with IT Business Partners, Platform and Service Leads, EPMO, Finance, Enterprise Architecture, Information Security, Testing and Validation, and business-aligned Solution Delivery Partners to convert enterprise demand into prioritized, working infrastructure, enabling capabilities and workplace services.

Core Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Platform Lifecycle Management

• Coordinate end-to-end delivery activities for assigned platforms and services in partnership with Platform and Service Leads. from strategy, ideation, and demand intake through roadmap planning, delivery, release, operations, continuous improvement, and eventual retirement - in partnership with the Platform and Service Leads, who own their platforms’ lifecycles.

• While remaining curiously connected to all areas of IT which come together to provide services to stakeholders, support adoption of Lean-Agile, SDLC, and delivery management practices across Infrastructure & Operations teams.

• Establish disciplined capacity vs demand and dependency management practices that balance speed to value, operational risk, cybersecurity, resilience, and the discipline required in a regulated environment.

• Ensure IT Service Introduction, Release Management, and Change-and-Adoption discipline for new and materially changed platform and service capabilities, ensuring operational readiness before go-live, including SLAs/OLAs, support models, CMDB and asset data, runbooks, monitoring, capacity, continuity, security, training, documentation, and backout plans.

• Coordinate with Platform and Service Leads to ensure alignment of roadmap dependencies and delivery timelines.so shared capabilities, dependencies, sequencing, and operating-model implications are resolved before they become delivery or service risks.

• Coordinate cross-functional teams and stakeholders to support successful delivery outcomes.- Delivery Managers, Platform Leads, Product Managers, Service Leads, Service Managers, engineers, architects, and supplier teams - shaping a culture of accountability, candid collaboration, quality, and continuous improvement.

• Prepare and communicate delivery status, risks, dependencies, and recommendations to senior leadership and governance forums and cross-functional governance forums on a regular cadence.

• Partner with Information Security, Testing and Validation, Quality, and Compliance to ensure infrastructure and workplace capabilities meet applicable GxP, validation, privacy, security, records management, and audit requirements.

Horizontal Delivery Across I&O Platforms and Services

• Serve as a primary point of contact for IT Business Partners, Business-Aligned Solution Delivery Partners, the Finance Team, IT Strategic Planning, PMO, and Testing and Validation

• Given a platform and services model, coordinate delivery across Hybrid Cloud Services, Digital Workplace, and Enterprise Service Management platforms and services, as well as other platforms and services that may be built in the future. These include cloud and on-premises infrastructure, platform engineering, hosting, compute, storage, backup, recovery, network connectivity, and infrastructure automation; endpoint platforms, collaboration and productivity services, identity-enabled workplace experiences, device lifecycle, mobility, and employee technology support, with a focus on secure and reliable user experiences; ITSM service catalog, request fulfillment, workflow automation, CMDB, asset and configuration practices, knowledge management, and service reporting.

• Ensure cross-platform initiatives are planned and executed as integrated services rather than isolated tower deliverables, with explicit dependencies, shared milestones, acceptance criteria, operational ownership, and measurable outcomes. By working with other teams, ensure a similar seamless and cross-platform experience through communication, coordination, and planning.

• Coordinate delivery across globally distributed teams and a mix of employees, contractors, strategic vendors, and managed service providers, maintaining clear accountability for outcomes and handoffs.

Demand Management & Portfolio Planning

• Establish, improve, and run the demand management process for I&O, ensuring enterprise and platform needs are captured, qualified, prioritized, sequenced, and mapped to delivery capacity and enabling capabilities.

• Ensure demand visibility and clear prioritization as well as appropriate capacity planning for absorbed and paid services. Participate in platform finance and budgeting, forecasting, tracking, and variance analysis

• Facilitate quarterly roadmap planning across Hybrid Cloud Services, Digital Workplace, and Enterprise Service Management, aligning strategic outcomes, lifecycle obligations, service health priorities, technical debt, funded initiatives, and capacity constraints.

• Partner with Platform Leads, Service Leads, PMO, Enterprise Architecture, and Finance to translate roadmaps into practical project and delivery plans, with clear scope, outcomes, dependencies, estimates, milestones, funding, resources, and accountable owners.

• Drive work estimation, project scoping, capacity and resource planning, and prioritization providing leadership with credible commitments and explicit trade-off analysis when demand exceeds available capacity.

Knowledge / Experience and Skills:

• 7-10 years of progressive IT experience, with 3-5 years leading infrastructure, operations, service management, or technology delivery initiatives
• Broad experience delivering and operating enterprise infrastructure and end-user technology services across cloud and data center platforms, networks, workplace technologies, ITSM/ESM, automation, observability, resilience, and managed services.
• Track record working in a highly regulated environment with a disciplined ITIL-based service design and service delivery approach
• Strong track record delivering initiatives using Lean-Agile, SDLC, Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe practices across globally distributed platform, product, and service teams; SAFe experience is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience participating in or facilitating quarterly planning, platform roadmap development, portfolio prioritization, dependency management, and delivery planning at enterprise scale.
• Hands-on experience with IT Service Design, Service Introduction and operational readiness for infrastructure, workplace, and enterprise service management capabilities.
• Demonstrated success in demand management, work estimation, project scoping, capacity planning, prioritization, and senior stakeholder management.
• Project and program budget planning and management experience.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills with the ability to translate technical delivery matters for business and executive audiences.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and managing stakeholder relationships at all organizational levels.
• Strong analytical and systematic problem-solving abilities.
• Experience in regulated or GxP environments preferred.
• Customer-Focused : Anticipates user needs and delivers practical, value-driven solutions.
• Accountable: Own delivery planning and execution for a designated infrastructure domain or service portfolio.
• Innovative : Challenges the status quo and champions new ideas.
• Collaborative : Builds strong partnerships across disciplines and cultures.
• Ethical : Demonstrates integrity and aligns with Otsuka’s corporate values.
• Resilient : Adapts quickly to new challenges and shifting priorities.
• Provides guidance, coaching, and training to colleagues within a discipline.
• Matrix Leadership: Ability to lead through influence across Delivery Managers, Platform Leads, Product Managers, Service Leads, Service Managers, engineers, architects, and supplier teams to orchestrate portfolio-level outcomes without direct reporting authority.
• Experience working with globally distributed business and IT teams, especially in Japan, EU, and India.
• Up to 15-20% travel is required, based upon business needs.

Educational Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field (required).
• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business Administration (MBA with a technology focus), or a related discipline (preferred).

Certifications (Preferred)

• ITIL 4
• PMP (Project Management Professional) – PMI
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), SAFe Agilist, SAFe Release Train Engineer (RTE), PO/PM, Lean Portfolio Management, or SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC)
• Cloud and infrastructure certifications such as AWS Solutions Architect, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect, Google Professional Cloud Architect, Cisco, VMware, or equivalent
• ServiceNow, IT asset/configuration management, enterprise architecture, or product management certifications (advantageous)
• Vendor-specific certifications relevant to cloud, workplace, service management, automation, observability, network, or infrastructure platforms

Competencies

• Accountability for Results - Stay focused on key strategic objectives, be accountable for high standards of performance, and take an active role in leading change.
• Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving - Make decisions considering the long-term impact to customers, patients, employees, and the business.
• Patient & Customer Centricity - Maintain an ongoing focus on the needs of our customers and/or key stakeholders.
• Impactful Communication - Communicate with logic, clarity, and respect. Influence at all levels to achieve the best results for Otsuka.
• Respectful Collaboration - Seek and value others’ perspectives and strive for diverse partnerships to enhance work toward common goals.
• Empowered Development - Play an active role in professional development as a business imperative.

Minimum $169,222.00 - Maximum $253,000.00, plus incentive opportunity: The range shown represents a typical pay range or starting pay for individuals who are hired in the role to perform in the United States. Other elements may be used to determine actual pay such as the candidate’s job experience, specific skills, and comparison to internal incumbents currently in role. Typically, actual pay will be positioned within the established range, rather than at its minimum or maximum. This information is provided to applicants in accordance with states and local laws.

Application Deadline : This will be posted for a minimum of 5 business days.

Company benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, company provided basic life, accidental death & dismemberment, short-term and long-term disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, student loan assistance, a generous 401(k) match, flexible time off, paid holidays, and paid leave programs as well as other company provided benefits.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the people assigned to this position. It is not intended to include every job duty and responsibility specific to the position. Otsuka reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

Otsuka is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will be given consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, national origin, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation, if you are unable or limited in your ability to apply to this job opening as a result of your disability. You can request reasonable accommodations by contacting [e-mail].

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