Director Infrastructure & Operations

Socket.dev; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

PHOENIX Retail, LLC is seeking a Director of Infrastructure to lead strategic IT initiatives and align technology with business growth. You will guide cloud, data center, and networking strategy while ensuring 24x7 availability across stores and offices.

The role requires 10+ years in IT infrastructure leadership, 7+ years managing engineering teams, and a track record in digital transformation within a retail environment.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in CS/IT or related field.
• 10+ years in IT infrastructure/operations leadership.
• 5+ years overseeing cloud platforms (preferably GCP).
• 7+ years leading engineering teams in retail or fast-paced environments.
• Ability to mentor leaders and build talent pipelines.
• Experience developing multi-year technology roadmaps.
• Deep networking, compute, storage and DB knowledge.
• Experience ensuring 24x7 availability and incident response.

Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction for Phoenix IT infrastructure across cloud, data centers, and networking.
• Build multi-year roadmaps aligned with digital transformation and growth.
• Modernize data center and cloud/infrastructure to improve scalability.
• Oversee enterprise-wide support and ensure high availability for store and office locations.
• Lead risk management, cybersecurity posture, and regulatory compliance.
• Drive budgeting, vendor strategy, and cost-efficient investments.
• Foster a high-performing engineering culture and mentor leaders.

Skills

Strategic Partnerships

Leadership

Cloud Strategy

Vendor Management

Strategic Planning

Operational Resilience

Interpersonal Skills

Technical Vision

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / IT

Tools

GCP

Job description

Overview

About PHOENIXPHOENIX Retail, LLC is a retail platform operating the Express and Bonobos brands worldwide.About ExpressExpress is a multichannel apparel brand dedicated to a design philosophy rooted in modern, confident and effortless style whether dressing for work, everyday or special occasions. Since its launch in 1980, the brand has embraced a design philosophy rooted in modern, confident and effortless style. Express ensures you look and feel your best, wherever life takes you. The Company operates over 400 retail and outlet stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, theexpress.comonline store and the Express mobile app.About BonobosOur Bonobos menswear brand is known for being a style instigator and offering perfect-fit risks through our innovative retail model and personalized experience. Launched online in 2007 with its signature line of chinos, Bonobos now offers a variety of styles available to order online and to try on at any one of our 50 Guideshop locations and at www.bonobos.com. Our Guideshops are in-real-life stores that deliver one-on-one service and expert fit advice. Don't think traditional retail, Bonobos is something you haven't seen before.

Location Name

Columbus Corporate Headquarters

Responsibilities

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director of Infrastructure provides strategic leadership for Phoenix’s IT infrastructure, driving digital transformation and building a high-performing culture that aligns technology with long-term business growth. This role transcends operational management to focus on architecting strategic roadmaps and fostering team excellence across cloud platforms, data centers, and global networking infrastructure. The Director is the primary architect of technical resilience, ensuring system availability and scalability while leading PCI/Regulatory strategy and enterprise-wide technical innovation.

This leader defines the tactical and strategic evolution of IT functions, engaging cross-functionally to integrate technical operations with retail business objectives. The focus is on building a robust infrastructure portfolio that enables dynamic business initiatives through visionary people management and technical foresight.

The Director serves as a mentor and organizational expert, leveraging strong interpersonal skills to resolve complex technical challenges and optimize vendor partnerships. Responsible for multiyear strategic roadmaps, this role collaborates on capital and expense budgeting to ensure that infrastructure investments are proactive, sustainable, and directly supportive of the Phoenix enterprise mission.

This role is a critical, high-visibility role within the organization and includes 24x7 management responsibilities within a team of peers with similar responsibilities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Partnerships: Cultivate cross-functional partnerships with business leaders, vendors and technology peers to drive synergy and alignment across the Phoenix enterprise.
• Strategy & Transformation: Define and execute multi-year infrastructure roadmaps that align with enterprise digital transformation and long-term business growth objectives.
• Infrastructure Modernization: Spearhead the modernization of data center, cloud, and networking infrastructure by integrating next-generation solutions to enhance scalability and performance.
• Operational Excellence: Oversee enterprise-wide support functions and technology solutions, ensuring high system availability, resilience, and proactive incident management for all store and office locations to minimize business downtime.
• Risk & Compliance: Drive the transition from reactive compliance to proactive risk management, effectively mitigating cybersecurity and operational threats.
• Financial & Vendor Management: Direct fiscal planning, infrastructure budget optimization, contract negotiations, and vendor strategy to ensure cost-efficiency and sustainable technical investment.
• Leadership & Culture: Champion a high-performing engineering culture by mentoring technical leaders, fostering collaboration, and building a robust talent pipeline.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Experience: 10+ years of progressive leadership in IT infrastructure and operations, with a proven track record of managing large-scale technical environments and complex troubleshooting.
• Cloud Strategy: 5+ years of strategic oversight for Cloud Platforms (preferably GCP), driving architectural alignment with enterprise business objectives.
• Leadership: 7+ years of experience managing high-performing engineering teams in a retail or fast-paced corporate environment.
• Leadership Excellence: Proven ability to mentor technical leaders, foster a culture of curiosity, and build robust talent pipelines.
• Strategic Planning: Ability to develop and execute multi-year technology roadmaps that directly support enterprise-wide growth and digital transformation.
• Technical Vision: Deep expertise in networking, compute, storage, and database technologies to guide future-ready infrastructure investments.
• Operational Resilience: Master of facility management and complex support functions, ensuring 24x7 availability and high-performance standards.
• Interpersonal & Stakeholder Excellence: Exceptional communication, organizational, and negotiation skills with the ability to influence cross-functional executives, build collaborative relationships, and manage and balance stakeholder expectations.
• Process Innovation: Track record of analyzing and optimizing complex workflows and leading enterprise-scale projects to successful delivery.
• Urgency & Composure: Self-motivated leader who maintains technical resilience and calm under pressure during high-visibility or emergency situations.
• Accountability: Demonstrates accountability for team performance, drives results, and ensures deliverables are met in a timely manner.

Closing

If you would like to know more about the California Consumer Privacy Act clickhere.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work full-time in the United States. PHOENIX does not sponsor applicants for work visas (e.g., H-1B or TN status) for this position.

An equal opportunity employer, PHOENIX does not discriminate in recruiting, hiring or any other terms and conditions of employment hiring on the basis of any federal, state, or locally protected characteristic. PHOENIXonly hires individuals authorized for employment in the United States. PHOENIX is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need an accommodation to search and apply for a job position due to a disability, please call 1-800-964-9793 and say 'Associate Relations' orsend an e-mail [e-mail] let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

Notification to Agencies: Please note that PHOENIX does not accept unsolicited resumes or calls from third-party recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed Master Service Agreement and approval from HR to submit resumes for a specific requisition, PHOENIX will not consider or approve payment to any third-parties for hires made.