Director, IT Strategy & Transformation

Ul Solutions; Northbrook (IL); On-site; USD 172,000 - 229,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Wellness benefits

401K retirement plan

Job summary

UL Solutions is seeking an IT Director, IT Strategy & Transformation to drive enterprise technology strategy and modernize the IT function into a product- and platform-driven organization. You will partner with business and IT leaders to align technology investments with strategic priorities, including AI, cloud, data, and digital platforms.

Reporting to the CIO, you will lead through influence, govern standards, and advance capabilities across platforms while delivering measurable business

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a senior technology role, ideally with a large and complex organization. 15+ years of progressively responsible IT experience and leadership roles, including IT strategy, integration management and application development.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, engineering or a related field; an MS, MBA or related advanced degree is a plus.
• Strong understanding of architecture frameworks and their application in business strategy
• Experience successfully leading digital and/or organizational transformation initiatives that meet the objectives of excellence in a diverse global business environment.
• Strong business awareness, a sound understanding of key business processes (e.g., order to cash, purchase to pay) and the way they impact business performance.
• Deep knowledge of current and emerging technology trends.
• Must have demonstrated leadership ability, technical and business acumen, and industry knowledge.
• Strategic leader and builder of vision and bridges can energize the appropriate teams in the organization.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, interpersonal and collaborative skills, with the ability to engage and influence senior executives.
• The ability to communicate technology solutions including the technology policy, plans and roadmaps to nontechnical audiences at various hierarchical levels, ranging from board members to technical specialists.
• Ability to lead, mentor and develop the architecture team to achieve tactical and strategic goals.
• Excellent analytical skills, evaluative and problem-solving abilities
• A strategic thinker focused on continuous improvement.
• Financial/budget management, resource management
• Ability to work within a complex and often ambiguous environment.
• Ability to provide recommendations on complex issues and navigate conflict.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead a multi-year IT transformation roadmap to modernize capabilities, operating model, and delivery approach
• Transition IT toward product/service/platform-based delivery models and agile ways of working
• Drive organizational change, including roles, skills, governance, and culture
• Establish a clear linkage between strategy, execution, and value realization
• Define and enforce enterprise technology standards across platforms, tools, integrations, and security
• Partner with architecture teams to govern solution design and ensure alignment with target-state architecture
• Lead or influence adoption of TOGAF, TBM and domain-driven design principles
• Rationalize applications and technologies to reduce complexity and technical debt
• Identify, evaluate, and scale emerging technologies (e.g., AI, automation, advanced analytics)
• Establish innovation pipelines, pilots, and partnerships
• Balance experimentation with enterprise scalability and risk management
• Develop and execute strategies, such as cloud (public, private, hybrid), including migration, optimization, and cost governance
• Partner across IT to define platform strategies (e.g., data platforms, integration platforms, developer platforms) to enable reuse and speed
• Partner with engineering teams to embed DevSecOps and automation practices
• Integrate business architecture practices to map capabilities, value streams, and customer journeys
• Align technology investments to business capabilities and strategic priorities
• Facilitate capability-based planning and prioritization
• Ensure traceability from business strategy to technology execution and outcomes
• Design and evolve the IT operating model, including governance, funding, and service delivery structures
• Define KPIs, OKRs, and maturity models to measure transformation progress
• Partner to drive strategic portfolio management, including prioritization, sequencing, and funding of initiatives
• Establish governance forums to ensure alignment, transparency, and accountability
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders on technology strategy and transformation
• Translate complex technology concepts into clear business outcomes
• Build alignment across business and IT leadership
• The ability to communicate technology solutions including the technology policy, plans and roadmaps to nontechnical audiences at various hierarchical levels, ranging from board members to technical specialists
• Ability to lead, mentor and develop the architecture team to achieve tactical and strategic goals
• Excellent analytical skills, evaluative and problem-solving abilities
• A strategic thinker focused on continuous improvement
• Financial/budget management, resource management
• Ability to work within a complex and often ambiguous environment
• Ability to provide recommendations on complex issues and navigate conflict

Skills

Data Transformation

Digital Transformation

IT Direction

Software Technology Strategy

Transformational Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field

Job description

The IT Director, IT Strategy & Transformation drives the definition and execution of enterprise technology strategy, with a strong focus on transforming the IT organization into a modern, business-aligned, product- and platform-driven function. This role ensures technology investments, standards, and architectures enable scalability, resilience, and measurable business value.

The Director partners with business and IT leadership to shape long-term strategy, establish enterprise technology standards, and advance capabilities across AI, data, cloud, and digital platforms—while embedding business architecture principles to tightly align technology with business outcomes.

Requires a deep understanding of both technology and business strategy, exceptional leadership skills and the ability to partner and foster a collaborative environment. This role, reporting to the CIO, will lead through influence.

Responsibilities

Define and lead a multi-year IT transformation roadmap to modernize capabilities, operating model, and delivery approach

Transition IT toward product/service/platform-based delivery models and agile ways of working

Drive organizational change, including roles, skills, governance, and culture

• Establish a clear linkage between strategy, execution, and value realization

Define and enforce enterprise technology standards across platforms, tools, integrations, and security

Partner with architecture teams to govern solution design and ensure alignment with target-state architecture

Lead or influence adoption of industry frameworks such as TOGAF, TBM and domain-driven design principles

• Rationalize applications and technologies to reduce complexity and technical debt

Identify, evaluate, and scale emerging technologies (e.g., AI, automation, advanced analytics)

Establish innovation pipelines, pilots, and partnerships

Balance experimentation with enterprise scalability and risk management

Develop and execute strategies, such as cloud (public, private, hybrid), including migration, optimization, and cost governance

Partner across IT to define platform strategies (e.g., data platforms, integration platforms, developer platforms) to enable reuse and speed

• Partner with engineering teams to embed DevSecOps and automation practices

Integrate business architecture practices to map capabilities, value streams, and customer journeys

Align technology investments to business capabilities and strategic priorities

Facilitate capability-based planning and prioritization

• Ensure traceability from business strategy to technology execution and outcomes

Design and evolve the IT operating model, including governance, funding, and service delivery structures

Define KPIs, OKRs, and maturity models to measure transformation progress

Partner to drive strategic portfolio management, including prioritization, sequencing, and funding of initiatives

• Establish governance forums to ensure alignment, transparency, and accountability

Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders on technology strategy and transformation

Translate complex technology concepts into clear business outcomes

• Build alignment across business and IT leadership

Qualifications

Proven experience in a senior technology role, ideally with a large and complex organization. 15+ years of progressively responsible IT experience and leadership roles, including IT strategy, integration management and application development.

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, engineering or a related field; an MS, MBA or related advanced degree is a plus.

Strong understanding of architecture frameworks and their application in business strategy

Experience successfully leading digital and/or organizational transformation initiatives that meet the objectives of excellence in a diverse global business environment.

Strong business awareness, a sound understanding of key business processes (e.g., order to cash, purchase to pay) and the way they impact business performance.

• Deep knowledge of current and emerging technology trends.

Must have demonstrated leadership ability, technical and business acumen, and industry knowledge.

Strategic leader and builder of vision and bridges can energize the appropriate teams in the organization.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, interpersonal and collaborative skills, with the ability to engage and influence senior executives.

The ability to communicate technology solutions including the technology policy, plans and roadmaps to nontechnical audiences at various hierarchical levels, ranging from board members to technical specialists.

Ability to lead, mentor and develop the architecture team to achieve tactical and strategic goals.

Excellent analytical skills, evaluative and problem-solving abilities

A strategic thinker focused on continuous improvement.

Financial/budget management, resource management

Ability to work within a complex and often ambiguous environment.

Ability to provide recommendations on complex issues and navigate conflict.

Total Rewards:
We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. The estimated salary range for this position is $171,500- $228,600 and is based on multiple factors, including job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, as well as other factors. This position is eligible for annual bonus compensation with a target payout of 30% of the base salary and a 30% RSU grant. This position also provides health benefits such as medical, dental and vision; wellness benefits such as mental and financial health; and retirement savings (401K) commensurate with the standard rewards offered in each individual location or country. We also provide full-time employees with paid time off including vacation (20 days), holidays including 3 floating holidays (12 days) and sick time off (72 hours).

Required Skills

• Data Transformation
• Digital Transformation
• IT Direction
• Software Technology Strategy
• Transformational Leadership

About Us

A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 110 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings, that support our customers’ product innovation and business growth. The UL Mark serves as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers’ products and reflects an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains, and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage.

About the Team

As we’re supporting some of the most innovative companies in the world, high-performing IT is vital. Deeply focused on technology innovation and practically applying new and emerging technologies to meet the evolving needs of our customers, we operate as strategic partners to the wider organization, developing and delivering best-in-class IT solutions. We also use our expertise day-to-day to offer our colleagues a seamless technology experience, providing them with the tools to help customers all over the world deliver safer, more sustainable solutions. Join our team and connect, support and empower colleagues across our global community.

Job Info

• Job Identification 11005
• Job Category Information Technology
• Posting Date 09/25/2026, 02:19 PM
• Job Shift Day
• Locations 333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL, 60062, US 155 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL, 60606, US