Director Lead - Systems Engineering

1611 Ally Bank; New York (NY); On-site; USD 135,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time off

401K

Tuition reimbursement

Stock purchase plan

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Well-being program

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Ally Financial is seeking an engineering leader to direct the Network and Data Center teams, aligning architecture with business goals and security standards. You will guide design, capacity planning, and cloud networking while collaborating across enterprise technology and security groups.

You will mentor staff, manage critical incidents, and drive improvements in observability and performance. A strong leadership background and deep networking expertise are essential.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in network architecture, engineering, and operations with leadership experience.
• Strong knowledge of routing protocols (OSPF, BGP) and network security concepts.
• Proven ability to lead teams and manage stakeholders, including senior executives.

Responsibilities

• Direct daily activities of Network and Data Center teams.
• Mentor architects, engineers, and technicians; set goals and review performance.
• Escalation point for technical and operational issues.
• Develop and enforce network standards and policies for SD-WAN and telecoms.
• Plan capacity and analyze networks for scalability and reliability.
• Provide advanced network simulations and analyze requirements.
• Design and maintain cloud networking, VMs, containers, storage, and databases.
• Collaborate with CIO teams to report on network performance and issues.
• Maintain observability solutions and drive improvements.
• Engage vendors and manage cost-effective solutions.

Skills

Network architecture

Leadership

Routing protocols

Security frameworks

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional teamwork

Mentoring

Cloud networking

Virtual machines

Containers

Tools

SD-WAN

Cloud networking

Virtual machines

Containers

Job description

Ally and Your Career Ally Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that’s more than some cliché people put on job postings. We love this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams, and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You’re constantly evolving, so shouldn’t your opportunities be, too?

Work Schedule: Ally designates roles as (1) fully on-site, (2) hybrid, or (3) fully remote. Hybrid roles are generally expected to be in the office a certain number of days per week as indicated by your manager. Your hiring manager will discuss this role's specific work requirements with you during the hiring process. All work requirements are subject to change at any time based on leader discretion and/or business need.

The Opportunity

In this pivotal engineering leadership role, you will be leading the architecture, engineering and operational support of Ally’s network and data center functions, ensuring stability, performance and scalability. This role combines advanced design, planning, implementation and troubleshooting of network systems and data center operations with leadership responsibilities. This role will align technical capabilities with business goals, facilitating cross-functional collaboration and ensuring compliance with security and performance standards. This role will require you to work closely with several peer teams across enterprise technology and security groups. Your ability to bridge these areas will be essential in delivering industry-leading solutions that meet the diverse needs of our stakeholders and customers.

The Work Itself

• Direct and manage the daily activities of the Network and Data Center teams
• Mentor network and data center architects, engineers, and technicians by setting goals and objectives, providing regular performance reviews, and fostering professional development
• Act as a primary escalation point for technical and operational issues
• Develop and enforce network architecture, standards, and policies for SD-WAN and telecommunications technologies
• Conduct capacity planning and network analysis to ensure the scalability and reliability of infrastructure
• Provide advanced network simulation and analysis of application and business requirements
• Design, implement, and maintain cloud networking technologies, including virtual machines, containers, storage, databases, and networking
• Collaborate with CIO teams to identify, report, and remediate network-based application performance issues
• Design, implement, and maintain network observability solutions to monitor network performance and implement enhancements to meet or exceed operational targets
• Establish and maintain relationships with network and data center-related vendors, ensuring timely support and cost-effective solutions
• Provide transparent availability and capacity reports to leadership, highlighting areas of success and improvement

The Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in network architecture, engineering, and operations, with at least 3 years in a leadership role
• Strong knowledge of network principles, routing protocols (OSPF, BGP), VPNs, and network security frameworks (e.g., NIST)
• Proven experience in designing and managing high-availability and resilient network infrastructures
• Experience supervising network architecture, engineering, and operational teams, with excellent leadership, communication, and team-building skills
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills, with experience engaging CTO, CISO, CIO, and regulatory bodies
• Robust collaboration skills to align with peer teams across technology, risk management, audit, and compliance to ensure regulatory reporting and risk mitigation strategies are met

How We'll Have Your Back

Ally's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals.

• Time Away: Program starts at 20 paid time off days in addition to 11 paid holidays and 8 hours of volunteer time off yearly (time off days are prorated based on start date and program varies based on full or part-time status and management level).
• Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan pay downs and 529 educational save up assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, employee stock purchase plan, and financial learning center and financial coach access.
• Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including medical, dental and vision, employee, spouse and child life insurance, short- and long-term disability, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions, Healthcare FSA, critical illness, accident & hospital indemnity insurance, and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally, and financially.
• Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy and fertility assistance as well as paid parental and caregiver leave, Dependent Day Care FSA back-up child and adult/elder care days and childcare discounts.
• Work-Life Integration: other benefits including Mentally Fit Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers program and other employee discount programs.
• Other Compensations: depending on the role for which you are considered, you may be eligible for travel allowances, relocation assistance, a signing bonus and/or equity.

To view more detailed information about Ally’s Total Rewards, please visit this link: https://www.ally.com/content/dam/pdf/corporate/ally-total-rewards-snapshot.pdf

Who We Are

Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com.

Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if after review of the position expectations, you believe that you may need a medical accommodation to fulfill the duties of this role, please email [e-mail] with details of your accommodation request.

Base Pay Range $135,000.00 - $235,000.00
An individual's position in the range is determined by the specific role, the scope and responsibilities of the role, work experience, education, certification(s), training, and additional qualifications. We review internal pay, the competitive market, and business environment prior to extending an offer.

Incentive Compensation: This position is eligible to participate in our annual incentive plan.

We all work better as allies. Join a team that thrives on doing it right — whether we're helping people live their best financial lives or helping each other grow in our careers.

We're a leading financial services company serving over 11M customers through banking, auto financing, insurance and investment services. Our team's approach of celebrating differences and lifting each other up is consistently recognized on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Here, you'll find people who care about doing work that matters and making an impact in the communities we serve. Good enough is never enough for us — we're always looking for ways to be better, together.