Director of IT Infrastructure (NCS) - BCIT

City of Baltimore, Department of Planning; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 123,000 - 202,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Baltimore seeks a Director of Infrastructure to lead enterprise technology across data centers, networks, cloud services, and service desks. You will drive the hybrid cloud strategy, oversee cybersecurity alignment with the CISO, and push modernization to support citywide operations.

Responsibilities include budget oversight, vendor contracts, and cross‑functional leadership to ensure a resilient, cost‑effective IT foundation aligned with long‑term priorities.

Qualifications

• Education: bachelor’s degree in IT or related field preferred.
• Certifications such as MCSE, CCNA, CISSP, AWS or Azure are a plus.
• Government IT experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead infrastructure leadership including recruitment, staffing, performance management and training.
• Ensure 24/7 reliability with monitoring, backups, patching, and OS upgrades.
• Partner with CISO on security, least‑privilege, MFA and incident prevention.
• Develop roadmaps and hybrid cloud strategy for on‑premise and cloud workloads.
• Manage vendor relationships, procurement governance and contract oversight.
• Create SLAs and work with development teams to align IT architecture.

Skills

Leadership & People Management

ITIL & Cybersecurity

Disaster Recovery

Hybrid Cloud Strategy

Vendor & Contract Management

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in information technology or related discipline

Job description

THIS IS A NON-CIVIL SERVICE POSITION Salary Range: $122,569.00 - $202,068.00 Annually

Get to Know Us

Welcome to the City of Baltimore! Experience the reward of a fulfilling career and enjoy the added element of excitement in a vibrant, diverse atmosphere. The City of Baltimore offers limitless opportunities to help drive social impact, both on the job and in the community, while serving its citizens. Join us in making Baltimore a great place to live and work. In the City of Baltimore, we hire great people and provide them with the skills and opportunities to grow toward their career aspirations.

The city offers medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, optional life, AD&D, and FSA plans. This office also supplies wellness programs, support groups, and workshops. You can learn about our benefits here: https://humanresources.baltimorecity.gov/hr-divisions/benefits

Job Summary

The Director, Infrastructure serves as the senior leader responsible for the reliability, security, and performance of Baltimore City’s enterprise technology environment, overseeing data centers, network and cloud infrastructure, Service Desk operations, desktop support, storage, and email services. This role drives the City’s hybrid cloud strategy, ensures 24/7 operational continuity, strengthens cybersecurity in partnership with the CISO, and leads modernization efforts that support agency operations citywide. The Director provides strategic planning, budget oversight, vendor and contract management, and cross‑functional leadership to ensure Baltimore’s technology foundation is resilient, cost‑effective, and aligned with long‑term IT priorities.

Essential Functions

Leadership & People Management

• Lead all supervisory functions: recruiting, hiring, staffing plans, performance management, training, conflict resolution, and corrective actions.
• Represent BCIT to senior leadership, delivering regular updates on infrastructure performance, key projects, and issue resolution.
• Build a culture of collaboration and shared accountability—no finger-pointing, just problem-solving.

Infrastructure Operations

• Ensure 24/7 reliability through system monitoring, backups, performance tuning, patching, and OS upgrades across all platforms.
• Manage internet and network infrastructure, including firewall administration and around-the-clock connectivity support.
• Direct Service Desk and desktop support to achieve high first-call resolution rates and effective ticket escalation.
• Administer on‑call schedules and participate in rotation as needed.

Security & Resilience

• Partner with the CISO and security teams to align infrastructure operations with the City’s cybersecurity strategy, ensuring network, endpoint, and data center environments meet current standards and compliance requirements.
• Drive improvement of securing the infrastructure—including network segmentation, least‑privilege access controls, and multi‑factor authentication—to reduce the City’s attack surface and limit the impact of any security incident.
• Lead infrastructure‑level preparedness for cyber threats, including ransomware response planning, regular tabletop exercises, and ensuring backup and recovery systems are isolated, tested, and ready to execute.

Strategy & Planning

• Develop infrastructure roadmaps and strategies aligned with agency needs and the City’s long‑term technology vision.
• Own the City’s hybrid cloud infrastructure strategy—defining standards for workload placement, managing cloud provider relationships, and ensuring on‑premise and cloud environments are integrated, secure, and cost‑effective.
• Drive cloud cost optimization across the infrastructure portfolio, establishing governance around cloud spend, rightsizing resources, and identifying opportunities to consolidate or migrate workloads to reduce total cost of ownership.
• Contribute to annual operating and capital budget planning; manage assigned budget with full accountability.
• Participate in enterprise‑wide strategic planning and multi‑agency IT initiatives.
• Monitor emerging technology trends and integrate best practices to continuously advance BCIT’s capabilities.

Procurement & Contract Management

• Cultivate vendor relationships to maximize value from partner products and services.
• Review citywide technology purchase requests to ensure compliance with BCIT standards and IT strategy.
• Manage hardware and software procurement within budget, with proper justification and approval documentation.
• Oversee infrastructure contracts: enforce terms, prevent unintended auto‑renewals, and approve monthly invoices for leases, maintenance, and services.

Architecture & Service Delivery

• Develop and maintain Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that set clear performance expectations for end users.
• Partner with development teams and user groups to design effective IT architecture and drive timely issue resolution.
• Maintain accurate, up‑to‑date asset inventory for all BCIT technology assets.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Have a bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, or a related discipline preferred.
• Relevant certifications are a plus: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), AWS Solutions Architect, or Microsoft Azure Administrator.
• Prior IT experience in a government environment is strongly preferred.
• OR Equivalency Notes: Have an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered. If a degree is unrelated to IT, specialized IT experience is required. Advanced technical certifications may substitute for up to six months of experience or education, and multiple certifications may receive additional credit.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• 10+ years of experience in IT Infrastructure management, with a background in Enterprise Architecture, Systems or Network Architecture and Administration, or Data Center Operations and Management.
• Deep expertise in enterprise architecture with the ability to evaluate and integrate complex solutions across functional areas.
• Strong knowledge of ITIL frameworks, Change Management methodologies, and cybersecurity principles.
• Proven ability to lead cross‑functional teams, drive complex projects, and deliver results in a fast‑paced environment.
• Experience developing and executing Disaster Recovery plans, including tabletop exercises.
• Demonstrated track record leading hybrid cloud infrastructure strategy and implementation (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) at enterprise scale, including cloud cost governance, FinOps practices, and workload optimization.
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills—able to communicate effectively at all levels of an organization.
• Ability to perform technology gap analysis, identify opportunities, and propose enterprise‑level solutions.
• Working knowledge of AI technologies, frameworks, and ethical considerations, with the ability to identify opportunities for innovation.
• Deep understanding of modern cybersecurity frameworks and practices—including zero trust architecture, network segmentation, endpoint security, and least‑privilege access controls—with demonstrated experience partnering with CISO or security functions to drive infrastructure‑level security strategy.
• Experience managing infrastructure vendor relationships and contracts, including procurement governance, SLA enforcement, renewal pipeline management, and invoice oversight for leases and maintenance agreements.

Additional Information

Background Check Eligible candidates under final consideration for appointment to positions identified as positions of trust will be required to complete authorization for a Criminal Background Check and/or Fingerprint must be successfully completed.

Probation All persons, including current City employees, selected for this position must complete a mandatory six‑month/1‑year probation.

Financial Disclosure This position is required to complete a Financial Disclosure pursuant to Sections 7‑7, 7‑8, and 7‑9 of the City Ethics Law. The initial financial disclosure must be submitted within 30 days of hire.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Baltimore City Government is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. The City of Baltimore prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, ancestry, creed, national origin, disability status, genetics, marital status, military service, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Applicants requiring accommodations during the hiring process should contact the Department of Human Resources directly. Do not attach your request for accommodation to the application.