Director of IT Operations (Support, Infrastructure & Applications)

ASCENDING; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

ASCENDING seeks an IT Director to lead strategy, transformation, and operations across multiple offices. You will drive cloud adoption (Azure / Microsoft 365), automation of workflows, and proactive IT governance, aligning with firm leadership and attorneys. The role requires balancing strategic vision with hands-on delivery.

The position is onsite initially with a transition to a hybrid model, overseeing a mix of internal staff and outsourced vendors.

Qualifications

• Balanced technical and people leadership experience in IT.
• Hands-on cloud transformation and security oversight.
• Expert in workflow automation and systems integration.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own a scalable technology roadmap aligned with firm growth.
• Transition IT to proactive, service-oriented function and manage vendor relationships.
• Drive automation of legal/business workflows and centralized IT operations.
• Lead cloud, security, and infrastructure initiatives across offices and teams.

Skills

Balanced Technical Expertise

Cloud & Infrastructure

Workflow Automation

Project Management

Vendor Negotiation

Helpdesk Management

Education

PMP certification

Tools

Azure

Intune

MDM/MAM

Microsoft 365

Job description

IT Director, Direct-Hire

Location: New York City, NY (Maiden Lane / Wall Street)
Work Model: Onsite 5 days a week for the first 60 days; transitioning to a hybrid model of 4 days onsite per week thereafter.
Additional Locations Supported: Manhattan, NY; Irvine, CA; Miami, FL; PA

About the Role

We are seeking a hands-on, business-minded IT Director for our clientto regain control of their IT operations, reduce the overdependence on outsourced vendors, and build a proactive, scalable technology function.In this role, you will be the strategic and operational leader of our technology environment. You will be tasked with stabilizing current IT operations, leading a secure cloud transformation, and driving the automation of manual legal and business workflows. The ideal candidate is a "straight-talker" who can bridge the gap between complex infrastructure concepts and practical business solutions, collaborating effectively with attorneys, support staff, and firm leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Transformation

• Develop and own a scalable technology roadmap that aligns with the firm’s growth and long-term vision.
• Transition the IT department from a reactive support model to a proactive, service-oriented function.
• Create and maintain comprehensive IT documentation, including application inventories, hardware/software update roadmaps, ticket tracking trends, and security action plans.
• Provide clear, jargon-free reporting to firm leadership regarding IT priorities, project statuses, and systemic issues.

Vendor & Operations Management

• Take ownership of outsourced IT and cybersecurity vendor relationships, holding them accountable to SLAs and contract terms.
• Bring critical operational knowledge back in-house to reduce over-reliance on external managed service providers.
• Oversee daily IT operations, managing internal staff (including a long-tenured IT Manager and support personnel) while fostering a collaborative, accountable team culture.

Process Automation & Systems Integration

• Evaluate current disparate systems across multiple offices and implement a centralized, standardized structure.
• Drive workflow automation to solve highly manual legal and administrative processes, including new matter intake, conflict checks, client/matter setup, and complex billing workflows.
• Connect multiple existing applications to eliminate duplicate data entry and manual scanning/editing.

Infrastructure, Cloud & Cybersecurity

• Lead the firm’s transition to a secure, cloud-based infrastructure, leaning heavily into the Microsoft and Azure ecosystems.
• Oversee infrastructure operations, ensuring high application visibility, reliability, and system performance.
• Manage modern device management initiatives, including Intune and MDM/MAM deployments.
• Ensure rigorous cybersecurity oversight, implementing necessary security actions following cyber assessments and penetration tests.

Required Skills & Experience

• Balanced Technical Expertise: A blended background consisting of roughly 50% application engineering/management and 50% infrastructure oversight.
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Proven hands-on experience driving cloud transformation, specifically within Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Intune, and MDM/MAM environments.
• Workflow Automation: Strong background in systems integration and business process automation, ideally within a legal or professional services environment.
• Project Management: Demonstrated ability to run technical project delivery. (PMP certification is a plus, but practical delivery experience is required).
• Vendor Negotiation: Strong track record of managing enterprise vendors, auditing contracts, and ensuring firm-first accountability.
• Helpdesk Management: Experience modernizing helpdesk/ticketing systems, implementing preventative maintenance, and tracking issue trends.