Director, Operational Technology (OT) Engineering

NorthMark Strategies; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch stipend

Medical, dental and vision coverage

Paid parental leave

401(k) with company match

PPO option and other benefits

25 days PTO + 12 holidays

Job summary

NorthMark Strategies LLC seeks a Director of OT Engineering to lead the OT infrastructure stack with deep cross‑domain expertise in AD, IAM, security appliances, and virtualization within OT/ICS contexts.

You will steer architecture, security alignment, and disaster recovery while partnering with the OT Cybersecurity leader to integrate engineering into the broader security framework.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in infrastructure engineering with leadership experience in OT/critical infrastructure.
• Expert‑level AD design, administration, and governance in OT environments.
• Hybrid identity architectures: Azure AD / Entra ID, CA, Entra Connect, PIM.
• Design and deployment of security appliances in OT: NGFWs, NAC, IPS.
• VMware vSphere/ESXi and Proxmox VE expertise; clustering, HA, tuning.
• Enterprise storage knowledge: SAN, NAS, Ceph, backup/replication.
• Experience running Kubernetes in production OT contexts.
• Familiarity with IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, CIS Benchmarks.

Responsibilities

• Define OT engineering strategy and multi‑year infrastructure roadmap.
• Provide senior leadership to OT infrastructure, endpoint, and systems engineers.
• Own AD and hybrid identity architecture for OT environments.
• Lead IAM including RBAC, MFA, PAM, and service accounts governance.
• Oversee security appliances and OT virtualization platforms (VMware, Proxmox, Kubernetes).
• Own enterprise storage strategy and DR/BC planning for OT systems.

Skills

Leadership

OT infrastructure

Active Directory

IAM

VMware vSphere

Proxmox VE

Kubernetes

IEC 62443

NIST SP 800-82

CIS Benchmarks

CyberArk

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Certifications: MCSE/CISSP/VCP/CKA (preferred)

Tools

FortiGate

Palo Alto

Prometheus

Grafana

Elastic

OpenStack

Job description

The Company

NorthMark Compute & Cloud (NMC²) is backed by dedicated leadership and investment, with a clear mission as it operates at the bleeding edge of technology. Its goal is to scale and enhance the high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud infrastructure that supports its clients' research, production, and delivery, enabling breakthroughs that shape the industries of tomorrow. Its engineers build critical infrastructure to eliminate friction in scientific research, simulations, analysis, and decision‑making, accelerating discovery and driving faster innovation.

The Company

NorthMark Compute & Cloud (NMC²) is backed by dedicated leadership and investment, with a clear mission as it operates at the bleeding edge of technology. Its goal is to scale and enhance the high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud infrastructure that supports its clients' research, production, and delivery, enabling breakthroughs that shape the industries of tomorrow. Its engineers build critical infrastructure to eliminate friction in scientific research, simulations, analysis, and decision‑making, accelerating discovery and driving faster innovation.

The Position

We are seeking a Director of OT Engineering in Spartanburg County, SC to provide strategic and hands‑on technical leadership across the full OT infrastructure stack. This is a critical leadership role for a versatile senior engineer with deep cross‑domain expertise spanning Windows Active Directory, identity and access management, security appliances, virtualization platforms, and enterprise storage, all within the unique constraints of OT/ICS environments. You will lead the engineering team responsible for the platforms, systems, and services underpinning OT operations, working in close partnership with the Director of OT Cybersecurity.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the OT engineering strategy and multi‑year infrastructure roadmap, aligning technology investments with operational and security objectives.
• Provide senior technical leadership and people management to a team of OT infrastructure, endpoint, and systems engineers.
• Own the enterprise Active Directory and hybrid Azure AD / Entra ID architecture for OT environments, governing identity lifecycle, Group Policy, privileged access, and directory services integration.
• Lead IAM strategy for OT environments including RBAC, MFA, PAM, and service account governance.
• Oversee design, deployment, and management of security appliances within OT infrastructure: NGFWs, NAC, IPS, and web application firewalls.
• Direct the organisation's OT virtualisation platforms including VMware vSphere/ESXi, Proxmox VE, and Kubernetes.
• Own the enterprise storage strategy for OT environments: SAN, NAS, object storage, and backup architectures.
• Ensure all engineering platforms comply with IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, CIS Benchmarks, and organisational security policies.
• Lead infrastructure disaster recovery and business continuity planning, testing, and execution for OT systems.
• Collaborate with the Director of OT Cybersecurity to integrate engineering infrastructure into the broader OT security architecture.
• Manage vendor relationships, licensing, support contracts, and procurement.
• Establish and enforce change management, configuration management, and documentation standards.
• Drive team capability development through structured training, mentoring, and certification programs.
• Produce executive-level reporting on infrastructure health, capacity, risk, and programme status.
• Lead cross‑functional engineering projects involving OT network, cybersecurity, endpoint, and operational teams.

Requirements

• 15+ years infrastructure engineering; 8+ years in OT, ICs, or critical infrastructure in a senior or leadership capacity.
• Expert‑level Active Directory design, administration, and governance in OT environments.
• Deep experience with hybrid identity architectures: Azure AD / Entra ID, Conditional Access, Entra Connect, Privileged Identity Management.
• Demonstrated expertise designing security appliances in OT: NGFWs (FortiGate, Palo Alto), NAC, IPS.
• Expert‑level VMware vSphere/ESXi and/or Proxmox VE including clustering, HA, and performance tuning.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise storage: SAN, NAS, Ceph, and backup/replication solutions.
• Experience managing Kubernetes in production OT or enterprise contexts.
• Understanding of OT/ICS network architecture, industrial protocols, and engineering constraints.
• Proven ability to lead, develop, and retain high‑performing engineering teams.
• Familiarity with IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, and CIS Benchmarks.
• Certifications preferred: MCSE/modern Microsoft, VCP, CKA, CISSP, or equivalent.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• Experience with PAM platforms such as CyberArk, BeyondTrust, or FortiPAM in OT environments (preferred)
• Familiarity with OpenStack or other private cloud platforms in OT contexts (preferred)
• Hands‑on experience with observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, Elastic) (preferred)
• Director‑level budget ownership and vendor negotiation experience (preferred)
• Experience within NERC CIP or IEC 62443 regulated environments (preferred)

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future.

Benefits & Perks

• Company-Paid Lunch Stipend: Lunch is provided via GrubHub
• Company-Paid Benefits: 100% Employer-Paid Medical in our High Deductible Health Plan, Dental and Vision benefits for employees and their families, 16 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, Employee Assistance Program, Life insurance, Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability
• 401(k): Company will match 100% of your contributions up to 6%
• Optional Employee-Paid Benefits: Medical insurance in our PPO plan and a variety of other benefits such as Health Savings Accounts (with Company Contribution!), Flexible Spending Accounts, Supplemental Life Insurance, Wellhub and more.
• Time Off: 25 days of Paid Time Off plus 12 company holidays

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

NORTHMARK STRATEGIES LLC IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. THE COMPANY'S POLICY IS NOT TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY APPLICANT OR EMPLOYEE BASED ON RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION, MARITAL STATUS, MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DISABILITY, AND GENETIC INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER BASIS PROTECTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE FIRM ALSO PROHIBITS HARASSMENT OF APPLICANTS OR EMPLOYEES BASED ON ANY OF THESE PROTECTED CATEGORIES.