Director, Systems Engineering

AmTrust Financial Services Inc.; Cleveland (OH); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & Dental Plans

Life Insurance

401k Savings Plans

Paid Time Off

Health Care Flexible Spending

Job summary

AmTrust Financial Services Inc. is seeking a Director of Systems Engineering to lead design, deployment, and optimization of the enterprise infrastructure across Azure and on‑prem environments. You will drive DevOps practices, IaC initiatives, and proactive reliability strategies.

You will manage a team of systems and DevOps engineers, establish engineering standards, and partner with cybersecurity to ensure secure, scalable, and resilient platform services in a hybrid cloud setting.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in infrastructure, systems, cloud, or platform operations.
• 3+ years leading and managing technical teams in an enterprise environment.
• Strong leadership to influence technical direction and drive change.
• Deep expertise in Microsoft Azure, including compute, storage, networking, Entra ID, security, governance, monitoring, and cost management.
• Experience designing hybrid cloud environments with Azure and on‑premises datacenters.
• Strong knowledge of Kubernetes and container orchestration, including deployment, scaling, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
• Experience implementing IaC using Terraform, Bicep, ARM Templates, or similar.
• In-depth understanding of DevOps, Agile, and modern software delivery practices.
• Proficient in Windows Server, Linux, virtualization, enterprise storage, backups, and hardware.
• Experience with ITIL/ITSM concepts (Incident, Problem, Change, Release).
• Proven track record of automation and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of systems and DevOps engineers with mentorship and performance management.
• Define and execute infrastructure and cloud engineering strategy aligned with IT strategy.
• Own design, implementation, support, and optimization of enterprise infrastructure across Azure and on‑premises data centers.
• Oversee Kubernetes platforms for mission‑critical apps including lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with development teams to design scalable, secure, and highly available infrastructure.
• Lead IaC initiatives using Azure DevOps, Terraform, ARM/Bicep, and Git workflows.
• Manage Azure DevOps backlogs, sprints, roadmaps, and team rituals.
• Create infrastructure architecture documentation, diagrams, and runbooks.
• Ensure platform reliability, performance, and capacity planning.
• Partner with cybersecurity teams on security controls and compliance.
• Lead disaster recovery, business continuity, and resilience efforts.
• Manage vendor relationships and third‑party technology partners.
• Evaluate emerging technologies to improve operations and outcomes.
• Participate in budgeting and cost management for infrastructure.

Skills

Azure

Kubernetes

IaC

DevOps

Leadership

ITSM

Cloud architecture

Tools

Terraform

Bicep

ARM Templates

Azure DevOps

Git

Job description

Overview

AmTrust Financial Services is seeking a Director of Systems Engineering responsible for leading the design, implementation, optimization, and ongoing support of the organization's infrastructure and platform services. As a technical and people leader, this role oversees a team of systems engineers responsible for systems architecture, platform engineering, automation, DevOps practices, provisioning, deployment, patch management, and security compliance.

The Systems Engineering Director drives the development of scalable, resilient, and secure technology solutions while ensuring alignment with business objectives and IT service management (ITSM) standards. This position is responsible for establishing engineering standards, best practices, policies, and procedures, as well as managing project priorities, resource allocation, and technical roadmaps. The role partners closely with cross-functional teams to continuously improve infrastructure reliability, operational efficiency, automation capabilities, and overall technology performance across the enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of systems and DevOps engineers providing coaching, mentorship, and performance management.
• Define and execute the infrastructure and cloud engineering strategy in alignment with overall IT strategy.
• Own the design, implementation, support, and optimization of enterprise infrastructure across Azure Cloud and on-premises datacenter environments.
• Oversee the architecture, administration, and lifecycle management of Kubernetes platforms supporting mission-critical applications.
• Partner with application development teams to design scalable, secure, and highly available infrastructure solutions.
• Lead DevOps and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) initiatives using tools such as Azure DevOps, Terraform, ARM/Bicep, and Git-based workflows.
• Manage Azure DevOps (ADO) backlogs, sprint planning, work prioritization, and engineering roadmaps including standup, sprint planning, grooming and assisting with roadblocks.
• Develop and maintain infrastructure architecture documentation, system diagrams, and operational runbooks.
• Ensure platform reliability, performance, scalability, and availability through proactive monitoring and capacity planning.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to implement security controls, compliance requirements, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Lead disaster recovery, business continuity, backup, and resilience initiatives across cloud and on-premises environments.
• Manage vendor relationships, support contracts, and third-party technology partners.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and provide recommendations to improve operational efficiency and business outcomes.
• Participate in budget planning, forecasting, and management of infrastructure-related expenditures.
• Drive automation and self-service capabilities to reduce operational overhead and improve service delivery.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in infrastructure engineering, systems engineering, cloud engineering, or platform operations
• 3+ years of experience leading and managing technical teams in an enterprise environment
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to influence technical direction and drive organizational change
• Deep expertise in Microsoft Azure, including compute, storage, networking, Entra ID, security, governance, monitoring, and cost management
• Experience designing, implementing, and supporting hybrid cloud environments integrating Azure and on-premises datacenters
• Strong knowledge of Kubernetes and container orchestration platforms, including deployment, scaling, monitoring, and troubleshooting
• Experience implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools such as Terraform, Bicep, ARM Templates, or similar automation frameworks
• Strong understanding of DevOps principles, Agile methodologies, and modern software delivery practices
• Advanced knowledge of Windows Server, Linux, virtualization platforms, enterprise storage, backups, and enterprise hardware
• Experience working within ITIL/ITSM frameworks, including Incident, Problem, Change, and Release Management
• Proven track record of driving operational excellence, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives

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What We Offer

AmTrust Financial Services offers a competitive compensation package and excellent career advancement opportunities. Our benefits include Medical & Dental Plans, Life Insurance, including eligible spouses & children, Health Care Flexible Spending, Dependent Care, 401k Savings Plans, Paid Time Off.

AmTrust strives to create a diverse and inclusive culture where thoughts and ideas of all employees are appreciated and respected. This concept encompasses but is not limited to human differences with regard to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, culture, religion or disabilities.

AmTrust values excellence and recognizes that by embracing the diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives of its workforce, it will sustain a competitive advantage and remain an employer of choice. Diversity is a business imperative, enabling us to attract, retain and develop the best talent available. We see diversity as more than just policies and practices. It is an integral part of who we are as a company, how we operate and how we see our future.