Director, Tech Deployment

McDonald's; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 168,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Stock options

Flexible work

Tuition assistance

Sabbatical program

Job summary

McDonald’s is seeking a Director of Tech Deployment to lead global restaurant infrastructure, network infrastructure, and Edge platforms. The role requires orchestrating end-to-end deployment workstreams across international markets, bridging central engineering with local realities, and managing vendor partnerships for reliable, high-performance deployments.

The candidate will oversee governance, risk mitigation, and executive reporting, while mentoring deployment managers and technical leads.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in large-scale IT infrastructure leadership.
• 5+ years of direct people management of technical teams.
• Experience delivering multi-site enterprise rollouts across distributed endpoints (retail, hospitality, QSR, etc.).

Responsibilities

• Define/align global deployment strategy, roadmaps, and wave execution across markets.
• Coordinate cross-functional governance between GTIO, Segment CTOs, and regional tech leads.
• Govern vendor relationships, contracts, and delivery partners to ensure SLAs and budgets.
• Ensure security baselines, telemetry/monitoring, and compliance in deployment programs.
• Lead program governance, PI planning, and mentorship of deployment teams.

Skills

Technology leadership

People management

Stakeholder communication

Governance frameworks

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

Google Cloud

Edge computing platforms

SD-WAN

Job description

Job Description

Company Description

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily.We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald’s remains one of the world’s leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald’s means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range ofoutstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

Department Overview

This opportunity is part of the Global Technology Infrastructure & Operations (GTIO) team, where our mission is to deliver modern, resilient, and relevant technology that supports the way our business works worldwide! We offer foundational technology products and services encompassing Global Networking, Cloud, End-User Computing, Edge Infrastructure, and IT Service Management.

As we continue to accelerate technology innovation under the Restaurant Next strategy—doubling down on Digital, Delivery, and Drive-Thru—our restaurant infrastructure is undergoing a generational modernization. We are scaling our next-generation Edge Platform (managed via Google Cloud) alongside the Restaurant Network ecosystem to deliver high-performance, low-latency compute directly into restaurant locations worldwide.

We are seeking a Director, Tech Deployment to lead the strategic planning, wave orchestration, and end-to-end execution of our restaurant infrastructure, network infrastructure, and Edge infrastructure across global markets, with a dedicated focus on international segments. This leader will oversee complex deployment workstreams, bridge central engineering with regional market realities, manage strategic vendor relationships, and ensure that cutting-edge technology delivers immediate, reliable value to restaurant crews and customers.

Duties

1. Global Deployment Strategy & Wave Execution

• Accountable for the overarching deployment strategy, master wave schedules, and end-to-end execution of deployment rollouts across global restaurant estates.
• Establish standard operating procedures, deployment playbooks, readiness criteria, and other frameworks, to ensure repeatability, minimal store disruption, and predictable time-to-value.
• Oversee market readiness, installation validation, and cutover monitoring, establishing robust KPIs for deployment velocity, first-time-right rates, and post-installation stability.

2. Multi-Market & Cross-Functional Alignment

• Serve as the primary deployment liaison between GTIO leadership, Segment CTOs, regional market tech leads, and restaurant operations.
• Facilitate regular market-alignment forums to address market nuances, regulatory considerations, local infrastructure variances, and restaurant scheduling windows.
• Champion change management initiatives to ensure field personnel, market technicians, and restaurant operators are trained and supported throughout rollout waves.

3. Vendor Governance & Partner Ecosystem Oversight

• Partner with Legal, Sourcing & Procurement, direct third-party deployment partners, Value-Added Resellers (VARs), and system integrators to guarantee SLA performance, adherence to budget, and field execution quality.
• Manage vendor capacity planning, staging and logistics pipelines, hardware burn-in workflows, and on-site technician quality assurance.

4. Technical Assurance, Incident Triaging & Risk Mitigation

• Partner closely with Platform teams, Operations teams, and Partner teams to ensure deployment processes adhere to global security baselines, telemetry standards, and compliance policies.
• Establish robust escalation and issue-resolution frameworks to rapidly diagnose, isolate, and remediate systemic deployment defects or field failures.
• Lead pre-mortem and post-mortem reviews for major rollout waves to capture lessons learned and continuously optimize deployment playbooks, toolchains, and automation.

5. Program Governance & Team Leadership

• Partner with the Technology PMO and participate in GTIO Program Increment (PI) Planning to align capacity, resolve cross-product dependencies, and commit to quarterly milestone deliverables.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a high-performing team of deployment managers, technical project leads, and deployment analysts, cultivating an inclusive, collaborative, and results-oriented environment.
• Prepare and present executive-level deployment dashboards, risks, and maturity milestones to senior leadership, up to and including the Global Technology Leadership Team (GTLT).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, Operations Management, or related field (or commensurate practical experience).
• 10+ years of progressive technology leadership experience in large-scale IT infrastructure, edge computing, distributed network deployments, or enterprise systems rollout.
• 5+ years of direct people management experience leading high-performing technical teams, including experience managing distributed employee and external partner/supplier workforces.
• Proven history of orchestrating multi-site enterprise rollouts across hundreds or thousands of distributed physical endpoints (retail, hospitality, QSR, supply chain, or distributed branch environments).
• Proven experience managing multi-million-dollar vendor contracts, RFPs, SOWs, and third-party delivery partners.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with demonstrated capability to lead crucial conversations, negotiate alignment, and present to VP/SVP.
• Strong practical grounding in governance frameworks, program governance, and structured deployment management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or an MBA.
• Deep understanding of distributed retail or franchised business models (QSR), balancing global governance with local market autonomy.
• Hands-on familiarity with distributed cloud platforms (Google Cloud / Distributed Cloud Edge), containerized edge workloads, and enterprise networking (SD-WAN, GRNT architectures).
• Experience leveraging zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), remote configuration management, and deployment telemetry dashboards.

Compensation

Bonus Eligible: Yes

Long - Term Incentive: Yes

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Salary Range

The expected salary range for this role is $168,212 – $210,265 per year. The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors.

Additional Information

Benefits eligible: This position offers health and welfare benefits, including but not limited to comprehensive health insurance, which includes medical, prescription drug, mental health, dental and vision coverage, as well as, life insurance.

Bonus eligible: This position is eligible for a bonus, calculated based on individual and company performance.

Long term Incentive eligible: This position is eligible for stock or other equity grants pursuant to McDonald’s long-term incentive plan.

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact [e-mail]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.