Executive Director of Information Technology, Cockrell School of Engineering

Danielle Touma; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering seeks an Executive Director of Information Technology to lead the IT Group (ITG). This senior role guides technology strategy, drives modernization, and partners with campus and industry to align IT with research and teaching priorities.

Responsibilities include defining a multi-year IT roadmap, overseeing operations, budgets, and vendor contracts, and ensuring security and data governance across the school.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Engineering or a related field.
• Experience managing technology professionals and leaders, including staff development and budgeting.

Responsibilities

• Define vision, goals, and multi-year IT roadmap to support research and teaching missions.
• Oversee IT operations, including system administration, networking, desktops, and servers.
• Manage ITG budget, vendor management, contracting, and procurement.
• Ensure UT security standards, cybersecurity risk management, business continuity, and data governance.

Skills

Technology leadership

IT strategy

Staff development

Budgeting

Vendor management

Cybersecurity

IT governance

Communication to nontechnical audience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in IT / Engineering or related field

Master’s degree (preferred)

Job description

Executive Director of Information Technology, Cockrell School of Engineering# The University of Texas at Austin Staff Jobs## Executive Director of Information Technology, Cockrell School of EngineeringApply: UT MAIN CAMPUS: Full time: Posted Today: R\\_00049691**Job Posting Title:**Executive Director of Information Technology, Cockrell School of Engineering**----****Hiring Department:**Cockrell School of Engineering**----****Position Open To:**All Applicants**----****Weekly Scheduled Hours:**40**----****FLSA Status:**Exempt from FLSA**----****Earliest Start Date:**Immediately**----****Position Duration:**Expected to Continue**----****Location:**UT MAIN CAMPUS**----****Job Details:**## General NotesAs a top-10 engineering school with the No. 1 program in Texas, the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) has been a global leader in technology innovation and engineering education for over a century. With 11 undergraduate and 13 graduate programs, over 20 research centers and a faculty community that boasts one of the highest number of National Academy of Engineering members among U.S. universities, Texas Engineering has launched some of the nation’s most accomplished leaders and pioneered world-changing solutions in virtually every industry, from space exploration to energy to health care. Situated in the heart of Austin — named “America’s Coolest City” by Expedia and “The Best Place to Live in the U.S.” by U.S. News and World Report — the Cockrell School embodies the city’s innovative spirit. Major companies with Austin campuses, such as Dell, National Instruments, Apple, IBM, Samsung, Google and many others, continue to recruit Cockrell School students at a remarkable rate, launching thousands of successful careers and developing Texas Engineers into industry leaders. UT Austin, recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Large Employers, provides outstanding employee benefits and total rewards packages that include:* Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)* Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options* Generous paid vacation, sick time, and holidays* Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with 8.25% employer matching funds* Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)* Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses* Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities* Tuition assistance* Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets* Free access to UT Austin's libraries and museums with staff ID card* Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card ## PurposeThe Executive Director of Information Technology directs the Cockrell School of Engineering (CSE) Information Technology Group (ITG) to bring vision, structure, coordination, and alignment to meet customer IT needs throughout the CSE at large and as a liaison to campus, system, and industry to partner and leverage respective strengths toward the benefit of the School. ## Responsibilities* In collaboration with Cockrell School of Engineering (CSE) Leadership Team and others, define the vision, goals, and multi-year roadmap for Information Technology (IT) to support its research and teaching missions, including technology modernization, digital transformation, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Develop a School-wide perspective of IT needs regarding hardware, software, and associated IT needs of the engineering departments and research units. Coordinate with managers of other IT units within CSE.* Oversee all aspects of IT operations, including system administration for the full spectrum of IT services from networking infrastructure and desktops to servers, directly or in partnership with distributed IT partners. Coordinate the work of IT personnel; maintain awareness of operations through observations, analysis, and reports; set and align work with priorities; recruit and develop staff and conduct annual evaluations of the Information Technology Group (ITG) staff.* Manage the ITG budget and ensure budget compliance. Oversee vendor management, contracting, and procurement of IT infrastructure for the Dean’s Office complex and CSE operations at-large.* Provide leadership on ensuring that the CSE IT infrastructure meets UT security standards, including cybersecurity risk management, business continuity, and data governance.* Advise the dean on all matters related to IT and represent CSE on important University IT committees and other associated organizations.* Meet periodically with heads of Dean’s Office complex units to identify IT needs, recommend solutions, and confirm progress.* Oversee A/V technology systems in all CSE classrooms and centrally managed conference rooms.* Provide IT operational support to departments and organized research units, as requested, on a cost recovery basis.* Work with departments, Organized Research Units (ORUs), and the central administration to ensure that UT’s IT infrastructure is adequate to meet the current and the anticipated needs of the CSE researchers.* Establish and lead IT governance and project prioritization processes across CSE.* Oversee annual IT inventory and compliance reporting.* Perform other relevant functions as assigned. ## Required Qualifications* Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Engineering or a related field.* At least ten (10) years of progressive information technology leadership experience, including significant responsibility for technology strategy, major technology initiatives, staff, budgeting, and vendor management.* Demonstrated experience leading a broad technology organization or portfolio spanning several areas such as application development, data and analytics, infrastructure, end-user services, cybersecurity, cloud services, or technology planning.* Experience developing and executing technology strategy, including leading significant modernization, digital transformation, systems implementation, or organizational change initiatives.* Demonstrated experience managing technology professionals and leaders, including staff development, performance management, and organizational planning.* Knowledge of cybersecurity, technology risk management, business continuity, data management, and IT governance.* Demonstrated ability to advise senior executives, communicate complex technology issues to nontechnical audiences, and lead through influence across varied stakeholders in a complex organization.*Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.* ## Preferred Qualifications* Master's degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Engineering or a related field.* Fifteen (15) or more years of progressive information technology leadership experience.* Experience serving as a CIO, CTO, senior technology executive, or in a comparable enterprise technology leadership role.* Experience leading technology in higher education, government, another public institution, or a similarly complex, mission-driven organization, particularly within Texas.* Experience working within a federated or decentralized technology environment.* Experience with enterprise architecture, system integration, and project portfolio management.* Demonstrated experience modernizing legacy applications, including retiring legacy systems or measurably reducing technical debt.* Experience establishing enterprise project prioritization and portfolio decision processes.* Experience developing organizational approaches to artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies.* Experience supporting technology requirements for academic instruction or research.* Experience with University of Texas policies, procedures, and administrative systems or experience in higher education or an academic environment.* CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), CISM (Certified Information Security Manager), CRISC (Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control) or CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor). ## Salary RangeOPEN ## Working Conditions* Work is performed in a standard office environment.* Repetitive use of keyboard at workstation.* The position may be required to travel.* Some evening and weekend hours may be required for system incidents, critical deadlines, and school or industry events.* Applicants must be legally authorized to work for any employer in the United States. This position is not eligible for sponsorship of work visas.* Position is based in Austin, Texas ## Work Shift* Standard business hours are Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.* Work outside of normal business hours may be required on an occasional basis during peak times. ## Required Materials* Resume/CV* Letter of interest* 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor **Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers:** You will be prompted to submit your resume in the first step of the online job application process. Then, any additional Required Materials will be uploaded in the My Experience section; you can multi-select the additional files or click the Upload button for each file. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes. **Important for Current university employees and contingent workers:** As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find Jobs. Before you apply though, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left-hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile. This information will be pulled into your application. The application is one page, and you will need to click the Upload button multiple times in order to attach your Resume, References and any additional Required Materials noted above.