IT Manager (Contract to Hire)

firstPRO US; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

firstPRO US seeks a hands-on IT Manager to lead technology operations for a growing financial institution. You will oversee infrastructure, cloud services, automation, security, staff, and strategic vendors while staying actively involved in technical execution.

The role supports a hybrid environment (AWS, M365, Azure, Windows/Linux, virtualization, networking, storage, backups, endpoints, SaaS, core financial apps) with a strong focus on incident management, audits, and project delivery.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in IT operations, infrastructure engineering, or security.
• Hands-on AWS administration and troubleshooting in a regulated environment.
• Experience leading technically hands-on IT teams.
• Proficiency with Windows/Linux servers, networking, VMs, backups, monitoring.
• Experience with IAM, MFA, encryption, audit support, and cloud governance.
• Familiarity with CloudFormation, AWS CDK, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop IT staff across infrastructure, applications, security, and service desk.
• Stay hands-on with server, network, firewall, VPN, and virtualization troubleshooting.
• Manage AWS services (EC2, VPC, S3, IAM, RDS, Lambda, etc.) and multi-account setups.
• Oversee Microsoft 365, AD/Entra ID, IAM, endpoint management, and conditional access.
• Drive automation using PowerShell, Python, APIs, and IaC tools.
• Monitor environments, document incidents, and drive post-incident actions.
• Lead projects, migrations, and cloud initiatives from planning to post-deployment support.
• Maintain vendor relationships and ensure service delivery and performance.

Skills

AWS administration

Leadership

IT operations

Cloud platforms

Automation

PowerShell

Python

CI/CD

Incident management

Security operations

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology / Computer Science

AWS/Azure IT certifications preferred (ITIL, Security+, CISSP, CISM, Network+, PMP)

Tools

CloudFormation

AWS CDK

CloudWatch

Azure AD/Entra ID

Job description

We are seeking a hands-on IT Manager to lead the technology operations of a growing financial institution. This position oversees IT infrastructure, applications, cloud services, automation, security support, staff, and strategic vendors while remaining actively involved in technical execution.

The IT Manager will support a hybrid environment that includes AWS, Microsoft 365, Azure, Windows and Linux servers, virtualization, networking, storage, backups, endpoints, SaaS platforms, and core financial applications. This role requires a strong technical background, proven leadership skills, and the ability to manage complex incidents, audits, technology projects, security events, and time-sensitive operational needs.

The ideal candidate has at least five years of progressive IT experience, strong hands-on AWS knowledge, and experience leading technical teams in a regulated environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop IT staff supporting infrastructure, applications, service desk, automation, security, and daily operations.
• Remain hands-on with the administration and troubleshooting of servers, networks, endpoints, firewalls, VPNs, identity systems, virtualization platforms, SaaS applications, and business-critical systems.
• Support and optimize AWS services, including EC2, VPC, S3, IAM, RDS, Lambda, load balancers, VPNs, DNS, monitoring, backups, and multi-account environments.
• Manage Microsoft 365, Active Directory, Entra ID/Azure AD, identity and access management, endpoint management, and conditional access.
• Develop automation using PowerShell, Python, APIs, CI/CD pipelines, workflow tools, and infrastructure-as-code technologies.
• Monitor infrastructure, applications, cloud platforms, security tools, and backups to ensure incidents are properly documented, escalated, and resolved.
• Lead technology projects, upgrades, migrations, integrations, cloud initiatives, and system implementations from planning through post-deployment support.
• Manage relationships with technology vendors and service providers, including issue escalation, performance management, and service delivery.
• Support security operations by reviewing alerts, vulnerability findings, endpoint protection dashboards, and monitoring tools.
• Assist with audits, examinations, risk assessments, and compliance reviews by maintaining documentation, producing evidence, and tracking remediation efforts.
• Provide technical leadership during outages, security events, and complex incidents, including root-cause analysis and preventive action.
• Maintain accurate network diagrams, inventories, runbooks, cloud configurations, escalation procedures, vendor information, and operational documentation.
• Coordinate patching, performance monitoring, capacity planning, lifecycle management, technology refreshes, backups, and cost optimization.
• Support disaster recovery, business continuity, incident response, backup validation, and operational resilience initiatives.
• Communicate clear status updates to leadership during major incidents, vendor escalations, and project activities.
• Participate in after-hours, weekend, and emergency support when required.
• Travel occasionally and lift up to 50 pounds as needed.

Qaulifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in IT operations, infrastructure engineering, systems administration, cloud operations, application support, or security.
• Previous experience leading IT teams while remaining technically hands-on.
• Strong AWS administration and troubleshooting experience; experience building or operationalizing an enterprise AWS environment is highly preferred.
• Knowledge of Windows and Linux servers, networking, firewalls, VPNs, virtualization, backup platforms, monitoring tools, and endpoint technologies.
• Experience with PowerShell, Python, CloudFormation, AWS CDK, CloudWatch, APIs, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code practices.
• Familiarity with regulated environments, audit support, cloud governance, IAM, MFA, encryption, vulnerability management, disaster recovery, and security operations.
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or equivalent professional experience.
• AWS, Microsoft Azure, ITIL, Security+, CISSP, CISM, Network+, or PMP certifications are preferred.