Lead Associate Principal, Infrastructure Innovation & Automation

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC); Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 137,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Tuition reimbursement

Student loan assistance

Technology stipend

PTO & parental leave

401k match

Health benefits

Job summary

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is seeking a Lead Associate Principal, Infrastructure Innovation and Automation to drive enterprise Kubernetes platforms, IaC, CI/CD, and GitOps across the org. You will shape platform reliability, security, and delivery speed while mentoring engineers and partnering with cross-functional teams.

Ideal candidates have extensive OpenShift/Kubernetes experience, strong DevOps practices, and a track record of leading automation initiatives within a financial

Qualifications

• 7+ years infrastructure engineering experience.
• 7+ years Red Hat Enterprise Linux experience.
• 5+ years Kubernetes and OpenShift administration.
• Extensive automation leadership experience.
• Proven technical leadership and mentoring.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise OpenShift architecture and platform strategy.
• Design, implement, and maintain OpenShift/Kubernetes platforms.
• Define standards for RHEL, Kubernetes, and platform engineering.
• Lead automation using Ansible Automation Platform and Terraform.
• Develop reusable automation for provisioning, configuration, patching, and compliance.
• Architect secure Kubernetes platforms with RBAC, secrets, certificates, and policy.
• Build standardized deployment patterns using Helm, Operators, and ArgoCD.
• Mentor senior engineers and lead complex troubleshooting and platform improvements.
• Own platform reliability and disaster recovery strategy, including capacity planning and cost optimization.
• Communicate strategy and roadmaps to leadership and stakeholders.

Skills

Kubernetes

OpenShift

RHEL

Ansible

Terraform

CI/CD

GitOps

Python

Bash

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/IT or related field

Master’s degree is a plus

Tools

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Tekton/OpenShift Pipelines

ArgoCD

Helm

Job description

What You'll Do:

The Lead Associate Principal, Infrastructure Innovation and Automation is a senior technical leader who defines and drives the organization’s enterprise infrastructure strategy across automation, virtualization, networking, and cloud transformation. This role drives the architecture and ongoing evolution of enterprise Kubernetes platforms, with deep focus on Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD, and GitOps practices that improve platform reliability, security, and delivery speed.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each primary duty satisfactorily.

• Lead enterprise OpenShift architecture and platform strategy.
• Design, implement, and maintain highly available OpenShift/Kubernetes platforms.
• Define standards for RHEL, Kubernetes, and platform engineering.
• Lead automation using Ansible Automation Platform and Terraform.
• Design and maintain enterprise CI/CD platforms and GitOps workflows.
• Develop reusable automation for provisioning, configuration, patching, and compliance.
• Architect secure Kubernetes platforms with RBAC, secrets, certificates, and policy.
• Build standardized deployment patterns using Helm, Operators, and ArgoCD.
• Mentor senior engineers and lead complex troubleshooting and platform improvements.
• Partner across Development, Security, Networking, and Infrastructure teams.
• Own platform reliability and disaster recovery strategy, including capacity planning and infrastructure cost optimization.
• Communicate technical strategy, risk, and platform roadmaps to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• No direct people management responsibilities, but expected to provide technical leadership, peer mentoring, and project guidance to a small group (2-4) of engineers or specialists.

Qualifications:

The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary functions.

Professional Experience:

• 7+ years infrastructure engineering.
• 7+ years Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• 5+ years Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift administration.
• Extensive experience leading automation initiatives.
• Proven technical leadership and mentoring.

Technical Skills:

• Expert: Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift, RHEL.
• Expert: Ansible Automation Platform, Terraform, Infrastructure as Code.
• Expert: CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Tekton/OpenShift Pipelines).
• GitOps: ArgoCD, ApplicationSets.
• Python and Bash scripting.
• Helm, Operators, Kubernetes networking, storage, security.
• Observability (Prometheus, Grafana) and container registries.
• Deep understanding of modern infrastructure architecture, including compute, network, storage, and cloud-native platforms (preferably AWS).
• Strong experience with DevOps practices and ITSM tools (change, incident, and problem management).
• Sound knowledge of information security, compliance, and risk management as it relates to infrastructure.

Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Master’s degree is a plus.

Certificates or Licenses:

• RHCA (Highly Preferred)
• RHCE
• Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift

About Us

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.

Benefits

A highly collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work‑life balance and employee wellness.

Some of these components include:

• A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work
• Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance
• Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely
• Generous PTO and Parental leave
• 401k Employer Match
• Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision

Compensation

• The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.
• In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.
• We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on www.theocc.com/careers
• All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.

Salary Range

$136,500.00 - $189,800.00

Incentive Range

8% to 15%

OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer