Manager, IT Operations New Houston, TX

Trace3; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision plans

401(k) with employer match

Training and development programs

Snacks and beverages at major offices

Work-life balance and generous PTO

Job summary

Trace3 is seeking a Manager, IT Operations to lead the teams that design, operate, and support Trace3’s enterprise network and Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. This role directly manages network architecture and cloud engineering staff across two sub-teams and holds accountability for the availability, performance, security, and cost efficiency of the infrastructure supporting the business.

This position will lead, mentor, and develop a team of senior engineers while remaining personally

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in IT infrastructure and networking.
• 8+ years of IT infrastructure experience with enterprise networking.
• 3+ years of direct people management of engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop engineers covering network architecture and Azure cloud infrastructure.
• Oversee hiring, onboarding, goal setting, performance reviews, and career development for the team.
• Set ownership boundaries, on‑call rotations, escalation paths, and workload balance across sub-teams.
• Maintain documentation, change management, and architectural standards.
• Collaborate with Security, Help Desk, and Engineering to support IT operations.

Skills

Network architecture

Azure infrastructure

People management

Hybrid connectivity

Azure AD / Entra ID

Microsoft 365 administration

Intune / JAMF familiarity

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science / IT / related field

Job description

Trace3 is a leading Transformative IT Authority, providing unique technology solutions and consulting services to our clients. Equipped with elite engineering and dynamic innovation, we empower IT executives and their organizations to achieve competitive advantage through a process of Integrate, Automate, Innovate.

Our culture at Trace3 embodies the spirit of a startup with the advantage of a scalable business. Employees can grow their career and have fun while doing it!

Trace3 is headquartered in Irvine, California. We employ more than 1,200 people all over the United States. Our major field office locations include Denver, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Lexington, Los Angeles, Louisville, Texas, San Francisco.

Ready to discover the possibilities that live in technology?

Come Join Us!

Street-Smart - Thriving in Dynamic Times

Juice - The “Stuff” it takes to be a Needle Mover

Teamwork - Humble, Hungry and Smart

We are flexible and resilient in a fast-changing environment. We continuously innovate and drive constructive change while keeping a focus on the “big picture.” We exercise sound business judgment in making high-quality decisions in a timely and cost-effective manner. We are highly creative and can dig deep within ourselves to find positive solutions to different problems.

The Manager, IT Operations is responsible for leading the teams that design, operate, and support Trace3’s enterprise network and Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. This role directly manages network architecture and cloud engineering staff across two sub-teams and holds accountability for the availability, performance, security, and cost efficiency of the infrastructure supporting the business.

This position will lead, mentor, and develop a team of senior engineers while remaining personally hands‑on in network and Azure design, escalated troubleshooting, and architectural decision-making. In addition to network and cloud, this role owns Microsoft 365 and collaboration platform administration, partnering closely with the Help Desk, Security, and Engineering functions.

SUMMARY OF ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Lead, mentor, and develop engineers covering network architecture and Azure cloud infrastructure.
• Oversee hiring, onboarding, goal setting, performance reviews, career development, and succession planning for team.
• Establish clear ownership, on‑call rotations, escalation paths, and workload balance across both sub‑teams.
• Set technical standards and hold the team accountable to documentation, change management, and quality expectations.
• Coach senior engineers into technical leadership and broaden bench strength across network and cloud disciplines.
• Conduct regular one‑on‑ones and team meetings, and represent the team’s work and needs to IT leadership.

Network Architecture & Engineering

• Own the architecture, roadmap, and operational health of the enterprise LAN, WAN, wireless, and data center network.
• Lead the design and implementation of routing, switching, segmentation, and network security architecture across headquarters, regional offices, and data center environments.
• Direct the design and support of SD‑WAN, VPN, remote access, and site‑to‑site connectivity.
• Oversee network firewalls, load balancing, DNS, DHCP, IPAM, NAC, and network access policy in partnership with the Security team.
• Manage hybrid connectivity between on‑premises networks and Azure, including ExpressRoute, VPN gateways, virtual networks, and peering.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex network incidents and lead root‑cause analysis to permanent resolution.
• Maintain current network documentation, diagrams, standards, and configuration baselines.
• Plan and execute network refresh, capacity, and lifecycle programs, including firmware and end‑of‑life management.

Azure Cloud Infrastructure & Operations

• Own the operational architecture, governance, and day‑to‑day support of the Microsoft Azure environment.
• Lead the design and management of Azure subscriptions, management groups, resource organization, tagging, policy, and landing zone standards.
• Oversee Azure compute, storage, networking, backup, disaster recovery, and identity services.
• Direct the use of Infrastructure as Code and automation to make provisioning and configuration repeatable and auditable.
• Manage Entra ID (Azure AD) identity, conditional access, privileged access, and role‑based access control in partnership with Security.
• Own Azure cost management, including rightsizing, reserved capacity, budget forecasting, and chargeback reporting.
• Establish monitoring, alerting, logging, and observability standards across Azure workloads.
• Lead cloud migration, modernization, and hybrid infrastructure initiatives from planning through production handoff.
• Ensure backup, replication, business continuity, and disaster recovery capabilities are tested and documented.
• Own administration and operational support of Microsoft 365, including Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive.
• Establish tenant configuration, licensing, governance, retention, and administrative access standards.
• Oversee mail flow, security and compliance policy, and collaboration platform reliability
• Support SharePoint Online site architecture, permissions, and governance in partnership with the Help Desk and business units.
• Evaluate and roll out new Microsoft 365 capabilities, coordinating change communication and user readiness.
• Monitor service health, adoption, and license consumption, and act on tenant advisories and roadmap changes.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive IT infrastructure experience, including significant depth in enterprise networking.
• Minimum of 3 years of direct people management experience leading technical engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience leading network architecture, including routing, switching, wireless, segmentation, firewalls, VPN, and SD‑WAN in a multi‑site enterprise.
• Demonstrated experience owning and operating production Microsoft Azure infrastructure, including virtual networks, compute, storage, identity, backup, and monitoring.
• Hands‑on experience with hybrid connectivity between on‑premises environments and Azure, including ExpressRoute or VPN gateway architectures.
• Experience with Entra ID (Azure AD), conditional access, and role‑based access control.
• Working familiarity with endpoint management platforms such as Microsoft Intune or JAMF.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 administration across Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive.
• Experience owning change management, incident response, and root‑cause analysis for production infrastructure.
• Experience with an ITSM platform such as ServiceNow for incident, request, change, and asset management.
• Ability to remain hands‑on in design and escalated troubleshooting while managing a team.
• Strong technical documentation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness to support escalations and maintenance activities outside of normal business hours as needed.
• Proven people leadership, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and technical mentorship.
• Deep technical credibility in enterprise network architecture and Microsoft Azure infrastructure.
• Ability to balance hands‑on engineering work with the demands of managing multiple sub‑teams.
• Strong architectural judgment and the ability to evaluate trade‑offs across cost, risk, performance, and supportability.
• Sound decision‑making under pressure during outages, incidents, and escalations.
• Ability to translate business requirements into infrastructure roadmaps and prioritized work.
• Effective collaboration across Security, Engineering, Help Desk, and business stakeholders.
• Clear written and verbal communication with both technical teams and executive leadership.
• Commitment to operational discipline, documentation, automation, and continuous improvement.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with Cisco, Meraki, Palo Alto, Fortinet, Arista, or comparable enterprise network platforms
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates
• Experience with automation and scripting using PowerShell or Python
• Experience with Azure DevOps or comparable CI/CD tooling for infrastructure delivery
• Experience in a technology consulting, VAR, or professional services organization
• Experience aligning infrastructure operations to frameworks such as ITIL, NIST, SOC 2, or ISO 27001

Actual salary will be based on a variety of factors, including location, experience, skill set, performance, licensure and certification, and business needs. The range for this position in other geographic locations may differ. Certain positions may also be eligible for variable incentive compensation, such as bonuses or commissions, that is not included in the base salary.

$150,000 - $160,000 USD

The Perks

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans for you and your dependents
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Employer Match, 529 College Savings Plan, Health Savings Account, Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability
• Competitive Compensation
• Training and development programs
• Major offices stocked with snacks and beverages
• Collaborative and cool culture
• Work-life balance and generous paid time off

Our Commitment

At the core of Trace3's DNA is our people. We are a diverse group of talented individuals who understand the importance of teamwork and demonstrating leadership, character, and passion in all that we do.

We’re committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to grow. We recognize that embracing diversity drives innovation, improves outcomes, fosters collaboration, boosts teammate satisfaction, and builds a more inclusive culture.

As an equal opportunity employer, Trace3 bases all employment decisions based on individual qualifications, merit, and business requirements. We do not engage in discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Any demographic information provided is strictly voluntary, kept confidential in accordance with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulations, and will not be used in employment decisions, including hiring, promotions, or mentorship programs. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process or participate in an interview, please email [e-mail].