Operations Lead - Infrastructure Managed Services (IMS)

Cognizant; Wayzata (MN); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 112,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays + Paid Time Off

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking an experienced Operations Lead - Infrastructure Managed Services (IMS) to head 24x7 infrastructure operations across data centers, cloud, servers, storage, and networks. This role emphasizes governance, transformation, automation, and cross-functional collaboration with stakeholders and delivery teams.

The position is hybrid, requiring 2-3 days in a Cognizant client location in Wayzata, MN or Atlanta, GA, with a strong focus on operational excellence, cost optimization, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required.
• 12+ years in IT Infrastructure Operations, Service Delivery, or Managed Services.
• Proven experience leading large-scale infrastructure operations across multi-site environments.
• Strong data center, cloud, servers, storage, networks, and infrastructure platforms experience.
• Experience leading operational transformation and automation initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end 24x7 infrastructure and data center operations across multiple sites.
• Manage service delivery across servers, storage, networks, cloud, and plant infra.
• Governance through SLAs, KPIs, incident trends, change activities, and performance metrics.
• Establish weekly/monthly/quarterly executive review frameworks and reporting.
• Serve as primary operational escalation point for customers, vendors, and teams.
• Mentor and develop operational teams including staffing and performance reviews.
• Manage budgets, forecasting, and cost optimization while tracking financial performance.
• Identify risks, ensure governance, audit, security and business continuity requirements.
• Drive automation, transformation, and CSI to improve service quality and efficiency.
• Collaborate with architecture, engineering, security, and service management on strategic initiatives.

Skills

Infrastructure Operations Management

Data Center Operations

Service Delivery Management

ITIL Service Management

Operational Governance

Incident, Problem & Change Management

Leadership

ITIL Certification

PMP/PgMP/Prince2

Global delivery teams

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field

Job description

Job Title: Job Title: Job Title: Operations Lead - Infrastructure Managed Services (IMS)

Job Location: Hybrid [2-3 days in the office]- Wayzata, MN/ Atlanta, GA, USA

** Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future**

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Operations Lead - Infrastructure Managed Services (IMS) to lead 24x7 infrastructure operations. The ideal candidate will be responsible for ensuring operational excellence, service reliability, governance compliance, and continuous service improvement across data center, cloud, server, storage, network, and plant infrastructure environments.

This leadership role requires strong operational management expertise, stakeholder engagement capabilities, and a proven track record of delivering large-scale infrastructure services while driving transformation, automation, and business outcomes.

Salary and Other Compensation:

The annual salary for this position is between $90,000 to $112,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

In this role, you will

• Lead end-to-end 24x7 infrastructure and data center operations across multiple sites, ensuring high availability, reliability, and performance of business-critical services.
• Manage infrastructure service delivery across servers, storage, networks, cloud platforms, workplace technologies, and plant infrastructure environments while maintaining operational stability.
• Drive operational governance by monitoring SLAs, KPIs, incident trends, change activities, problem management processes, and service performance metrics.
• Establish and maintain robust operational review frameworks including Weekly Business Reviews (WBRs), Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs), Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), and executive reporting.
• Serve as the primary operational escalation point for customers, business stakeholders, vendors, and delivery teams, ensuring timely resolution of critical issues and major incidents.
• Lead, mentor, and develop operational teams through workforce planning, staffing management, performance reviews, coaching, succession planning, and capability development.
• Manage budgets, forecasting, resource utilization, operational costs, and financial performance while driving cost optimization initiatives.
• Identify operational risks, develop mitigation strategies, ensure compliance with governance standards, audit requirements, security policies, and business continuity objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement, automation, and operational transformation initiatives to improve service quality, productivity, customer experience, and overall operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, business leaders, architecture, engineering, security, and service management organizations to support strategic infrastructure initiatives and organizational goals.

What you’ll need to succeed (required skills)

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field.
• 12+ years of experience in IT Infrastructure Operations, Service Delivery, or Managed Services environments.
• Proven experience leading large-scale infrastructure operations across global or multi-site environments.
• Strong experience managing Data Center Operations, Cloud Services, Servers, Storage, Networks, and Infrastructure Platforms.
• Demonstrated success leading operational teams and managing large support organizations.
• Experience managing customer-facing operations and executive stakeholder relationships.
• Strong financial management, budgeting, forecasting, and resource planning experience.
• Experience leading operational transformation and automation initiatives.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, presentation, and leadership skills.

Required Skills

Operational Leadership

• Infrastructure Operations Management
• Data Center Operations
• Service Delivery Management
• ITIL Service Management
• Operational Governance
• Incident, Problem & Change Management

Infrastructure Expertise

• Server Platforms (Windows/Linux)
• Storage Technologies
• Enterprise Networking
• Cloud Platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP)
• Data Center Infrastructure
• Plant/Manufacturing Infrastructure

Management & Governance

• SLA/KPI Management
• Risk & Compliance Management
• Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
• Vendor & Contract Management
• Financial Planning & Cost Optimization
• Resource and Capacity Management

Transformation & Improvement

• Process Improvement
• Automation & Digital Transformation
• Operational Analytics & Reporting
• Continous Service Improvement (CSI)
• Service Modernization

Preferred Skills

• ITIL Foundation/Expert Certification.
• PMP, PgMP, or Prince2 Certification.
• Experience in manufacturing, industrial, or plant infrastructure environments.
• Experience managing global delivery teams across multiple geographies.
• Exposure to AI-driven operations, predictive monitoring, and infrastructure automation technologies.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Work model:

At Cognizant, we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible, and we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a hybrid role requiring 2-3 days a week at a client location in either Wayzata, MN/ Atlanta, GA, USA.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

“Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.