Senior Manager IT Operations

Viasat; Tempe (AZ); On-site; USD 144,000 - 227,500; Full time

Job summary

Viasat is seeking a Senior Manager, IT Operations to lead the operational integrity, reliability, and compliance of Global IT systems. You will direct day-to-day operations, ensure systems are monitored, patched, and maintained with audit readiness across environments.

This site-based role requires 60%+ in office, driving automation, AI-driven insights, and governance with MSPs to deliver stable, secure platforms that support enterprise innovation and regulatory requirements, including ITAR and

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of IT operations/infrastructure experience.
• Experience leading incident, problem, and change processes.
• Strong IT operations, monitoring, patching, and configuration management expertise.
• Experience managing CMDB platforms and asset lifecycles.
• Experience managing third-party MSPs.
• Knowledge of ITAR, CUI, FOUO or similar regulatory frameworks.
• Experience with automation and AI/analytics for operations.
• Understanding of IT infrastructure, cloud environments, and enterprise platforms.
• Excellent leadership and stakeholder management.
• U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational run processes including monitoring, alerting, incident coordination, and problem management.
• Ensure systems meet defined availability, performance, and recovery objectives.
• Drive consistency and rigor in operational execution across platforms and services.
• Drive automation-first operations to reduce manual tasks and improve efficiency.
• Utilize AI-driven insights for predictive detection, alert noise reduction, and root cause analysis.
• Own CMDB as authoritative system of record for IT assets and service relationships.
• Oversee patching, vulnerability remediation, and configuration compliance activities.
• Manage delivery through managed service providers and enforce SLAs/KPIs.
• Ensure compliance in regulated environments (ITAR, CUI, FOUO).
• Support disaster recovery and continuity planning.

Skills

IT operations

Incident management

Vulnerability management

CMDB governance

Regulatory compliance

Automation

AI/Analytics

Cloud platforms

Leadership

ITAR knowledge

Job description

About us

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we're on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We're looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

What you'll do

The Senior Manager, IT Operations is responsible for ensuring the operational integrity, reliability, and compliance of Global IT systems, platforms, and applications. This role leads the execution of day-to-day IT operations, ensuring systems are configured, patched, monitored, and maintained in a consistent, secure, and highly predictable manner.

Serving as a critical part of the operational backbone of Global IT, this role drives disciplined execution of core run processes through a combination of standardized practices, automation-first strategies, and tightly governed managed service providers. The Senior Manager ensures that platforms operate within defined availability, recovery, and compliance standards while maintaining audit readiness across regulated and non-regulated environments.

This leader operates in a "run and reliability" capacity, focusing on stability, compliance, and scalability rather than product or experience ownership. By employing automation, AI-driven insights, and strong operational governance, the role enables resilient, secure environments that reduce risk and support enterprise innovation.

This is a sitebased role, employees work 3+ days (60%+) per week from a Viasat office or work location within a standard fiveday workweek.

The day-to-day

Operational Execution & Reliability

• Lead operational run processes including monitoring, alerting, incident coordination, and problem management
• Ensure systems meet defined availability, performance, and recovery objectives
• Drive consistency and rigor in operational execution across platforms and services

Automation & AI-Driven Operations

• Drive automation-first operations to reduce manual tasks and improve efficiency
• Utilize AI-driven insights for predictive detection, alert noise reduction, and root cause analysis

Configuration Management & CMDB

• Own and govern the enterprise CMDB as the authoritative system of record for IT assets and service relationships
• Ensure configuration accuracy, lifecycle tracking, and dependency mapping
• Enable operational, risk, and audit use cases through high-quality configuration data

Patch, Vulnerability & Compliance Operations

• Oversee execution of patching, vulnerability remediation, and configuration compliance activities
• Ensure consistent alignment to security and compliance standards
• Maintain audit-ready evidence in partnership with Security and Governance functions
• Enable controlled self-healing and autonomous remediation where appropriate

Managed Services & Outsourcing Execution

• Manage delivery of operational services through managed service providers
• Define and enforce SLAs, KPIs, and operational standards
• Monitor vendor performance, drive accountability, and lead continuous improvement initiatives

Regulated & Restricted Environment Operations

• Ensure compliance with U.S. regulatory requirements including FOUO, CUI, and ITAR
• Enforce operational controls requiring U.S.-based execution by authorized personnel
• Maintain strict access controls, segregation of duties, and auditability of operations

Operational Readiness & Resilience

• Ensure production readiness through operational acceptance and readiness reviews
• Partner with platform and engineering teams to embed operability, resilience, and supportability by design
• Support disaster recovery and continuity planning

What you'll need

• 8-10+ years of experience in IT operations, infrastructure, or service management
• Demonstrable experience leading operational processes such as incident, problem, and organisational change
• Strong expertise in IT operations disciplines including monitoring, patching, vulnerability management, and configuration management
• Experience managing and governing CMDB platforms and asset lifecycle processes
• Demonstrated experience managing third-party managed service providers
• Knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements (e.g., ITAR, CUI, FOUO or similar frameworks)
• Experience implementing automation and using AI/analytics for operational improvement
• Solid understanding of IT infrastructure, cloud environments, and enterprise platforms
• Excellent leadership, organizational, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to drive operational rigor and continuous improvement at scale
• U.S. Citeizenship required

What will help you on the job

• Experience operating in large, global enterprise IT environments
• Familiarity with ITSM frameworks such as ITIL
• Experience with modern monitoring, observability, and AIOps platforms
• Exposure to DevOps practices and infrastructure-as-code methodologies
• Experience supporting regulated or government-compliant environments
• Certifications such as ITIL, CISSP, CISM, or cloud platform certifications
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities
• Experience implementing self-healing and autonomous operations capabilities

Salary range

$144,000.00 - $227,500.00 / annually. For specific work locations within San Jose, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, the base pay range for this role is $179,000.00 - $268,000.00 / annually

At Viasat, we consider many factors when it comes to compensation, including the scope of the position as well as your background and experience. Base pay may vary depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. Learn more about Viasat's comprehensive benefit offerings that are focused on your holistic health and wellness at https://careers.viasat.com/benefits.

EEO Statement

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic. If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this online application, please click here.