Service Owner – IT Infrastructure Managed Services

Cognizant; Des Moines (IA); Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental & Vision

PTO & Holidays

401(k) Matching

Disability Insurance

Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a Service Owner for IT Infrastructure Managed Services in Des Moines, IA, offering a hybrid work model. You will own end-to-end service delivery, drive governance, manage SLAs/OLAs, and lead ITIL-based processes to ensure reliability and value.

Strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration are essential for this strategic role. This position reports to executives, partners with business leaders, and advances CSI initiatives through automation, AIOps, and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in IT Infrastructure Operations, Managed Services, or Service Management.
• 5+ years in a Service Owner, Service Delivery Manager, Infrastructure Manager, or equivalent leadership role.
• Experience managing enterprise-scale infrastructure services across global environments.
• Proven track record of driving service transformation and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end lifecycle of IT Infrastructure Managed Services, aligning with business goals and service strategy.
• Drive service governance and operational excellence by managing SLAs, OLAs, KPIs, and performance.
• Lead ITIL-based service management processes: Major Incident, Problem, Change, Capacity, Availability, Service Continuity.
• Act as the primary executive escalation point for critical service issues and communications.
• Build and maintain strong customer and leadership relationships via QBRs, Service Reviews, and Governance meetings.
• Develop and execute Continual Service Improvement initiatives leveraging automation, AIOps, and self-healing capabilities.
• Establish service quality frameworks and scorecards ensuring ITIL, ISO, security, and audit compliance.
• Govern operational risk management and business continuity programs including disaster recovery readiness.
• Define and maintain service catalogs, RACI models, standards, and operating procedures.
• Provide strategic leadership for infrastructure services including Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure, ServiceNow/ITSM, Monitoring & Observability, Security, and Automation platforms.

Skills

IT Infrastructure Operations

ITIL Service Management

Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure

Monitoring & Observability

Automation & AIOps

Capacity & Availability Management

Infrastructure Security & Compliance

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuit

Executive Communication

Stakeholder Governance

Tools

ServiceNow/ITSM

Azure/AWS/GCP

Monitoring Tools

Job description

Job Title: Service Owner – IT Infrastructure Managed Services

Job Location: Hybrid- Des Moines, Iowa, USA

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Service Owner to provide end-to-end ownership, governance, performance management, and continual improvement of IT Infrastructure Managed Services. This strategic leadership role acts as the single point of accountability for service delivery excellence, customer satisfaction, operational governance, service innovation, and compliance across complex infrastructure environments.

The Service Owner will partner with business leaders, customers, service delivery teams, and technology stakeholders to ensure services are aligned with organizational goals, deliver measurable business value, and continuously evolve through automation, modernization, and operational transformation initiatives.

Salary and Other Compensation:

The annual salary for this position is between $105,000 to $115,000 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

• Own the end-to-end lifecycle of IT Infrastructure Managed Services, ensuring alignment with business goals, customer requirements, and service strategy.

• Drive service governance and operational excellence by managing SLAs, OLAs, contractual commitments, KPIs, and overall service performance.

• Lead ITIL-based service management processes, including Major Incident, Problem, Change, Capacity, Availability, and Service Continuity Management.

• Act as the primary executive escalation point for critical service issues, ensuring timely resolution and effective stakeholder communication.

• Build and maintain strong customer and leadership relationships, conducting Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), Service Reviews, and Governance meetings.

• Develop and execute Continual Service Improvement (CSI) initiatives, leveraging automation, AIOps, self-healing capabilities, and predictive operations to improve efficiency and service quality.

• Establish service quality frameworks and operational scorecards, ensuring compliance with ITIL, ISO, security, audit, and regulatory standards.

• Govern operational risk management and business continuity programs, including disaster recovery readiness, mitigation planning, and compliance reviews.

• Define and maintain service catalogs, RACI models, standards, and operating procedures, driving consistency across accounts, regions, and delivery teams.

• Provide strategic leadership for infrastructure services, including Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure, ServiceNow/ITSM platforms, Monitoring & Observability tools, Infrastructure Security, Capacity Management, and Automation platforms.

What you’ll need to succeed (required skills)

• 10+ years of experience in IT Infrastructure Operations, Managed Services, or Service Management.

• 5+ years in a Service Owner, Service Delivery Manager, Infrastructure Manager, or equivalent leadership role.

• Experience managing enterprise-scale infrastructure services across global environments.

• Proven track record of driving service transformation and operational excellence initiatives.

Required Skills & Expertise

• IT Infrastructure Operations & Managed Services

• ITIL Service Management Framework

• ServiceNow and Enterprise ITSM Platforms

• Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure (Azure, AWS, GCP)

• Monitoring & Observability Tools

• Automation, AIOps, and Self-Healing Technologies

• Capacity & Availability Management

• Infrastructure Security & Compliance

• Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

• Strong Stakeholder, Governance, and Executive Communication Skills

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 3 days a week at Client/ Cognizant office in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.

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.