Vice President of Enterprise Technology & Operations

Cloud Talent; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Cloud Talent is seeking a visionary CIO/Head of IT to drive an AI-first enterprise technology strategy and governance. The role centers on transforming IT into a product, automating service request fulfilment, and delivering measurable cost savings.

You will lead global operations, oversee cloud infrastructure, applications, security controls, and vendor management while partnering with executives to align IT with business value. Boston-based hybrid work is expected.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in IT leadership roles, including SaaS or life sciences, with a track record in AI/automation

Responsibilities

• Define IT strategy and operating model aligned to AI-first roadmap
• Lead global service operations with follow-the-sun support
• Oversee ITIL-based ITSM modernization and automation initiatives
• Manage multi-year IT budget and vendor relationships

Skills

IT leadership

ITIL/ITSM

Cloud (AWS)

Budget management

AI governance

Offshore teams

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering or equivalent

Tools

AWS

Job description

In an AI-first company, IT is the platform the business runs AI on. It owns identity and access, the tool estate, integrations, AI cost management and the operation of production AI agents, while keeping a secure, compliant and efficient foundation in a regulated industry.

Our client is seeking a leader to make Enterprise Technology & Operations the IT department of the future: data-driven, automation-first and run as a product. The mandate is to move from reactive, ticket-driven support to automated request fulfilment, from a growing backlog to measured service levels, and from scattered tools and scripts to a governed estate of agents and platforms run to a clear cost and value standard. The role carries the full remit of an enterprise CIO.

Key responsibilities

Enterprise technology strategy and leadership

• Own the technology strategy and target operating model, tied to company priorities and an AI-first strategy
• Set the IT roadmap, architecture standards, technology policy and investment priorities with the executive team
• Report IT performance, risk and value to the executive team and contribute to Board materials as needed
• Partner with functional leaders across the business as a trusted business-technology advisor

AI-first enterprise and agent operations

• Redesign and automate critical corporate workflows, starting with IT request fulfilment
• Run operations for production AI agents, including registry, ownership, autonomy limits, scoped permissions, audit trail and service levels, in line with AI governance
• Own the AI tool estate and its economics: provisioning, licensing, integrations, cost tracking by use case, and active-use measurement
• Make IT data fit for AI through strong classification standards so automation and service results can be measured
• Govern automation (RPA, workflow, agents) as both risk and cost, with release discipline and regular total-cost-of-ownership review

Service operations and service management

• Lead global service operations and stand up a follow-the-sun support model with clear tiers and escalation
• Mature the ITIL-based ITSM practice and lead the migration to a modern service management platform
• Build a Service Management & Automation function and deliver request-fulfilment automation in waves
• Run the service-performance review cadence and continuous improvement, closing the loop on every action

Infrastructure, cloud and digital workplace

• Own corporate infrastructure, cloud and hybrid platforms, end-user computing, collaboration tools, networks and identity
• Ensure secure, resilient platforms, including business continuity, disaster recovery, backup, capacity and observability (AIOps)
• Modernize the digital workplace, including enterprise AI assistants

Business applications and enterprise systems

• Own the corporate application portfolio (finance, HR, CRM, collaboration and service platforms) and its integrations
• Set application lifecycle, integration and data standards, and support curated knowledge sources for enterprise AI

Governance, risk, compliance and security partnership

• Partner closely with the information security organization on security architecture, identity, vulnerability management and incident response, with clear boundaries between functions
• Maintain IT general controls and evidence supporting customer and regulatory obligations, such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, GxP / 21 CFR Part 11 computer system validation, HIPAA and GDPR
• Own IT policies, change management, access reviews, asset management and audit readiness

Financial and vendor management

• Own the IT budget (opex and capex) and vendor portfolio, delivering measurable savings through consolidation, renegotiation and governance
• Lead strategic vendor relationships and renewals, and justify investments on total cost and workflow value

Talent and organization

• Lead and develop a global team across Service Operations, Infrastructure & Platforms, Business Applications, and Service Management & Automation
• Build a strong leadership bench, especially in offshore locations, with real ownership and accountability
• Reskill ahead of automation: define new role profiles and career paths and build AI fluency across the team
• Set a culture of ownership, follow-through and measured performance

Qualifications

Required

• Boston based (20 miles south of the city), hybrid in the office as needed, no less than 8 days per month.
• 15+ years in IT, including 7+ years in senior IT leadership (CIO, VP IT, Head of IT or Infrastructure & Operations) at a SaaS, technology or life-sciences company
• Proven record of delivering AI and automation in IT and corporate operations, such as AIOps, intelligent service management, request automation and GenAI or agentic workflows, with measured results
• Experience leading a global, distributed organization with offshore or nearshore teams (India strongly preferred), including building local leadership and extended-hours coverage
• Deep ITIL/ITSM experience, including leading an ITSM platform migration or modernization
• Strong cloud and modern infrastructure background (AWS preferred), Microsoft 365 and identity
• Experience in a regulated environment, with working knowledge of SOC 2, ISO 27001, GxP / 21 CFR Part 11, HIPAA and GDPR controls and audits
• Financial discipline: has owned a multi-million-dollar IT budget, led major renegotiations and delivered measurable savings
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering or equivalent experience

Preferred

• Experience in clinical research, CRO, biopharma technology or healthtech
• Experience standing up agent governance or AI operations
• Experience with data and knowledge management for enterprise AI
• M&A integration or carve-out experience
• Certifications such as ITIL 4 Strategic Leader, AWS, CISM or CGEIT

Leadership profile

• Builds and redesigns, treating IT as a product
• Leads with data, outcomes and unit economics
• Is AI-fluent: experiments, measures and scales
• Closes the loop without needing follow-up
• Develops leaders and delegates real ownership
• Is credible with the executive team and challenges with evidence

A chance to define the IT department of the future in an AI-first company, with direct visibility to the executive team.

Total Cash Compensation of Base & Bonus up to: $250,000-$270,000