Senior Director, Infrastructure

Western Governors University
life insurance, flexible benefit account, parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays, sick time
United States, Utah, Salt Lake City
3949 South 700 East (Show on map)
Apr 10, 2025
If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Pay Range: $245,300.00 - $441,500.00 Job Description The Director of Infrastructure will lead day-to-day operations and long-term strategy across WGU's infrastructure platforms, including cloud environments, physical data centers, networking, Microsoft technologies, desktop engineering, and core collaboration tools. Reporting directly to the VP of Infrastructure, this senior leader will oversee critical systems, support hybrid-cloud innovation, and ensure reliability, scalability, and resilience across all infrastructure services. This role requires a seasoned technical leader with deep experience in enterprise environments, a strong operational mindset, and a track record of building and leading high-performing teams. The ideal candidate has led infrastructure modernization efforts, supported high-uptime environments, and is comfortable navigating a blend of legacy and emerging technologies. Key Responsibilities Strategic & Operational Leadership Oversee infrastructure operations across cloud (AWS, Azure, Oracle Cloud), data centers, networking, and enterprise collaboration platforms. Lead future-state planning and drive infrastructure transformation in alignment with WGU's technology strategy. Own disaster recovery planning and execution for both cloud and on-prem environments. Collaborate across engineering, architecture, and security to ensure seamless, secure, and scalable infrastructure delivery. Identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities in performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency. Team & People Leadership Lead and mentor infrastructure leaders, engineers, and specialists across multiple locations. Support succession planning and organizational growth through hiring, coaching, and development of technical talent. Foster a high-performing, inclusive team culture aligned with WGU's values and leadership principles. Technology Ownership Drive the design, delivery, and support of enterprise technologies including virtualized environments, authentication systems, collaboration tools, and database platforms. Manage infrastructure across both physical data centers and public cloud environments. Oversee deployment and operations of critical systems such as Active Directory, Banner SIS, Exadata, and Microsoft enterprise tools. Financial & Vendor Management Partner with the VP of Infrastructure and Finance teams to support infrastructure budgeting, forecasting, and procurement planning. Lead vendor relationship management, ensuring value, performance, and alignment with strategic objectives. Contribute to business cases and decision-making around infrastructure investments and cost optimization. Required Qualifications 10+ years of experience in infrastructure leadership roles. 7+ years of experience managing technical teams, including at the Director level or higher. Deep expertise in enterprise infrastructure operations including data center, networking, and cloud environments. Experience leading hybrid infrastructure environments (on-prem + public cloud). Strong technical background in Microsoft technologies, large-scale database systems, and virtualization platforms. Proven ability to drive cross-functional initiatives and influence at the executive level. Preferred Qualifications Experience supporting high-transaction, mission-critical systems (e.g., finance, ecommerce, retail, etc). Background in disaster recovery planning, cloud migrations, and/or future-of-work initiatives. Familiarity with ITIL, service management practices, and vendor governance. Why This Role? Opportunity to lead a complex, enterprise-scale infrastructure environment at a mission-driven, online university. Shape the future of infrastructure delivery through hybrid-cloud innovation and digital transformation. Work alongside executive peers and influence major strategic technology decisions. Nationally competitive compensation package and relocation support to Salt Lake City (relocation within 3-6 months preferred). Role offers career progression and succession potential within the infrastructure and executive leadership track. #LI-KM1 Position & Application Details Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave. How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday. Additional Information Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive. Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu. Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.