IT Manager

Job Summary

The IT Manager’s role is to ensure the streamlined operation of the IT Department in alignment with the business objectives of the organization. This individual will plan, coordinate, direct, and design IT-related activities of the organization, as well as provide administrative direction and support for daily operational activities of the IT department. The IT Manager will work closely with decision makers to identify, recommend, develop, implement, and support cost-effective technology solutions for the organization’s heterogeneous IT environment. This person will also help define and implement IT policies, procedures, and best practices.

About The HDF Group

The HDF Group offers a unique suite of technologies and supporting services for managing large and complex data. Its mission is to develop, advance, and support HDF (Hierarchical Data Format) technologies, and ensure long-term access to HDF data.

The HDF Group provides consulting, software development, and advanced support services to organizations with challenging data-management requirements. A spinoff from the University of Illinois in 2006, The HDF Group owns and continues to enhance data technologies that originated at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (1988-2006). HDF technologies are used in virtually every industry and scientific domain to meet important data management needs. Our customers come from both the public and private sector and include many government and scientific mission-critical HDF applications. Other HDF uses include special effects in film production, flight testing, weather prediction, medical image visualization, DNA analysis, vehicle design, and volcanology.

The HDF Group currently has 35 employees. Our corporate office is located in Champaign, Illinois, home of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the top 10 high tech communities in the world. Champaign-Urbana is a vibrant center of cultural and business activities, a great place for a family, and a great place to live. The HDF Group offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.

Essential job functions and key responsibilities

Strategy & Planning

  • Participate in business operations and strategic planning, including fostering innovation, planning projects, and organizing and negotiating the allocation of resources. 

Acquisition & Deployment

  • Benchmark, analyze, report on, and make recommendations for the improvement and growth of the IT infrastructure and IT systems.
  • Develop and implement IT policies and procedures, including those for architecture, security, backups/disaster recovery, change and problem management, standards, purchasing, and service provision.
  • Manage financial aspects of the IT Department, including purchasing, budgeting, and budget review.
  • Develop business case justifications and cost/benefit analyses for IT spending and initiatives.
  • Negotiate and administer vendor, outsourcer, and consultant contracts and service agreements.

Operational Management

  • Coordinate the deployment, monitoring, maintenance, development, upgrade, and support of all IT systems, including servers, workstations, operating systems, hardware, software, and peripherals.
  • Oversee provision of end-user services, including help desk and technical support services.
  • Work with stakeholders to define business and systems requirements for new technology implementations.
  • Conduct and direct research on potential technology solutions in support of procurement efforts.
  • Keep abreast of the latest technologies.
  • Approve and oversee projects and project portfolio.
  • Establish asset management for IT hardware, software, and equipment and logical assets.
  • Manage IT staffing, including recruitment, supervision, development, mentoring, evaluation.
  • Establish and maintain regular written and in-person communications with the position’s direct supervisor, organization’s executives, and end users regarding pertinent IT activities.
Minimum requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

  • 3 years supervisory experience of system administration/technical support.
  • Proven experience in IT infrastructure planning, deployment and maintenance.
  • 3 years experience with administration of Linux, MacOS and Windows workstation and servers.
  • 2 years experience with Active Directory planning, implementation, and management.
  • 2 years experience in TCP networking, network security, firewalls, proxy/load balancers and network monitoring systems.
  • Fluent in one or more scripting languages (Bash, Python, PowerShell).
  • Working and applied knowledge in infrastructure virtualization (ESXi, Hyper-V, etc).
  • Working and applied knowledge of Software development, testing and production environments.
  • Working and applied knowledge of containers and automated orchestration tools.
  • Experience with backup and recovery operations.
  • Experience with network storage technologies.
  • Software deployment and delivery of server and hosted web services (Atlassian, NGNIX, WordPress)
  • Database management and configuration (e.g., MySQL, SQL Server, MS SQL Server).
  • Corporate communications systems.
    • Email services. (Exchange Server, Microsoft O365)
    • Phone, VoIP and web conferencing services.
  • Administrative experience with at least one Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Digitial Ocean)
  • Strong leadership skills.
  • Extensive experience working in a collaborative Agile environment.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to conduct and direct research into IT issues and products as required.
  • Ability to present ideas in business-friendly and user-friendly language.
  • Demonstrates initiative and is highly self-motivated.
  • Keen attention to detail.
  • Proven analytical, evaluative, and problem-solving abilities.
  • Ability to prioritize and execute tasks effectively.
  • Exceptional customer service orientation.

The HDF Group offers a comprehensive collection of benefits including paid time off and health/dental/vision insurance, as well as company matching 401k to name a few.  The HDF Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and has a strong commitment to diversity. In keeping with that commitment, individuals with disabilities, minorities, females, and veterans are encouraged to apply.

To ensure full consideration, please submit a resume, cover letter, and references to HPC@hdfgroup.org.

To learn more about the work being done at The HDF Group, visit our website at www.hdfgroup.org.