Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations

HNI Corporation is a global family of brands for the workplace and home dedicated to enhancing the spaces where we live, work, and gather. We pride ourselves on fostering an environment where we make a positive impact on others; upholding our beliefs in integrity, inclusion and belonging.

The Director, IT Infrastructure and Operations is accountable for the reliability, availability, and performance of enterprise infrastructure services supporting global business operations. This includes enterprise data centers, server and storage systems, and network connectivity across corporate offices, manufacturing facilities, and remote locations. This role leads highly technical enterprise teams responsible for data center and hosting operationsandenterprise networking & telecommunications, ensuring reliable, secure, and scalable infrastructure services across hybrid cloud and on-premises environments.

This position serves as both anexperienced technical leader and disciplined change champion, guiding the evolution of the organization's infrastructure stack while ensuring day-to-day operational stability. The Director partners with enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, application development, and business leaders to align infrastructure capabilities with business needs and digital transformation initiatives.

This role is a manager of managers and an on-site, hands-on leader who will work from our IT Center in Muscatine, IA four days a week (M-Th) and virtually on Fridays. We are not able to consider remote candidates.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Directly manages the Infrastructure & Operations team and the Networking & Telecommunications teams.
• Provides leadership, mentorship, and performance management for infrastructure engineers, administrators, and technical specialists.
• Establishes team priorities, operational standards, and service expectations for enterprise infrastructure services.
• Enforces change management discipline throughout daily operations and projects.
• Oversees vendor relationships, managed services providers, and infrastructure technology partners.
• Develops and manages the infrastructure and operations budget including capital and operating expenses.
• Drive cost optimization initiatives across infrastructure platforms, cloud consumption, telecommunications, and vendor services.
• Oversee lifecycle management for infrastructure hardware, software platforms, and network technologies.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES &RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy & Execution

• Define and execute the long-term operational strategy and execute projects for enterprise infrastructure, including data centers, networking, server environments, and core infrastructure services.
• Collaborates with architects on infrastructure roadmaps that support application modernization, digital workplace initiatives, and hybrid cloud adoption.
• Ensure infrastructure aligns with enterprise architecture standards, cybersecurity requirements, and regulatory compliance.
• Deploys disciplined approach to change management
• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry best practices to improve reliability, scalability, and cost efficiency.

Core Infrastructure Platforms

• Oversee the administration and evolution of standard enterprise platforms, including Servers, Storage, Backup, and hybrid cloud integration with Microsoft Azure, OCI and AWS environments.
• Ensure the reliability, security, and scalability of enterprise infrastructure services including virtual servers, storage platforms, and virtualization technologies.
• Guide the management of operating system environments including Windows Server and Linux (RHEL)platforms.
• Support enterprise identity services, directory services, and core infrastructure components including Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and authentication services.
• Oversee the infrastructure patch management services including Microsoft SCCM
• Deploys automation and software as code to drive flexibility and efficiency.

Networking & Telecommunications

• Responsible enterprise networking infrastructure across corporate offices, manufacturing facilities, and cloud environments.
• Oversee LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, and hybrid cloud networking architecturessupporting global connectivity.
• Strong experience inmanaging enterprise Wireless networks, ensuring health, performance and security.
• Ensure reliable and secure network connectivity through routing, switching, firewall, and VPN technologies.
• Support enterprise telecommunications platforms includingVoIP, PBX, SIP telephony, and unified communications systems.
• Drive improvements in network performance, resilience, and high-availability architectures.
• Enterprise experience innetwork availability monitoring with technology such as SolarWinds.

Infrastructure Operations & Reliability

• Establish and maintain operational service management practices including incident, problem, and change management aligned with ITIL or similar frameworks.
• Define service level objectives (SLOs) and ensure infrastructure platforms meet enterprise availability and performance targets.
• Implement reliability engineering practices including observability, capacity planning, and performance engineering to ensure resilient infrastructure services.
• Ensure high availability and operational stability of critical infrastructure systems.
• Establish monitoring, automation, and incident response practices to support proactive infrastructure management.
• Implement infrastructure automation and infrastructure-as-code capabilities using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, or PowerShell.
• Oversee infrastructure monitoring and telemetry platforms to maintain performance and service reliability.

Security, Risk & Compliance

• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to implement secure infrastructure architectures and enforce network security standards.
• Ensure infrastructure platforms support corporate security policies, identity management, and secure access models.
• Participate in enterprise risk management, disaster recovery, and business continuity.

Vendor & Technology Management

• Manage relationships with key infrastructure vendors, service providers, and telecommunications partners.
• Oversee procurement, evaluation, and lifecycle management of infrastructure technologies and platforms.
• Develop vendor strategies that balance cost efficiency, performance, and operational reliability.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with IT leadership, application development teams, end user computing teams and business stakeholders to understand infrastructure needs and translate them into technical solutions.
• Communicate infrastructure strategy, risks, and performance metrics to senior leadership.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives supporting cloud migrations, system integrations, and infrastructure modernization.

EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field required.
• Master's degree in Information Systems, Technology Management, or Business Administration preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in enterprise infrastructure engineering, cloud operations, or network architecture roles.
• 5+ years of experience leading infrastructure or platform engineering teams.
• Experience managing hybrid infrastructure environments spanning cloud and on-premises platforms.
• Strong background in enterprise networking architecture and infrastructure operations.
• Experience supporting large multi-site enterprise environments.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Strategic technology leadership combined with strong hands-on technical depth
• Ability to balance operational stability with long-term infrastructure modernization
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Effective communication with both technical and business stakeholders
• Ability to lead high-performing engineering teams in complex technical environments
• Strong vendor management and technology evaluation skills
• Build and develop a high-performing infrastructure engineering organization including succession planning and technical career development.

TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Cloud & Infrastructure Platforms

• HPE or Dell enterprise servers
• Microsoft Azure and hybrid cloud architectures
• AWS or other public cloud providers
• VMware virtualization platforms
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
• Enterprise storage platforms (SAN/NAS)

Operating Systems & Core Infrastructure

• Microsoft Windows Server
• Linux platforms (RHEL, OEL and similar distributions)
• Active Directory, Azure AD, DNS, DHCP, Entra, Group Policy

Networking & Telecommunications

• Cisco networking wired/wireless platforms and routing technologies
• SD-WAN and hybrid cloud networking, HPE Aruba (Silver Peak)
• Routing protocols including BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP
• Network security platforms including firewalls, VPNs, and IPS systems
• VoIP, SIP telephony, PBX systems, and unified communications platforms

Automation & Monitoring

• Infrastructure automation tools (Terraform, Ansible, PowerShell)
• Monitoring platforms such as SolarWinds, or similar
• Network telemetry and monitoring technologies

RELEVANT SKILLS

• Strong leadership and team development skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Strategic mindset with ability to balance tactical execution.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to measure and improve service delivery performance.
• Vendor management and contract negotiation skills.
• Customer-focused, with a passion for improving the employee experience.
• Collaborative and adaptable, able to work across multiple IT and business teams.
• Results-oriented with a strong sense of accountability.
• Forward-thinking and innovative, keeping pace with evolving workplace technologies.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!

HNI Corporation (NYSE: HNI) is a manufacturer of workplace furnishings and building products, operating under two segments. The workplace furnishings segment is a leading global designer and provider of commercial furnishings, going to market under multiple unique brands. The residential building products segment is the nation's leading manufacturer and marketer of hearth products.
We offer benefits starting from Day 1. To learn more, visit www.HNIbenefits.com.
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