Senior Director, Infrastructure

About Junior Achievement USA®
Junior Achievement is education for what’s next. As a strategic partner working in collaboration with educators, employers, investors, leaders, and the communities they serve, we are dedicated to helping students achieve academically today and economically tomorrow. As a leader in experiential learning operating on a national scale with over a century of experience, we are driving toward lasting change. This means ensuring a generation of students has the transferable skills and competencies needed to navigate a rapidly changing world. By delivering career-connected learning, we are invested in accelerating economic mobility through education. By helping students become confident, capable, and connected today, we can ensure they have access to opportunity-filled futures tomorrow. Junior Achievement reaches more than 4.6 million students annually across nearly 100 U.S. markets, and is part of JA Worldwide, which serves over 19.9 million students in more than 100 countries. Learn more at www.ja.org. 

Position Summary 

Reporting to the Vice President of Infrastructure and Service Management, the Senior Director of Infrastructure is a hands-on technical leader responsible for the reliability, security, performance, and continuous improvement of Junior Achievement's enterprise technology infrastructure. The role combines advanced technical execution with team development and strategic leadership, with a significant portion of time spent directly administering, troubleshooting, improving, and modernizing infrastructure alongside the team. 

The Senior Director provides deep expertise across Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, hybrid infrastructure, identity and access management, networking, hosting, backup and recovery, monitoring, and automation. This leader serves as a senior technical escalation point for complex infrastructure challenges and actively contributes to technical design, implementation, incident resolution, documentation, and process improvement. 

Equally important, the Senior Director develops the infrastructure team through hands-on coaching, knowledge sharing, clear expectations, and collaborative problem-solving. This role is well suited for a leader who enjoys remaining close to the technology while helping others grow; someone who takes ownership, works effectively with broad direction, and readily steps in where needed to help the team succeed. 

In partnership with the Vice President, the Senior Director also contributes to infrastructure strategy, technology planning, modernization, vendor management, and investment decisions that ensure JA's technology environment continues to meet evolving organizational needs. 

​​​Essential Functions 

Infrastructure Engineering & Operations 

• Provide hands-on technical leadership across JA's enterprise infrastructure, including Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, hybrid environments, networking, identity and access management, hosting, storage, backup and recovery, monitoring, and related technologies 
• Personally contribute to the administration, configuration, implementation, troubleshooting, optimization, and ongoing maintenance of infrastructure systems and services 
• Serve as a senior technical escalation point for complex or service-impacting issues, leading incident response, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and measures to reduce recurrence 
• Ensure the reliability, availability, scalability, security, and performance of infrastructure through proactive monitoring, capacity planning, effective backup and recovery practices, system administration, and continuous improvement 
• Develop and maintain infrastructure documentation, including architecture diagrams, system inventories, technical procedures, standards, and operational runbooks 

Automation & Continuous Improvement 

• Identify, develop, and implement opportunities to automate recurring infrastructure and operational processes using PowerShell, Azure automation capabilities, and other appropriate tools 
• Establish repeatable technical and operational practices that strengthen reliability, monitoring, change management, service delivery, documentation, and overall infrastructure maturity  
• Evaluate emerging technologies and capabilities, including Microsoft Power Platform, Copilot, and related tools, and identify practical opportunities to improve infrastructure operations and organizational productivity 
• Continuously evaluate systems and processes and recommend improvements based on organizational needs, risk, performance, scalability, and evolving technology 

Team Leadership & Development 

• Lead, coach, and develop infrastructure team members through clear expectations, regular feedback, accountability, and meaningful opportunities for professional and technical growth 
• Work alongside team members to troubleshoot challenges, implement solutions, and strengthen technical capabilities through hands-on coaching and knowledge transfer 
• Provide team members with appropriate autonomy and ownership while remaining accessible for guidance, problem-solving, and support 
• Foster a collaborative, team-first environment where individuals proactively identify needs, contribute beyond their immediate responsibilities when appropriate, and share responsibility for team success 

Infrastructure Strategy & Business Partnership 

• Partner with the Vice President on infrastructure strategy, technology roadmaps, modernization priorities, architecture, investments, scalability, risk, and operational planning aligned with organizational objectives 
• Monitor infrastructure spending and support budget planning, cloud cost optimization, and cost-saving opportunities without compromising security, reliability, or service quality 
• Partner with vendors and service providers to support successful technical initiatives and maintain appropriate performance against service-level expectations 
• Communicate technical considerations, risks, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders 
• Stay current on emerging infrastructure technologies, cloud capabilities, automation practices, and industry trends and recommend appropriate opportunities for adoption 

Required Qualifications 

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience supporting and managing enterprise IT infrastructure, including significant hands-on technical responsibility 
• Minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience within Microsoft Azure environments, with demonstrated expertise across several areas such as networking, virtual machines, storage, identity and access management, monitoring, backup and recovery, governance, and cost management 
• Demonstrated experience administering Microsoft 365, Microsoft Entra ID/Azure Active Directory, and cloud and hybrid infrastructure environments 
• Strong ability to troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues, serve as a senior technical escalation point, and contribute directly to incident resolution and root cause analysis 
• Experience using PowerShell or comparable scripting and automation tools to improve technical or operational processes 
• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, or developing technical professionals through hands-on partnership, knowledge sharing, clear expectations, and accountability 
• Ability to operate with autonomy, take ownership, prioritize effectively, and proactively contribute to team and organizational needs without requiring continuous oversight 
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including experience developing technical documentation and communicating technical concepts, risks, and recommendations to technical and non-technical audiences 
• Experience working with vendors and service providers and managing service expectations or SLAs 
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 10% for Junior Achievement events, meetings, and organizational gatherings 

Desired Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline 
• Relevant Microsoft Azure certification, such as Azure Administrator Associate or Azure Solutions Architect Expert 
• Project management or Agile certification, such as PMP or Certified ScrumMaster 
• Experience with Microsoft Power Platform, Copilot, or related AI-enabled productivity and automation capabilities 
• Experience contributing to enterprise digital transformation, cloud migration, or IT modernization initiatives 
• Experience with cloud cost optimization, IT financial management, vendor contract negotiation, or additional automation, orchestration, monitoring, and infrastructure management platforms 

Compensation 

The base salary range for this position is $96,000 to $129,000 annually, with the exact salary depending on relevant experience, demonstrated impact, and alignment with the scope and responsibilities of the role.  

Benefits 

JA USA’s health care benefits provide coverage when needed—focusing on programs that support and encourage healthy living and your overall well-being. We offer medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, holidays, paid time off, and 401(k). 

Our Commitment 

At JA USA, we believe that our success is directly tied to our ability to foster an environment where all individuals have access to opportunities and can thrive. We are deeply committed to creating a workplace where inclusion and belonging are not just principles but lived experiences. This commitment drives us to attract, develop, retain, and promote a workforce that mirrors the communities we serve, bringing together a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and talents. 

We embrace the unique contributions that every JA USA employee brings to our mission and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to join our team. By welcoming various voices, we continue to expand our understanding of the world, and we actively seek to elevate representation of different individual experiences and the perspectives they shape. 

We are dedicated to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and heard—where people can be their authentic selves and know that they belong. This is how we build a workplace where every individual can succeed, and where we work together to create lasting impact for the young people and communities we serve. 

Additional Information 

JA USA does not provide sponsorship for employment visas for this position. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship, now or in the future. If this is a remote position, candidates must reside in and be authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire and throughout employment.