We're Hiring | Director of Infrastructure & Operations
At SAGE Dining Services®, we believe great food is only possible when the systems behind it work flawlessly. We're a mission-driven hospitality company dedicated to creating exceptional dining experiences that delight the senses, inspire minds, and foster community. We're looking for a visionary Director of Infrastructure & Operations to help power it all.
This is your opportunity to step into a high-impact leadership role where technology meets hospitality at scale. You'll own the IT backbone that keeps our dining locations running smoothly, create the infrastructure that powers our development efforts, champion cybersecurity and operational resilience, lead technology transformation, and shape the future of how we work.
If you thrive at the intersection of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, and you're energized by the idea of your work directly improving the experience of thousands of people every day, SAGE is the place for you.
The ideal candidate will be based in the Baltimore area and work primarily from our Home Offices in Lutherville, MD. We may also consider applicants who live within a reasonable commuting distance.
Summary
The Director of Infrastructure & Operations (I&O) leads the strategy, delivery, and day-to-day operation of the technology. Accountable for reliable, secure, and cost-effective infrastructure and operational IT services across a large, distributed footprint as well as home office operations—covering networks/Wi Fi, identity and collaboration, endpoints, and IT service management. The Director treats internal IT infrastructure as a product (IaaP) with an internal-developer-platform mindset—prioritizing developer experience, usability, and self-service capabilities for software engineering stakeholders while maintaining strong security and reliability. The Director also partners closely with internal software teams that build and maintain custom solutions, ensuring strong operational readiness, release discipline, and measurable service outcomes that meet site-level SLAs.
Salary Range: $225,000.00 -$237,000.00 Salary
Time Commitment: Full Time
What you'll get:
- Competitive salary and benefits.
- Work with a skilled, collaborative team that makes measurable contributions to organizational strategies and profitability.
- Mission-based company with values you trust.
- Company that has brand equity and a fabulous reputation in the market.
What you'll do:
- Team leadership: Build and develop high-performing teams across infrastructure, systems and service desk; define on-call models and escalation paths.
- Large-scale, multi-site infrastructure leadership: Own strategy, lifecycle, and operations for connectivity (LAN/WAN, Wi Fi), compute/storage, endpoint and mobile device management, and collaboration platforms.
- Standardization & repeatability: Define standard technology patterns (network designs, device builds, security baselines, and spares) and enable repeatable, automated deployments through documented templates, “golden paths,” and self-service provisioning (where appropriate) so development teams can move faster with fewer handoffs and less variability.
- Infrastructure as a Product (IaaP) / Internal Developer Platform: Treat core internal infrastructure capabilities (identity, networking, compute/runtime platforms, endpoint standards, monitoring/observability, secrets/certificates, and deployment standards) as product offerings for internal engineering teams. Deliver developer self-service through a clear service catalog and portal experience (e.g., request/provision workflows, standardized templates, paved-road “golden paths,” and reusable modules), integrated with engineering toolchains where appropriate (e.g., CI/CD pipelines, ticketing/ITSM, and approvals). Establish published roadmaps; define SLAs/SLOs and platform KPIs (time-to-provision, change lead time enablement, developer satisfaction); and continuously improve usability, documentation, and support. Expand automation and infrastructure-as-code practices by standardizing version-controlled blueprints (e.g., Terraform modules), GitOps based change workflows, continuous delivery practices, automated environment creation, policy-as-code guardrails, automated testing/validation of infrastructure changes, and repeatable rollback patterns—reducing manual work while maintaining security and compliance requirements.
- Client venue enablement: Partner with clients to ensure stable connectivity, device readiness, integrations, and support processes; manage escalation paths and operational coordination to protect service during peak meal periods.
- Custom back-office systems (operational partnership): Partner with internal software teams to operationalize custom back-office applications (including Inventory and Menu Builder); ensure environments are monitored, deployments are repeatable, and incidents are triaged effectively.
- Service management, field support & SLAs: Lead ITIL-aligned processes and support operating models (service desk, escalations) with a focus on fast restoration and meeting SLAs/OLAs.
- Location onboarding & rollouts: Support new client launches, site transitions, and rollouts; ensure repeatability and scalability, readiness checklists, connectivity validation, device provisioning, and cutover support are executed reliably.
- Availability, resiliency & DR: Define and test disaster recovery and continuity plans for critical services (network, identity, collaboration, custom field systems, and key integrations); establish recovery objectives and improve resilience.
- Operational excellence & observability: Implement monitoring/alerting for networks, endpoints, and key platforms; standardize runbooks; and expand automation for patching, provisioning, and routine maintenance at scale. Operationalize IaC by implementing drift detection, controlled promotion of changes through environments, automated compliance checks, and (where appropriate) auto-remediation for common issues. Track platform telemetry that matters to engineering stakeholders (e.g., provisioning latency, change failure rate, and incident impact) to drive continuous improvement.
- Security, privacy & compliance: Partner with Information Security to meet PCI DSS (as applicable), FERPA-aligned expectations at education sites, and corporate security requirements; drive vulnerability remediation, endpoint hardening, identity controls, and logging while minimizing operational disruption.
- Release & change governance: Lead change/release governance for infrastructure and field systems; ensure change windows, communication, rollback plans, and site readiness are in place.
- Vendor & contract management: Manage MSPs, carriers/ISPs, and hardware vendors; oversee SLAs/SOWs, dispatch processes, spares strategy, and performance reviews; coordinate with vendor partners on support outcomes.
- Financial management: Own cost optimization; manage lifecycle refresh and standard configurations to reduce support cost and downtime.
What you'll need:
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).
- Demonstrated experience supporting large, distributed, customer-facing operations (100 to 300 locations preferred) with time-sensitive service windows and high availability expectations.
- Strong knowledge of core infrastructure domains (networking/Wi Fi, systems, identity, endpoint management, backup/DR, monitoring).
- Experience operating and supporting business-critical applications in production in partnership with software engineering teams.
- Experience with cloud platforms and operating models (e.g., Azure/AWS), including governance and cost management.
- Experience implementing and managing IT service management practices and tooling (e.g., ServiceNow or similar), including incident/problem/change disciplines and SLA performance.
- Proven ability to lead through major incidents with clear communications, effective vendor coordination, and structured root-cause analysis.
- Experience in contract dining or supporting technology (preferred).
- Experience supporting site launches, transitions, acquisitions, or large-scale rollouts (preferred).
- Experience with modern operations practices for software (e.g., SRE/DevOps concepts, CI/CD change controls, observability) in partnership with engineering teams (preferred).
- Experience with PCI DSS programs, payment ecosystems, and supporting audits/assessments (preferred).
- Relevant certifications (e.g., ITIL, CISSP/CCSP, Azure/AWS certs, Microsoft 365, Cisco, VMware, PMP) (preferred).
- Experience building internal developer platforms and self-service tooling (e.g., developer portals, service catalogs, golden paths/templates) and operating IaC/GitOps practices with policy-as-code guardrails (preferred).
- Experience with automation/infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, scripting) (preferred).
- Minimum of ten years of progressive experience in IT infrastructure and operations, including a minimum of four years in people management/leadership roles.
About SAGE
SAGE Home Office teams — from Accounting and HR to Marketing, Technology, and more — provide the behind-the-scenes expertise that supports our dining operations and helps them thrive.
Here, you’ll find a collaborative environment where professionals from diverse fields work together to solve challenges, share ideas, and make an impact. Whether you specialize in nutrition, sales, purchasing, or strategy, your work will help our Operations Teams deliver fresh, chef-inspired dining experiences that bring joy and community to campuses nationwide.
Whether you’re looking for a new challenge, a sense of purpose, or a place where your skills can grow, you’ll find it here. At SAGE, we believe your career should empower you, inspire you, and give you the chance to make a difference every day.
Management Team Members enjoy comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with multiple plan options; company-paid short-term disability; company-paid life insurance; supplemental life insurance; long-term disability; a 401(k) with company match; a discount buying program; an employee assistance program; paid holidays and personal days; and benefits through the SAGE Foundation, including access to apply for academic scholarships for dependents and disaster assistance. Home Office management employees have a PTO policy.
GROW. CREATE. COLLABORATE.
Learn more about working here at sagedining.com or connect with us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.
This job advertisement should not be misconstrued as an offer of employment or a comprehensive listing of position responsibilities/expectations.
Equal opportunity employer.
If you’re a candidate living in California or applying for a position in California, please visit sagedining.com/blog/post/156768/california-consumer-privacy-notice-to-california-employees-and-job-applicants for information regarding SAGE’s California privacy practices.
Pay: $225,000.00 - $237,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
