Director of IT Infrastructure

Position: Director of Infrastructure (Linux & On-Prem Data Centers)
Location: Toronto, ON, Hybrid (3 days onsite)
Salary: $170K-$180K base
Posting Type: Open vacancy

We’re hiring a Director of Infrastructure to own and evolve a Linux-first, on-premises data center environment that hosts our client’s core production applications. This role is designed for someone who came up through Linux systems and data centers, understands infrastructure at the hardware, hypervisor, and OS levels, and has grown into a senior leader without stepping away from the technology.

The client expects this leader to be comfortable architecting, operating, and modernizing on-prem (Linux based + datacenter) systems while guiding the organization through selective cloud adoption.

What You’ll Lead:

End-to-end ownership of Linux-based infrastructure, on-prem data centers, virtualization, and end-user IT operations.
- A production environment where Linux is the primary OS, supported by some Windows where required.
- VMware-based data centers, with responsibility for roadmap decisions, platform modernization, and evaluation of post-VMware alternatives.
- A growing team of infrastructure engineers and IT support staff, combining technical leadership with operational accountability.
- Internal application hosting with 24/7 uptime requirements—this role owns availability, performance, and recoverability.

What You’ll Do:

- Set and execute the infrastructure strategy for on-prem systems, data centers, and hybrid cloud integrations (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
- Stay technically engaged—reviewing architecture, guiding design decisions, and stepping in during complex incidents when needed.
- Lead virtualization strategy, including VMware operations today and migration planning to alternative platforms.
- Own CapEx and OpEx budgets for infrastructure, including data center hardware, refresh cycles, licensing, and vendors.
- Ensure business continuity and disaster recovery, including DR architecture, testing, and documentation.
- Oversee infrastructure security and compliance, including SOC 2 controls, security hardening, vulnerability management, and audits.
- Drive automation and operational maturity using scripting, configuration management, and monitoring.
- Lead ITIL-aligned service operations while keeping the organization practical and engineer-friendly.
- Build and mentor a strong in-house infrastructure team that takes pride in owning the platform end to end.

Who You Are:

- A senior infrastructure leader who started in Linux/system administration or data centers and moved into management by mastering the technology.
- Comfortable making architectural decisions across compute, storage, networking, and virtualization.
- Experienced running on-prem environments at scale, not just consuming cloud services.
- Hands-on enough to understand root causes and guide engineers—but senior enough to set direction, priorities, and budgets.
- Not reliant on vendors to define your architecture—you prefer building and operating in-house.

Core Requirements:

- 10+ years of experience in Linux systems, infrastructure, or data center engineering
- Strong hands-on background in Linux (Red Hat / Ubuntu / AlmaLinux)
- Deep experience with on-prem data centers and VMware
- Cloud migration experience (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
- Proven ownership of infrastructure CapEx and OpEx
- Working knowledge of ITIL, SOC 2, and security hardening practices
- Experience leading infrastructure and IT operations teams

Why This Role Stands Out:

- Linux-first, on-prem environment with real technical ownership
- Director-level role that stays close to the systems
- Opportunity to shape long-term infrastructure direction, not just maintain it
- Hybrid work model with meaningful on-site collaboration

Please send your resume in Word format to ankita.chowdhury@quantum-qtr.com.

REFER A NEW HIRE AND EARN A CASH BONUS! For details, click here.

All applications are reviewed by our recruitment team, and hiring decisions are made by people. We may also use AI-enabled tools to support parts of the application review process.