Director of Infrastructure and Networking

 GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The Greater Chicago Food Depository is working toward three meals, every neighbor, every day, by 2030. Every pallet that leaves our distribution center depends on infrastructure that works: the network that connects our warehouse scanners, the systems that schedule deliveries to our partner network, and the security that protects our neighbors' and supporters' information.

The Director, Infrastructure and Networking is the Food Depository's senior infrastructure architect and engineer, and the accountable leader for our enterprise technology foundation. This is a hands-on, player-coach role: the Director designs, builds, configures, and troubleshoots the environment personally while setting strategy, managing vendors, and developing the team. The role owns network, cloud, identity, compute, telephony, and infrastructure security, shares accountability for cybersecurity with the Director of IT Support, a peer role that leads End User Services and technical support, and advances the Invisible Infrastructure, Visible Impact pillar of our FY27 to FY30 IT Strategy, so Foodbankers can focus on the mission rather than on technology.

 KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Infrastructure strategy and architecture

• Own the infrastructure and network strategy and multi-year roadmap in alignment with the Food Depository's IT Strategy and organizational priorities.
• Serve as the accountable architect for the enterprise environment, including LAN, WAN, wireless, firewalls, internet circuits, hybrid cloud (Microsoft 365 and Azure), identity, virtualization, storage, endpoints, and telephony.
• Establish infrastructure standards, reference designs, and lifecycle and refresh plans; manage technical debt and retire legacy systems.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and make recommendations to leadership on infrastructure investments, including automation and AI-enabled operations.

Hands-on architecture and engineering

• Personally design, build, and configure core infrastructure: switching and routing, next-generation firewalls, SD-WAN, VPN, and enterprise wireless across the distribution center, offices, and remote sites.
• Architect and administer the Microsoft cloud environment, including Azure, Entra ID, conditional access, Intune, Exchange Online, and hybrid identity.
• Engineer and maintain virtualization, storage, backup, and recovery platforms; design for redundancy and failover.
• Serve as the highest level of technical escalation for infrastructure, network, and security incidents, and lead root cause analysis.
• Automate provisioning, configuration, monitoring, and reporting using PowerShell, Python, or infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Produce and maintain authoritative network diagrams, IP and VLAN design, firewall rule sets, and configuration standards.

Operations, reliability, and resilience

• Ensure high availability of the infrastructure that supports warehouse, distribution, and fleet operations, including coverage across docks, cold storage, and production areas where downtime delays food reaching neighbors.
• Define, measure, and report service levels for uptime, incident response, and change success; lead incident, problem, and change management using ITIL practices.
• Own business continuity and disaster recovery for infrastructure, including backup, recovery objectives, and at least annual testing.
• Maintain current documentation, network diagrams, runbooks, and an on-call model so no single person is a point of failure.

Cybersecurity and risk

• Share accountability for the Food Depository's cybersecurity program with the Director of IT Support, each leading the controls closest to their domain.
• Own infrastructure security architecture and operations: network and perimeter security, firewalls, segmentation, remote access, cloud and identity architecture, conditional access, infrastructure vulnerability and patch management, and security monitoring.
• Partner with the Director of IT Support on endpoint protection, user access, device compliance, and security awareness, so controls are consistent from the network edge to every Foodbanker's device.
• Co-lead technical response to security incidents and coordinate with insurers, forensic partners, and leadership as needed.
• Maintain the infrastructure portion of a security program aligned to NIST CSF or CIS Controls, and report risk posture and remediation progress to IT leadership.
• Support audits, cyber insurance requirements, and the security obligations of government programs, funders, and payment processing.
• Translate findings from third-party security assessments into prioritized, time-bound remediation plans with clear owners.

Financial and vendor management

• Build business cases, total cost of ownership analyses, and multi-year refresh plans that inform infrastructure investment decisions by the VP of Technology and Infrastructure, who owns the budget.
• Lead the transition of managed infrastructure services to an in-house model, and manage remaining managed service, carrier, internet, hardware, and licensing partners, including contracts, renewals, service levels, and performance.
• Negotiate vendor agreements and hold partners accountable to contracted commitments.

Leadership and team development

• Lead, hire, and develop infrastructure staff, apprentices, and contractors; set clear goals and hold the team to a high standard of service.
• Build bench strength through cross-training, mentoring, and professional development.
• Partner as a peer with the Director of IT Support, and with Applications and CRM leaders, to deliver an integrated, Foodbanker-centered technology experience, with clear handoffs between infrastructure and End User Services.

Cross-functional partnership

• Partner with Operations, Facilities, Finance, and program teams to plan technology for facility projects, new or expanded sites, and changes in operations.
• Communicate infrastructure risk, investment needs, and outcomes in clear business terms to senior leadership and, as requested, board committees.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of hands-on infrastructure and network engineering experience, including 5+ years in an architect or senior engineer role and 3+ years leading teams and vendors.
• Expert, hands-on command of enterprise networking: routing and switching (OSPF, BGP, VLANs, QoS), next-generation firewalls (Fortinet preferred), SD-WAN, site-to-site and remote access VPN, and enterprise wireless design, ideally in warehouse, logistics, or industrial environments.
• Hands-on architecture and administration of Microsoft Azure, Entra ID, conditional access, Intune, and Microsoft 365 in a hybrid environment, including identity migrations.
• Strong engineering experience with virtualization, storage, backup, and disaster recovery platforms.
• Working proficiency in PowerShell and at least one of Python or an infrastructure-as-code tool.
• Demonstrated experience implementing security controls aligned to NIST CSF or CIS Controls, including endpoint detection and response, vulnerability management, and leading technical incident response.
• Proven experience building infrastructure business cases, negotiating contracts, and managing or transitioning managed service providers.
• Working knowledge of ITIL service management practices.
• Ability to explain technical risk and tradeoffs to non-technical leaders and lead across departments without direct authority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and strong interpersonal skills.
• Availability for occasional after-hours and on-call support; regular on-site presence at the distribution center.
• Enthusiasm for the mission of the Food Depository; nonprofit experience a plus.
• Eligible to work in the United States.

Benefits:

• Health, dental, and vision insurance coverage
• Employer-paid life and disability insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution
• Generous paid time off
• Parental leave
• On-site gym
• $3,000 annual employer-paid ThrivePass lifestyle and wellness benefit program
• $250 employee referral bonus