SUMMARY

This position is a management equivalent role, responsible for advanced planning, architecture, design, engineering, coordination, and global standardization in key technological areas. The suitable candidate needs to have 10+ years of experience and in-depth knowledge of Data Center hosting environments including Storage, Backup, Platform Operating Systems, Databases, Applications, Networks and Virtualization. As part of this senior role, they are expected to help formulate strategy and roadmaps for the overall infrastructure estate in the data center's where Pearson Digital Services host its infrastructure.

Key deliverables will be focused on standards, stability, security, efficiency, upgrades, migrations, Disaster Recovery, and inter-operability dependencies.

Leadership essentials include communication and collaboration with the Business and Pearson Digital groups including Infrastructure, Platform OS, Database and Network teams.

Responsibilities of the individual will be to lead and oversee workloads such as installations, performance, optimization, stability, monitoring and maintenance. They will be ultimately accountable for these areas to ensure attention is followed and excellent service is delivered to the end customer.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Listed below are the typical duties and responsibilities expected of an individual for the job title described in this document. Other duties may be assigned from time to time based on the business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Contributes to and leads enterprise infrastructure architecture planning, development, and implementation covering storage, backup, compute, virtualization, applications, databases & network
• Contributes to and leads product evaluation and selection processes
• Develops and/or maintains relationships with 3rd party vendors for appropriate solutions
• Contributes to or leads creation of architectural, engineering, and operational procedures and documentation
• Consults with other internal IT teams (database administrators, systems administrators, application engineers, etc.) infrastructure solutions
• Detailed understanding of storage performance, high availability, resilience, and business continuity
• Stay current with Infrastructure technologies, enhancements, and new features
• Automation and configuration management experience.
• Demonstrable understanding of monitoring, security, and infrastructure components (such as storage, backups, networking, user access, applications, and databases)
• Find ways to automate repetitive tasks and reduce toil across all infrastructure towers
• Build and develop scripts and programs to facilitate the ever-changing infrastructure landscape and provide the agility in accommodating such changes.
• Actively engages and facilitates user community in selecting, implementing, evaluating, troubleshooting new technology.
• Develop test plans (including cases for functionality, integrity, and stress testing; test matrixes; and definition of test methodologies and test strategy); be responsible for the creation of test platforms, including evaluation of test equipment and design test networks; develop automated test suites for product regression and stress testing
• Works with groups to ensure standards and processes are followed to ensure connect ability throughout the organization.

Accountability

• Technical Competencies
• In depth knowledge on Storage/Backup technologies such as EMC, Netapp, Brocade & IBM TSM
• In depth knowledge on Virtualization technologies such as VMware and Hyper-V.
• In depth knowledge on Networking technologies and appliances such as Cisco, F5, Fortinet & Checkpoint Firewalls
• In depth knowledge of Platform OS's such as Windows and Linux
• In depth knowledge of Hardware compute solutions such as HCI, Cisco UCS & Dell technologies
• Thorough knowledge on concepts of networking, virtualization, and operating systems.
• Detailed understanding of storage performance, high availability, resilience, and business continuity
• Support Research & Development activities and engage with PoC exercises where applicable to propose improvements
• Automation and configuration management experience.
• Demonstrable understanding of monitoring, security, and infrastructure components (such as storage, backups, networking, user access, applications, and databases)
• Roadmap Assurance
• Understanding of the infrastructure vision and roadmap.
• Analysis of innovative technology trends and their suitability for deployment at Pearson. Makes final recommendations for implementations to senior IT and business leadership.
• Developing guidelines, specifications of requirements, and implementation guides for new technology.
• Indirect/direct supervisory responsibilities, acting a technical lead to deliver business requirements.
• Expected to provide support on completing and implementing framework level solutions in collaboration with architects and leads.
• Able to meet project deadlines and provide support services according to SLAs.
• Invest time on R&D activities to come up with the best, simplified and future proof implementation methods.
• Identify the opportunities for technology upgrades/replacements, conduct feasibility studies and execute approved proposals.
• Translate business objectives into associated requirements.
• Practice Management
• Provide input to Tech Leads/Product Owners/Service Managers and collaboratively work with them or where appropriate to lead ongoing projects.
• Establishing and actively participating in technical forms to culture a community of learning and development
• Good understanding of ITIL processes including incident, change and problem management
• Ensure company processes, security (CISO) policies, and standards are being adhered to
• Competency with Business Case written proposals for improvements
• Proactively research and locate the necessary tools and processes to identify troublesome trends as they develop; analyze and predict trends and develop a long-range plan designed to resolve problems and prevent them from recurring; maintain high service levels for the user community, and establish a method to easily compare the installation performance against established performance objectives.
• Identify opportunities and recommend solutions for improving service efficiency and effectiveness; participate in IT initiatives to address service issues; keep abreast of technical aspects of Storage/Backup environments; have a working knowledge of department-specific applications; attend seminars and other educational opportunities.
• Assist in setting priorities and managing resources to achieve unit, division, and corporate goals.
• Recommend standards and guidelines as well as specific products as necessary, participating in tool and vendor evaluations.
• Continuously strive to improve client support, identifying opportunities and recommending solutions for improving service efficiency and effectiveness.
• Communicates with departmental and business unit managers, as well as project manager and leaders, to define support initiatives and solutions.
• Develops relationships with professional organizations, peer groups, and industry trade groups to stay current with technology; attends conferences.
• People
• Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing landscape and situations
• Ability to perform multiple tasks concurrently
• Excellent customer service attitude, communication skills (written and verbal), and interpersonal skills
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to make timely and sound decisions
• Detail oriented
• Ability to work independently and in a team based environment that functions at global scale
• Ability to work efficiently in a fast paced environment
• Ability to work under pressure and in high stress situations
• Ability to be self motivated
• Delivery Responsibilities
• Quality, Policies and Standards
• Practice to meet all organizational wide technical practices and standards - i.e. architectural, security and regulatory.
• Produce and maintain HLD & LLD documentation for Private Cloud & Networking environment
• Motivates the responsible teams to ensure that Engineering Best Practices are implemented and followed
• Delivery
• Attends to issues in a timely manner and resolve incidents according to SLA's.
• Enables timely delivery of assigned projects.
• Facilitates communication between project teams, including engineering status and technical information (architecture, design and implementation objectives).
• Keep Tech Leads/Product Owners/Service Managers apprised of project statuses and escalate any roadblocks or showstoppers to management.
• Provide timely and accurate updates with regular work backlog commentary
• KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
• Business / Functional Knowledge - understands business drivers and core technology functionality in area of focus.
• Customer-focused - establishes and maintains customer relationships; highly skilled in managing customer expectations.
• Communication Skills - strong listening, and oral/written communications skills, including the ability to facilitate interactive sessions with business / functional personnel.
• Interpersonal Skills - able to interact effectively with senior executive levels, function in a team-driven environment, and manage conflict effectively and constructively.
• Results-oriented with creative approach to solving business problems.
• Facilitation - skilled facilitator who can lead discussion, focus divergent opinions in order to gain consensus, move development/decision processes forward.
• Business Process Improvement and Change Management - awareness and focus on continuous improvement; seeks and is comfortable recommending change

The anticipated starting salary range for Colorado-based individuals expressing interest in this position is $150,000.00-$160,000.00 This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program.

Benefits available to eligible employees can be seen at: https://pearsonbenefitsus.com/

Equal Employment Opportunity

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and a member of E-Verify. All qualified applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

#LI-POST

Learning is the most powerful force for change in the world. More than 20,000 Pearson employees deliver our products and services in nearly 200 countries, all working towards a common purpose - to help everyone achieve their potential through learning. We do that by providing high quality, digital content and learning experiences, as well as assessments and qualifications that help people build their skills and grow with the world around them. We are the world's leading learning company. Learn more at pearsonplc.com.

Pearson believes that wherever learning flourishes, so do people. We are committed to being an anti-racistcompany in everything we do. We value the power of an inclusive culture and a strong sense of belonging. We promote a culture where differences are embraced, opportunities are accessible, consideration and respect are the norm, and all individuals are supported in reaching their full potential. Through our talent, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion make us a more innovative and vibrant place to work. People are at the center, and we are committed to a sustainable environment and workplace where talent can learn, grow, and thrive.

To learn more about Pearson's commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce, please click here: http://www.pearson.com/careers/diversity-and-inclusion.html

Pearson is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other group protected by law.

Job: TECHNOLOGY

Organization: Corporate Strategy & Technology

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Req ID: 1737