Vice President of Enterprise Technology & Operations

In an AI-first company, IT is the platform the business runs AI on. It owns identity and access, the tool estate, integrations, AI cost management and the operation of production AI agents, while keeping a secure, compliant and efficient foundation in a regulated industry. Our client is seeking a leader to make Enterprise Technology & Operations the IT department of the future: data-driven, automation-first and run as a product. The mandate is to move from reactive, ticket-driven support to automated request fulfilment, from a growing backlog to measured service levels, and from scattered tools and scripts to a governed estate of agents and platforms run to a clear cost and value standard. The role carries the full remit of an enterprise CIO.

Own the technology strategy and target operating model, tied to company priorities and an AI-first strategy Set the IT roadmap, architecture standards, technology policy and investment priorities with the executive team Report IT performance, risk and value to the executive team and contribute to Board materials as needed Partner with functional leaders across the business as a trusted business-technology advisor AI-first enterprise and agent operations Redesign and automate critical corporate workflows, starting with IT request fulfilment Run operations for production AI agents, including registry, ownership, autonomy limits, scoped permissions, audit trail and service levels, in line with AI governance Own the AI tool estate and its economics: provisioning, licensing, integrations, cost tracking by use case, and active-use measurement Make IT data fit for AI through strong classification standards so automation and service results can be measured Govern automation (RPA, workflow, agents) as both risk and cost, with release discipline and regular total-cost-of-ownership review Service operations and service management Lead global service operations and stand up a follow-the-sun support model with clear tiers and escalation Mature the ITIL-based ITSM practice and lead the migration to a modern service management platform Build a Service Management & Automation function and deliver request-fulfilment automation in waves Run the service-performance review cadence and continuous improvement, closing the loop on every action Infrastructure, cloud and digital workplace Own corporate infrastructure, cloud and hybrid platforms, end-user computing, collaboration tools, networks and identity Ensure secure, resilient platforms, including business continuity, disaster recovery, backup, capacity and observability (AIOps) Modernize the digital workplace, including enterprise AI assistants Business applications and enterprise systems Own the corporate application portfolio (finance, HR, CRM, collaboration and service platforms) and its integrations Set application lifecycle, integration and data standards, and support curated knowledge sources for enterprise AI Governance, risk, compliance and security partnership Partner closely with the information security organization on security architecture, identity, vulnerability management and incident response, with clear boundaries between functions Maintain IT general controls and evidence supporting customer and regulatory obligations, such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, GxP / 21 CFR Part 11 computer system validation, HIPAA and GDPR Own IT policies, change management, access reviews, asset management and audit readiness Financial and vendor management Own the IT budget (opex and capex) and vendor portfolio, delivering measurable savings through consolidation, renegotiation and governance Lead strategic vendor relationships and renewals, and justify investments on total cost and workflow value Talent and organization Lead and develop a global team across Service Operations, Infrastructure & Platforms, Business Applications, and Service Management & Automation Build a strong leadership bench, especially in offshore locations, with real ownership and accountability Reskill ahead of automation: define new role profiles and career paths and build AI fluency across the team Set a culture of ownership, follow-through and measured performance

Boston based (20 miles south of the city), hybrid in the office as needed, no less than 8 days per month. 15+ years in IT, including 7+ years in senior IT leadership (CIO, VP IT, Head of IT or Infrastructure & Operations) at a SaaS, technology or life-sciences company Proven record of delivering AI and automation in IT and corporate operations, such as AIOps, intelligent service management, request automation and GenAI or agentic workflows, with measured results Experience leading a global, distributed organization with offshore or nearshore teams (India strongly preferred), including building local leadership and extended-hours coverage Deep ITIL/ITSM experience, including leading an ITSM platform migration or modernization Strong cloud and modern infrastructure background (AWS preferred), Microsoft 365 and identity Experience in a regulated environment, with working knowledge of SOC 2, ISO 27001, GxP / 21 CFR Part 11, HIPAA and GDPR controls and audits Financial discipline: has owned a multi-million-dollar IT budget, led major renegotiations and delivered measurable savings Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering or equivalent experience Preferred Experience in clinical research, CRO, biopharma technology or healthtech Experience standing up agent governance or AI operations Experience with data and knowledge management for enterprise AI M&A integration or carve-out experience Certifications such as ITIL 4 Strategic Leader, AWS, CISM or CGEIT Leadership profile Builds and redesigns, treating IT as a product Leads with data, outcomes and unit economics Is AI-fluent: experiments, measures and scales Closes the loop without needing follow-up Develops leaders and delegates real ownership Is credible with the executive team and challenges with evidence A chance to define the IT department of the future in an AI-first company, with direct visibility to the executive team. Total Cash Compensation of Base & Bonus up to: $250,000-$270,000