Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure & Operations

At Thorlabs, we design and manufacture components, instruments, and systems that transform the world by identifying, enabling, and accelerating key photonics (i.e., light-based) technologies. Backed by a dedicated workforce of more than 3,000 employees worldwide, Thorlabs contributes to cutting-edge research and real-world innovation.

Whether you're early in your career or bringing years of experience, you’ll find opportunities to grow, take ownership, and make meaningful contributions from day one. We know every employee brings unique talents and perspectives that fuel our success, and we seek driven individuals who are excited to make an impact in a fun, fast-moving culture.

The Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure & Operations leads global IT Engineering and local IT Service Management teams to deliver reliable, efficient, and responsive IT operations that support business needs and enterprise platforms. Serving as the primary IT Infrastructure & Operations leader at the global headquarters, this role drives operational excellence, service delivery, incident management, and continuous improvement while aligning local responsiveness with global standards. The position also contributes to Infrastructure & Operations strategy, translates business priorities into operational outcomes, and supports the growth and development of the Global IT organization.

Although the location of the position is in Newton, NJ, from time to time it may be required to undertake duties at other Thorlabs locations.

Essential Job Functions include the following, but are not limited to:

• Lead and develop assigned IT Operations resources, fostering accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure strong alignment with business priorities, executive expectations, and operational responsiveness.
• Develop and execute IT service and infrastructure strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Manage daily operations, performance, and continuous improvement of service delivery, network availability, and system uptime.
• Establish and monitor service levels, KPIs, and operational metrics to ensure high-quality support and infrastructure performance.
• Direct incident, problem, change, and escalation management processes to minimize business disruption.
• Partner with Information Security and other control functions to ensure infrastructure security requirements, compliance obligations, disaster recovery, and business continuity capabilities are effectively implemented and maintained.
• Working with the procurement team where needed, this role will manage vendor relationships, service providers, contracts, and technology budgets.
• Lead, mentor, and develop IT service and network professionals, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Drive infrastructure modernization, process automation, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Build strong relationships with business and IT leaders, understand operational priorities and pain points, and ensure Infrastructure & Operations services and delivery are aligned to business criticality/needs.

In addition to the essential functions and duties listed above, all positions are also responsible for:

• Meeting company standards pertaining to quantity and quality of work performed on an ongoing basis, performing all work-related tasks in a manner that is in compliance with all Company policies and procedures.
• Adhering to Company policies, procedures, and directives regarding standards of workplace behavior in completing job duties and assignments.

The Company retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Physical Activities:

The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, climb or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and move up to 50 pounds.

Requirements

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in enterprise infrastructure and IT operations, including significant leadership responsibility in complex environments.
• 5+ years of proven work experience designing, deploying, and managing enterprise-class cloud systems (Azure/AWS/Google, etc.)
• 5+ years of experience managing cloud, network, and/or system engineers working on various on-premises and cloud-based systems.
• Proven experience operating within a global or multi-site organization, with exposure to both centralized and localized IT delivery models.
• Demonstrated experience supporting critical business operations in a complex, fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with senior business leaders, particularly during major incidents, technology decisions, and investment prioritization.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or equivalent fields in IT or equivalent experience.

Specialized Knowledge and Skills:

• Proven leadership of managers and cross-functional technical teams within complex global, multi-site, and matrix organizations.
• Extensive experience leading multiple concurrent infrastructure, operations, and technology initiatives using structured and disciplined methodologies such as Waterfall, Agile (Scrum), and Kanban.
• Broad expertise across enterprise IT infrastructure, including data centers, virtualization, cloud and hybrid environments (Azure, IaaS/SaaS), storage platforms (NAS/SAN), virtual desktop technologies (AVD/Citrix), networking (LAN/WAN/SD-WAN, wireless, VPN), identity management, security, and enterprise services.
• Strong knowledge of IT operations, service management, and governance practices, including ITIL/ITSM, incident, problem, change, configuration, monitoring, patch management, and DevOps methodologies.
• Skilled in developing technical standards, operational documentation, runbooks, and knowledge transfer programs, while effectively communicating complex technical concepts to executive leadership and translating business objectives into actionable technology strategies.
• Experience with data protection, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, business continuity planning, risk management, compliance, and governance frameworks.
• Proven ability to evaluate, recommend, and implement scalable technology solutions aligned with business goals while managing vendors, service providers, and strategic partners to optimize cost, performance, and service delivery.
• Assess capability, staffing, skills, and operating models; develop talent and succession plans within the role’s managerial responsibility; and recommend changes to improve scalability, accountability, resilience, and global service delivery.

Pay range for this position is $163,000 - $225,000 depending on experience

Other:

• Availability to support night/weekend coverage based on the needs of the business.

Organizational Relationships

Direct Reports:

This position has direct supervisory and/or matrixed site leadership responsibilities. Direct reports or assigned resources may include IT Service Desk, Network, Systems, Cloud, Infrastructure, or Engineering personnel and managers, with broader site leadership responsibility for Newton and surrounding locations and influence across global infrastructure and service teams.

Direct Reports: IT Service/Engineering Managers, with broader influence across additional infrastructure and service teams globally.

Thorlabs values its diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Job descriptions are not intended as and do not create employment contracts. The organization maintains its status as an at-will employer. Employees can be terminated for any reason not prohibited by law.

Benefits

Thorlabs offers a complete benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision insurance, company paid life insurance, a generous PTO package, a 401(k) plan, and tuition reimbursement just to name a few.