IT Director [#4900]

Job Description

Alteo is looking for an IT Director for a permanent position based in Montreal.

The IT Director is responsible for leading and managing the organization's IT infrastructure, platforms, and operational services, with a strong focus on on-premises virtualization, high-availability infrastructures, and critical application platforms.

This role combines in-depth technical expertise, infrastructure and architecture leadership, and team management to ensure the stability, performance, security, and scalability of IT services supporting the learning management system (LMS) and course development tools.

Although certain cloud services may be used in a targeted manner when they offer clear cost or operational advantages, the organization's core systems remain primarily hosted on-premises. The director is responsible for optimizing and evolving this environment to meet current and future needs.

Responsibilities:

IT Infrastructure and Architecture

• Lead the design, operation, and continuous improvement of the on-premises IT infrastructure, including computing, storage, networking, and virtualization platforms.
• Define and maintain the infrastructure and architecture roadmap, aligned with organizational objectives.
• Oversee virtualization and platform environments (e.g., Azure Local/hyperconverged infrastructures).
• Ensure the application of best practices in availability, performance, resilience, backup, and disaster recovery.
• Evaluate and approve architectural changes to ensure stability, scalability, and security.

LMS and Platform Operations

• Ensure reliable operation, performance, and scalability of the learning management system (LMS) and course development platforms.
• Oversee the infrastructure supporting content creation as well as development, testing, and production environments.
• Ensure appropriate separation, clear governance, and lifecycle management between development, testing, and production environments.

Operations & Service Delivery

• Oversee daily IT operations to ensure high service availability and rapid incident response.
• Lead the implementation of infrastructure and platform initiatives, from design to transfer to operations.
• Oversee, guide, and, when necessary, intervene in the resolution of complex technical and operational issues.
• Establish and maintain operational standards, procedures, documentation, and monitoring practices.

Targeted Cloud Services and External Services

• Evaluate and oversee the selective use of cloud or hosted services when they offer clear advantages in terms of cost, scalability, or operational efficiency.
• Ensure that non-critical or support solutions (e.g., internal tools, training platforms, ancillary services) are adequately evaluated for external hosting.
• Maintain rigorous governance, security, and cost control for all third-party and cloud services.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of IT professionals (infrastructure, systems, and operations).
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and service-oriented team culture.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to translate business and operational needs into technical solutions.
• Advise management on the technical, operational, and organizational impacts of IT initiatives.

Financial and Vendor Management

• Develop and manage IT operating and capital budgets.
• Prepare cost analyses, investment scenarios, and financial recommendations to support management decisions.
• Track costs, forecast infrastructure needs, and optimize resource utilization.
• Manage relationships with suppliers, contracts, and service providers.

Profile:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Project management certification (an asset).
• 10+ years of IT experience.
• 5+ years of experience in infrastructure or platform architecture.
• 5+ years of experience managing and supervising IT teams.
• Proven experience in operating and evolving large-scale on-premises or hybrid infrastructures supporting critical systems.
• Solid expertise in enterprise IT infrastructures and on-premises operations.
• Proven experience with:
  • Virtualization platforms and hyperconverged infrastructures
  • Compute, storage, and network architectures
  • High availability and disaster recovery designs
  • Security, access management, and system hardening
• Good understanding of application architectures supporting high-traffic critical systems.
• Functional knowledge of modern integration and platform concepts (API, automation, monitoring, CI/CD principles).
• Ability to combine in-depth technical expertise with strategic and architectural vision, supported by strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Experience supporting large-scale, user-oriented platforms.
• Experience operating complex environments with multiple environments (development, testing, production).
• Skills in negotiation and supplier contract management.
• Continuous learning mindset and interest in the evolution of infrastructure technologies.

Technology environment:

The position is based in a complex, high-availability IT environment, including:

• Virtualization and infrastructure
  • Azure Local (Azure Stack HCI)
  • Hyper-V-based virtualization
  • On-premises infrastructure: computing, storage, and networking
• Identity, access, and collaboration
  • Azure Entra ID (identity and access management)
  • Microsoft 365 and SharePoint
• Databases and data platforms
  • MariaDB with Galera cluster
  • Microsoft SQL Server with failover cluster
  • High availability and disaster recovery architectures
• Application platforms
  • Moodle (learning management system – LMS)
  • Course development platforms and support solutions
• Operations and monitoring
  • Centralized monitoring and alerts
  • Backup, recovery, and business continuity solutions
  • 24/7 service availability requirements
• Targeted external and cloud services
  • Selective use of cloud or hosted services, justified by cost, scalability, or operational needs