VP, Cloud Operations

VP, Cloud Operations

The VP, Cloud Operations is responsible for establishing, scaling, and operating the Cloud Ops organization while transforming traditional middleware and database teams into modern, cloud-native, automation-driven Cloud Ops teams.

This role sits within the Cloud Transformation Office (CTO) and plays a critical role in driving operational excellence, platform reliability, and cloud modernization across the enterprise. The leader will bridge legacy operations and next-generation cloud platforms, ensuring a seamless transition to a self-service, SRE-aligned, and highly automated operating model.

Build and Lead the Cloud Ops Organization

• Define the Cloud Ops vision, operating model, and organizational structure
• Establish 24x7 cloud operations capabilities across platforms (compute, middleware, databases, storage)
• Build high-performing teams aligned to:
• Platform operations
• Reliability engineering (SRE)
• Automation and tooling
• Define roles, responsibilities, and career paths for Cloud Ops teams

Transform Middleware & Database Teams into Cloud Ops Teams

• Lead the transition of traditional middleware and DBA teams into cloud-native operations teams
• Upskill teams in:
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
• SRE practices
• Drive cultural shift from:
• Ticket-based/manual operations → self-service and automation
• Component-based support → platform ownership mindset
• Rationalize legacy platforms and align them to cloud strategy

Establish Cloud Ops Operating Model & SRE Practices

• Implement Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles across platforms:
• SLIs, SLOs, error budgets
• Incident management and postmortems
• Define and operationalize:
• Monitoring and observability standards
• Incident response and escalation frameworks
• Reliability and resilience patterns
• Build runbook automation and self-healing systems

Drive Automation & Platform Engineering

• Lead adoption of:
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, Cloud Formation)
• CI/CD for platform and database deployments
• Git Ops practices
• Establish self-service platforms for product teams:
• Middleware stacks
• Database provisioning
• Integration services
• Build reusable platform blueprints and operational patterns

Enable Cloud Migration & Modernization

• Partner with Cloud Strategy, Architecture, and Engineering teams to:
• Support workload migrations
• Define operational readiness for cloud workloads
• Ensure legacy middleware and databases are:
• Migration-ready
• Optimized for cloud operations
• Define modernization playbooks for:
• Re-platforming
• Containerization
• Managed service adoption

Governance, Security & Compliance

• Enforce operational governance for cloud environments
• Ensure adherence to:
• Security policies
• Compliance standards
• Access control and audit requirements
• Partner with Security and Governance teams to embed policy-as-code

Stakeholder Engagement & Leadership

• Act as a key leader within the Cloud Transformation Office
• Collaborate with:
• Application development teams
• Enterprise architecture
• Security and compliance teams
• Communicate transformation progress, risks, and value realization to executives

Leadership & Transformation

• 15+ years in IT, with strong experience in:
• Infrastructure, middleware, and database operations
• Cloud transformation initiatives
• Proven track record of:
• Building and scaling operations teams
• Leading large-scale organizational change
• Driving cultural transformation to Dev Ops/SRE models

Cloud & Platform Expertise

• Deep knowledge of at least one CSP:
• AWS / Azure / GCP
• Work Experience with:
• Cloud-native services
• Managed databases and middleware platforms
• Hybrid and multi-cloud environment

Middleware & Database Domain Knowledge

• Strong expertise in:
• Traditional middleware (Web Logic, Web Sphere, MQ, etc.)
• RDBMS (Oracle, SQL Server, DB2)
• Experience modernizing:
• Middleware into containers/microservices
• Databases into managed cloud services

Cloud Ops, Dev Ops & SRE

• Sound understanding of:
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Cloud Formation, etc.)
• CI/CD pipelines
• Observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, etc.)
• Strong grounding in:
• Reliability engineering
• Incident management
• Automation-first operational models

Automation &…