Director, IT Operations

Ascent Developer Solutions is a leading private lending platform, serving real estate developers nationwide in the acquisition, renovation, and construction of residential real estate. Founded by a leadership team with a deep understanding and personal experience in virtually every facet of real estate development, Ascent is uniquely positioned to create custom, innovative lending solutions for a variety of real estate development business strategies.

Ascent Developer Solutions is seeking an experienced Director of IT Operations to lead and mature our cloud‑first, Microsoft‑based technology environment. Reporting to the SVP, Technology, this role owns the reliability, security, and performance of all IT systems and services across the organization — infrastructure, endpoints, identity, collaboration, and end‑user support. The Director leads a small internal IT operations team and directs our Managed Service Provider (MSP), owns the IT operations budget and roadmap, and partners with information security, HR, and business leaders to keep systems available, compliant, and cost‑effective as the company scales.

• Own the reliability, performance, and security of the company’s technology environment — network, endpoints, servers, cloud and hybrid workloads, and collaboration systems.
• Administer the Microsoft 365 environment, including tenant configuration, licensing, mail flow, and security baselines.
• Direct endpoint management and device lifecycle — provisioning, Microsoft Intune (MDM), patching, imaging, and refresh across an on‑site and hybrid workforce.
• Own the IT service desk and end‑user experience, defining and meeting service‑level agreements (SLAs) for response and resolution.
• Operate identity and access management within Microsoft Entra , including SSO, MFA, conditional access, and least‑privilege/role‑based access.
• Own the technology portion of user onboarding, offboarding, and role changes in close coordination with HR — account and license provisioning, equipment, role‑based access, and timely deprovisioning (same‑day for involuntary separations).
• Serve as the primary owner of the MSP relationship, directing scope and priorities, managing performance against SLAs, and defining the split between internal and MSP‑delivered work.
• Direct IT hardware and software procurement, standardization, and asset and license inventory; manage carriers and technology vendors, including contracts, SLAs, performance reviews, and renewals.
• Continuously monitor IT systems for performance and reliability, proactively addressing issues to minimize downtime and maintain operational efficiency.
• Operate core security controls in partnership with information security leadership — vulnerability and patch management, endpoint protection, logging, and email security.
• Own business continuity and disaster recovery, including backups, recovery testing, and incident‑response readiness.

• Own the IT operations budget; forecast, track, and report spend, including cloud and SaaS cost optimization.
• Build and maintain the IT operations roadmap aligned to company growth, headcount, and facilities plans, such as office moves and new sites.
• Lead, coach, and develop the internal IT operations team.
• Develop, enforce, and update IT policies, standards, runbooks, and best practices to support a secure and efficient technology environment.
• Identify and implement automation and AI‑assisted operations to improve efficiency, reliability, and self‑service.
• Maintain detailed documentation of system configurations, vendor agreements, and IT processes.
• Lead IT projects from conception to completion — including risk management and mitigation.
• Support compliance and audit programs (e.g., SOC 2) by maintaining accurate IT and control documentation and remediating findings.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and vendor offerings to enhance IT capabilities and streamline operations, working with the MSP where appropriate.
• Provide regular updates and clear communication on IT initiatives, risks, and progress to executives and cross‑functional teams.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information…