Service Delivery Manager-Infra

About the group:

Cognizant’s Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services Practice (CIS), is all about accepting digital transformation by driving core modernization holistically across layers. We help customers transform infrastructure and workplace to meet the constantly evolving needs of the digital era. Our broad approach delivers key results for our customers by achieving cloud driven modernization and workplace and operational transformation to own the business in a secure environment.

* Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future*

Role: Service Delivery Manager-Infra

Location: Montpelier, Vermont

Mandatory skills: Service Delivery Management (SLA/KPI/OLA ownership) , ITIL Process Management (Incident/Problem/Change), Stakeholder & Vendor Governance, Managing Azure Cloud/ AWS Cloud / Desktop Support Operations (Basic knowledge)

Responsible for the day-to-day leadership and performance of Desktop Support, Desktop Engineering, and Azure Support towers. This role leads a team of Tower Leads/Team Leads, driving operational excellence, people development, and continuous improvement, while partnering closely with the Director/Head of Service Delivery on strategic planning, governance, and stakeholder management. The role is expected to operate independently on operational and people matters while escalating strategic, financial, and contractual decisions appropriately.

• Own operational delivery for Desktop Support, Desktop Engineering, and Azure Support towers, ensuring SLA/KPI/OLA adherence.
• Monitor performance dashboards and consolidate daily/weekly/monthly reporting on ticket volumes, resolution times, backlog, and CSAT for leadership review.
• Drive Incident, Problem, and Change Management execution across towers; ensure RCA is completed and tracked to closure for major incidents.
• Act as a key escalation point for high-severity issues, coordinating cross-functional resolution and keeping the next level leadership informed.
• Maintain operational readiness and support business continuity planning for each tower.

• Directly supervise Tower Leads / Team Leads, setting clear performance goals, conducting regular 1:1s, and reviewing team KPIs with them.
• Own day-to-day people management responsibilities: attendance and shift adherence, workload distribution, and performance issues within the towers.
• Conduct performance appraisals for direct reports (Tower/Team Leads) and guide them in conducting appraisals for their own teams.
• Identify skill gaps and coordinate training/upskilling plans, especially on Azure and modern endpoint management tools.
• Manage resource capacity planning, shift scheduling, and staffing adequacy in partnership with Tower Leads.
• Handle first-level people escalations (conflicts, grievances, morale issues) and involve HR/Director as needed for complex cases.
• Support recruitment and onboarding for tower-level roles; provide input on hiring decisions for leads.
• Mentor and coach Tower Leads to strengthen their own people-management capabilities, effectively building a second layer of leadership.
• Drive engagement and retention initiatives within the towers (recognition programs, career conversations, feedback loops).

• Support and co-lead governance calls (weekly/monthly/quarterly) with internal and external stakeholders; own agenda preparation and follow-ups.
• Build and maintain relationships with business stakeholders, vendors, and cross-functional IT teams (Security, Network, Applications).
• Support vendor/OEM coordination (Microsoft, hardware vendors) for day-to-day escalations and performance tracking.
• Prepare service scorecards…