Director, IT Operations

paternal leave, tuition reimbursement, 401(k), retirement plan, remote work

Be Part of One Team, One Purpose. At Emmes Group
, we're shaping the future of clinical research
- where human intelligence meets cutting-edge technology to drive meaningful advancements in healthcare. With over 47 years of scientific excellence
, we've led groundbreaking research in cell and gene therapy, vaccines, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, rare diseases, and neuroscience. Through our two business units
- Emmes, a full-service CRO
, and Veridix AI, our technology, data, and analytical solutions -we are modernizing clinical trials and accelerating the development of life-changing therapies. We believe that every clinical breakthrough starts with people
-people who are passionate, purpose-driven, and ready to make an impact. At Emmes Group, we bring People, Science, and Technology together to collaborate with our customers and deliver global health impact. Our culture is built on integrity, collaboration, and innovation
, ensuring that every challenge is met with perseverance and accountability.

The Director, IT Operations leads global IT operations for the enterprise, accountable for the IT service desk, end-user computing and device management, Microsoft 365 collaboration services, enterprise identity and access administration, and hybrid Azure and on-premises infrastructure across all business units and offices. Leading a distributed, follow-the-sun team across the Americas, India, and Europe, the Director ensures the availability, performance, and reliability of core systems;

delivers a fast, consistent support experience; and continuously improves the user computing experience across devices. The role standardizes and automates routine operations, maintains documented playbooks with redundant coverage by both time zone and technical specialization, and provides on-site support at global office locations as needed. Operating in a regulated life sciences environment, the Director drives IT projects to successful completion with strong transparency and communication, manages service-desk and infrastructure vendors, and reports to the Head of IT.

Location: Rockville, MD

Onsite: Yes (on an as needed basis)

• Set and own the multi-year IT operations strategy and roadmap, aligned to enterprise objectives and the broader technology vision.

• Establish operational standards, service levels, and policies, and set target-state architecture direction for IT operations in partnership with the principal architect.

• Own the IT operations budget and the vendor and managed-service-provider portfolio, balancing cost, risk, and service quality, and report on operational performance to senior leadership.

• Own the global IT service desk on Jira Service Management, setting SLAs and driving first-contact resolution and a consistently fast, high-quality support experience for staff worldwide.

• Direct the service-desk operating model, including the helpdesk portal, request catalog, and knowledge base, to make support easier to reach and quicker to resolve.

• Ensure around-the-clock coverage across time zones, including through managed-service providers for after-hours and weekend support.

• Direct management of the Windows and macOS device fleet through Microsoft Intune, including zero-touch provisioning, self-service application delivery, configuration, patching, and remote wipe.

• Continuously improve the end-user computing experience across devices, standardizing hardware, images, and configurations and driving down recurring issues.

• Govern endpoint least-privilege and local-admin controls (LAPS via Intune), authentication posture (Windows Hello/PIN, MFA), and lifecycle asset management from procurement through retirement.

• Own administration and governance of the Microsoft 365 tenant and collaboration services (Teams, SharePoint, Exchange, One Drive).

• Direct Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness and rollout, including sensitivity-label and data-classification hygiene, in partnership with security and governance stakeholders.

• Govern Microsoft and related SaaS licensing (M365, Copilot, and CSP-billed subscriptions), right-sizing seat counts and optimizing spend.

• Own enterprise identity and access operations through Microsoft Entra, including provisioning, UPN and alias management,…