Senior Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations

Vir Biotechnology is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on powering the immune system to transform lives by discovering and developing medicines for serious infectious diseases and cancer. Its clinical-stage portfolio includes programs for chronic hepatitis delta and multiple dual-masked T-cell engagers across validated targets in solid tumor indications. Vir Biotechnology also has a preclinical portfolio of programs across a range of infectious diseases and oncologic malignancies. 

We believe the success of our colleagues drives the success of our mission. We are committed to creating a company where everyone feels supported and encouraged to give their best.

Vir Biotechnology is looking for a Senior Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations, to deliver mission-critical technology infrastructure and provide strong leadership of our global Infrastructure & Operations team – spanning strategic planning, system architecture, infrastructure engineering, and operational excellence.  Reporting to Vice President, Head of IT, you will provide a secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure, cloud-based platforms, and customer-focused support capabilities that enable the collaboration, productivity, and innovation that drives Vir Bio’s success.  

You will be an engaged leader, equally comfortable in setting strategy and rolling up your sleeves to drive execution.  In this role, you will be responsible for 3 teams - Service Desk, Infrastructure, and Cloud Operations across multiple geographies. You will lead a blended team of FTEs, contractors, and MSPs in delivering high-quality IT services. 

This role is located onsite in San Francisco with a requirement to be onsite 4 days per week. 

Infrastructure 

• Own the infrastructure architecture, ensuring simplification, rationalization, and modernization across cloud, network, systems, and collaboration platforms. 
• Oversee global infrastructure, including firewalls (Palo Alto), networking (Cisco/Meraki), VMware, Windows/Linux servers, enterprise storage, identity services, and certificate management. 
• Oversee backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity readiness, ensuring resilient, tested, and compliant infrastructure operations.   
• Ensure seamless hybrid work by overseeing collaboration platforms - including Microsoft 365, audio visual and meeting-room technology, and productivity tools – to deliver a cohesive, productive digital workplace. 
• Oversee endpoint engineering across Windows, macOS, Intune, Automox, and associated deployment frameworks, ensuring standardization, security, and life cycle consistency. 

Service Desk 

• Deliver a high-performing Service Desk function that provides predictable, scalable, and responsive support - including onsite, remote, VIP/executive, and event support – to ensure a consistently high-quality and productive employee experience. 
• Oversee operational support across multiple geographies – to include on-site support, site expansions, lab environments, corporate moves, and infrastructure buildouts.   

Cloud Operations

• Oversee Vir’s AWS ecosystem to deliver secure, resilient, and cost-conscious cloud architecture supporting Bioinformatics, Research and rest of the company, while ensuring strong performance through the cloud MSP.   

Leadership and strategy 

• Collaborate with peers within IT (e.g. Infosec, R&D, SG&A, Lab IT, PMO, Compliance) and business leaders to ensure infrastructure investments are properly prioritized, scoped, delivered and managed in support of business-driven requirements.   
• Select, evaluate and develop personnel to ensure efficient operation of the functions. 
• Provide strong oversight of vendors and MSPs, ensuring high-quality delivery and accountability, competitive pricing, and ongoing service optimization. 
• Prepare and manage infrastructure-related cost estimates, budgets, schedules and delivery. 
• Create, maintain and mature IT policies, procedures, and systems to ensure regulatory, compliance, and quality needs are met, while driving continuous improvements across people, process and technology. 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, or relevant experience 
• 18+ years of progressive experience across IT Infrastructure, Cloud and Operations, with 8+ years leading multi-disciplinary technical teams and MSPs in complex, high-growth environments.   
• 5+ years in biotech, pharma, or life sciences IT, with direct support for research and lab environments.  
• Broad technical skillsets spanning cloud (AWS), network, systems, collaboration platforms, endpoints across both Windows and macOS ecosystems.   
• Proven ability to architect, simplify, scale, secure, modernize and standardize enterprise IT infrastructure.   
• Strong experience operating and optimizing AWS environments, including managing outsourced DevOps, enforcing cost-efficient architectures in support of scientific computation (e.g. Research Bioinformatics/Data Science team). 
• Demonstrated leadership of service desk, endpoint engineering, and digital workplace technologies, delivering exceptional employee and executive experiences in a hybrid-work environments.   
• Demonstrated vendor and MSP management expertise, including contract negotiations, pricing discipline, SLA accountability, and service optimization. 
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-engagement abilities, capable of translating complex technical concepts for executive, scientific, and cross-functional audiences.   
• A systems-thinking approach that unifies architecture, engineering, operations, service delivery, and user experience under a simplified, scalable technology strategy. 
• Strong experience in SOX and GxP regulated environments 
• Ability to travel up to 10%, including to Europe