Senior Manager of Internal Technology Operations - Chicago, IL

About RKON: Since 1998, RKON has delivered IT transformation that helps private equity and enterprise firms achieve seamless security—from strategy to execution to managed services. We believe IT should serve the business strategy, not stand in the way of execution. Headquartered ...

Job description

About RKON: 

Since 1998, RKON has delivered IT transformation that helps private equity and enterprise firms achieve seamless security—from strategy to execution to managed services. We believe IT should serve the business strategy, not stand in the way of execution. Headquartered in Chicago, our team has developed a refined approach that delivers a clear vision of a scalable, agile, secure, cost-optimized, and low-risk end state. 

RKON is growing fast, and that growth means incredible opportunities for our team members. We pride ourselves on fostering a culture of creative thinking and collaboration, where ideas are valued, contributions are recognized, and professional development is a priority. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and this commitment drives the extraordinary level of service we deliver to our customers. If you're looking for a place where growth creates new possibilities and your potential is truly valued, RKON is the place for you. 
 

Role Summary 

RKON is seeking a senior internal technology leader to oversee and operate all internal technology services across the organization. This role owns the day-to-day health, security, reliability, and scalability of RKON's internal IT environment and serves as the primary focal point for all internal technology needs.   This role is hybrid and would require being in our Chicago office 1-2x a week.

The Senior Manager of Internal Technology Operations is accountable for security operations, helpdesk, network and datacenter infrastructure, SaaS applications, public and private cloud platforms, and supporting systems. This role also owns vendor and contract management, lifecycle planning, capacity management, and internal IT process governance, ensuring RKON's internal technology environment is secure, efficient, and aligned with business growth. 

This position operates with broad authority, close partnership with the CIO & CISO, and high visibility across leadership. 
 

Key Responsibilities 

IT Operations & Service Ownership 

• Own all internal IT services including:
  • Security operations 
  • Helpdesk and end-user support 
  • Network and connectivity (LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi, office circuits) 
  • Public and private cloud platforms 
  • Datacenter operations 
  • SaaS and line-of-business applications 
  • Physical security and office technology systems 
• Act as the escalation point for all internal technology incidents, outages, and service degradation. 
• Ensure high availability, performance, and reliability of all internal systems. 

Security & Risk Management 

• Oversee internal security operations, tooling, and controls. 
• Partner with the CIO and security leadership to enforce security standards, policies, and incident response processes. 
• Ensure identity, role-based access, and entitlement management follows least-privilege and compliance best practices. 
• Own internal vulnerability management, patching, and security hygiene. 

Lifecycle, Capacity & Asset Management 

• Own end-of-support (EOS) and end-of-life (EOL) tracking for all infrastructure, platforms, and applications. 
• Lead capacity planning for compute, storage, network, SaaS licensing, and user growth. 
• Ensure proactive refresh, renewal, and modernization planning. 
• Maintain accurate inventories of hardware, software, and cloud resources. 

Vendor, Contract & Financial Management 

• Own vendor relationships for all internal IT services and platforms. 
• Manage contracts, renewals, licensing, and commercial negotiations. 
• Partner with Finance and the CIO on budgeting, forecasting, and cost optimization. 
• Ensure vendors meet SLAs, security requirements, and performance expectations. 

Datacenter & Cloud Operations 

• Oversee internal datacenter operations (on-prem and colocation as applicable). 
• Own public and private cloud environments supporting internal workloads. 
• Ensure resiliency, backup, disaster recovery, and operational readiness. 
• Drive standardization and automation where appropriate. 

Workforce Technology & Internal Processes 

• Own joiner, mover, leaver (JML) processes and tooling. 
• Define and maintain internal IT workflows, service catalogs, and operational runbooks. 
• Ensure consistent onboarding, offboarding, and role-change experiences. 
• Continuously improve internal IT processes for scale and efficiency. 

Leadership, Governance & Communication 

• Serve as a trusted operational leader within the Office of the CIO. 
• Provide clear status reporting, risk visibility, and escalation communication to leadership. 
• Establish and enforce internal IT standards, policies, and operating procedures. 
• Coordinate across business units to align technology services with organizational needs. 

 

Required Qualifications 

• 8+ years of progressive/transformative experience in IT operations, infrastructure, or internal IT leadership. 
• Demonstrated ownership of multi-domain IT environments (security, network, cloud, SaaS, end-user). 
• Strong experience with vendor management, contracts, and renewals. 
• Proven ability to operate as an escalation point in high-impact situations. 
• Experience with lifecycle management, capacity planning, and operational governance. 
• Strong understanding of modern security, identity, and access management practices. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience operating within a managed service provider (MSP) or complex enterprise environment. 
• Familiarity with Microsoft-centric environments (M365, Entra ID, Intune, Teams, SharePoint, Azure). 
• Experience managing hybrid cloud and datacenter environments. 
• Background in IT service management frameworks (ITIL or similar), without being process-heavy. 

Key Attributes for Success 

• Care. Care about the job. Care about our staff. Care about your output. 
• Highly accountable, outcome-driven operator. 
• Calm, decisive leader during incidents and escalations. 
• Strong communicator with executive presence. 
• Detail-oriented with a systems-level mindset. 
• Pragmatic, security-conscious, and business-aligned.