Head - Production Support & IT Operations (10-15 yrs)

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Head of Production Support and IT Operations to lead our team in ensuring the seamless operation and optimal performance of our production applications.

This critical role is accountable for managing application uptime and overseeing the entire production stack lifecycle, from observation and running to scaling for all applications delivered, deployed, and live for our end customers.

The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker with a strong leadership background, excellent communication skills, and a proven track record of managing complex production environments.

This role requires a proactive individual who can anticipate potential issues, implement effective solutions, and drive continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities:

- Application Uptime Management: Accountable for ensuring maximum application uptime in production environments.

- This includes observing, running, and scaling the production stack for all applications.

- Application Design Influence: Contribute to and influence application design and software architecture to ensure operational efficiency and scalability.

- System Architecture Oversight: Maintain a deep understanding of the system architecture as designed and deployed, ensuring its alignment with business needs and performance goals.

- Incident Management: Oversee incident notification, management, and tracking to closure, ensuring timely resolution and minimizing impact on end-users.

- Disaster Recovery: Own the Disaster Recovery (DR) setup for all critical applications, ensuring business continuity in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

- Compliance and Audits: Support system audits, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing (VAPT) cycles, and other compliance-related activities.

- Vendor Management: Engage with vendors effectively, fostering mature and productive relationships to ensure timely support and service delivery.

- Tech Ops Dashboard: Create, monitor, and continuously improve the "Tech Ops Dashboard" to provide real-time visibility into the performance and health of the production environment.

- Proactive Problem Solving: Anticipate and address potential issues before they arise, ensuring seamless operations and maximum system uptime.

- Capacity Management: Accurately assess application resource demands and optimize infrastructure utilization.

- Analyze the impact of changes on production performance and processes.

- Uptime Guarantees: Establish and maintain robust mechanisms to mitigate system downtime and ensure service reliability.

- Incident Management Champion: Develop and implement a structured incident management framework, including escalation procedures and post-incident reviews.

- Performance Optimization: Continuously monitor and fine-tune application performance to maximize efficiency and user experience.

- Effective Communication: Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, fostering open communication and knowledge sharing.

- Continuous Learning: Stay abreast of the latest technologies and industry trends, driving innovation and optimizing operations.

- Automation Advocate: Champion the use of automation tools and technologies to streamline repetitive tasks and improve productivity.

- Customer-Centric Approach: Prioritize internal, external, and regulatory customer satisfaction by understanding their needs and delivering exceptional service.

Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field.

- An MBA is highly desirable.

- Extensive experience in production support and IT operations, with a proven track record of managing complex environments.

- Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to motivate and manage a team.

- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.

- Experience with incident management and disaster recovery planning.

- Knowledge of ITIL or other IT service management frameworks is a plus.

- Experience with cloud technologies is desirable