The Manager, Middleware Services team is responsible for leading the strategy, engineering, operations, automation, security, and modernization of enterprise middleware and container platforms. This role manages a team of engineers responsible for delivering highly available, secure, and scalable platform services that support critical business applications across traditional infrastructure and AWS cloud environments. The successful candidate will balance people leadership, platform ownership, operational excellence, and technology modernization while partnering with application teams, architecture, infrastructure, security, and cloud engineering organizations. The role is expected to drive adoption of cloud-native technologies, automation, self-service capabilities, and engineering best practices that improve reliability, security, and operational efficiency. Key Responsibilities Platform Ownership & Strategy • Own the enterprise middleware and container platform portfolio, including web servers, application servers, Kubernetes platforms, container images, and supporting infrastructure. • Define and execute platform roadmaps aligned to cloud modernization and enterprise technology strategies. • Ensure platform reliability, resiliency, scalability, and operational excellence. • Drive technology currency through lifecycle management, patching, upgrades, and decommissioning of legacy technologies. • Identify opportunities to improve customer experience through self-service capabilities, automation, and platform engineering practices. Cloud & Platform Engineering • Lead engineering and operational support for enterprise Kubernetes and AWS EKS platforms. • Drive modernization initiatives, including migration of traditional middleware-hosted applications to cloud-native platforms. • Establish standardized deployment patterns, container images, CI/CD pipelines, and operational practices. • Manage Kubernetes cluster lifecycle activities including upgrades, capacity planning, security remediation, and platform observability. • Partner with application teams to onboard workloads onto cloud platforms while ensuring operational readiness and supportability. Middleware Services Management • Provide leadership for enterprise middleware technologies including: Apache HTTP Server Apache Tomcat Microsoft IIS IBM WebSphere Application Server Red Hat JBoss (preferred) • Establish standards for platform configuration, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance. • Ensure middleware environments remain secure, stable, and compliant with enterprise standards. DevOps, Automation & Continuous Improvement • Drive automation initiatives using infrastructure and platform engineering tools. • Establish and maintain CI/CD pipelines to support application and platform deployments. • Promote Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and configuration management practices. • Improve operational efficiency through automation, self-healing capabilities, and reduction of manual processes. • Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on reliability, customer satisfaction, and cost optimization. Service Reliability & Operations • Ensure operational support for middleware and cloud platforms. • Accountable for incident, problem, change, and release management processes. • Lead major incident response, root cause analysis, and implementation of permanent corrective actions. • Establish service-level objectives (SLOs), operational metrics, and performance indicators. • Drive improvements in platform availability, recovery capabilities, and operational maturity. Security, Risk & Compliance • Ensure platforms adhere to enterprise security, risk, and compliance requirements. • Lead vulnerability remediation and security patching programs. • Partner with cybersecurity teams to implement security controls and tooling. • Maintain audit readiness and governance for supported platforms. • Ensure compliance with organizational standards, policies, and regulatory requirements. People Leadership • Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing engineering team. • Drive organizational capability building through training, certification, and career development initiatives. • Conduct performance management, talent reviews, hiring, succession planning, and employee engagement activities. • Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. Stakeholder & Vendor Management • Serve as the primary escalation point for middleware and cloud platform services. • Build strong partnerships with application development, architecture, infrastructure, cloud, and security teams. • Communicate platform health, risks, modernization initiatives, and strategic priorities to senior leadership. • Manage vendor relationships and ensure delivery against service commitments and operational expectations. Financial & Capacity Management • Manage platform budgets, software licensing, and infrastructure consumption. • Drive cloud and infrastructure cost optimization initiatives. • Forecast platform growth and capacity requirements. • Ensure efficient utilization of platform and infrastructure resources. Required Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field. • 8+ years of experience supporting enterprise middleware and infrastructure platforms. • 4+ years of leadership experience managing technology teams. • Strong expertise in enterprise middleware technologies and cloud-native platforms. • Experience leading large-scale operational support and modernization initiatives. • Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills. Technical Skills Middleware Platforms • Apache HTTP Server • Apache Tomcat • Microsoft IIS • IBM WebSphere Application Server • Red Hat JBoss Container & Cloud Platforms • Kubernetes • Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) • Docker • Helm Charts • Kubernetes Ingress and Networking • Container Security & Observability DevOps & Automation • Jenkins • Ansible • Git / Bitbucket • CI/CD Pipeline Engineering • Infrastructure as Code (IaC) • Python • Bash Shell Scripting • PowerShell Cloud Technologies • AWS EC2 • AWS EKS • VPC Networking • IAM / RBAC • AWS Load Balancers • CloudWatch Operating Systems • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) • Amazon Linux • Microsoft Windows Server IT Service Management • ServiceNow • Incident Management • Problem Management • Change Management • Release Management • ITIL Framework Preferred Qualifications • AWS Solutions Architect Associate (or higher) • Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or CKAD • Red Hat OpenShift/Kubernetes Certification • ITIL Foundation Certification • Experience with enterprise-scale cloud migration and platform modernization programs. • Experience supporting regulated and highly available environments. In-Office Collaboration We are a client-centric, relationship-based business. Working together, in-person, is foundational to how we achieve results. By fostering a culture of face-to-face collaboration, idea sharing, productivity and personal connection, we deliver for our stakeholders — clients, advisors, employees and shareholders. Our employees work in the office at least three (3) days per week, with flexibility to work from home two (2) days per week. Some roles may require additional in-office time or different in-office expectations, and specific requirements will be discussed during the hiring process. Full time (2:00p-10:30p) AWMPO AWMP&S President's Office Technology