Director, Engineering

Sphera is a leading global provider of enterprise software and services that enables companies to manage and optimize their environmental, health, safety and sustainability. Our mission is to create a safer, more sustainable and productive world.

Sphera is a portfolio company of Blackstone, a U.S.-based alternative asset investment company that focuses on private equity, technology and innovation, and more. Blackstone businesses succeed through strong partnerships, a personalized approach and a commitment to exceptional performance with uncompromising integrity. Sphera and Blackstone are leaders in the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) space.

We are guided by our core values of Customer Centricity, Accountability, Bias to Action, Innovation, and Collaboration. These values help us recruit the right talent to join our rapidly expanding team around the globe. It is important to us that each and every Spherion is not only eager to challenge themselves and knows how to get work done but is an awesome addition to our company culture.

This role will be pivotal in supporting the Director of Engineering in advancing the company’s mission of delivering secure, reliable, and innovative software solutions for government clients. 

The ideal candidate will possess exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills, a commitment to fostering team growth, and have at least 5 years of experience managing DevOps teams in a fast-paced, Agile environment. This role will be responsible for managing DevOps engineers, overseeing cloud migrations, implementing CI/CD pipelines, and ensuring system reliability and security. The ideal candidate will possess both technical expertise and leadership skills, serving as a bridge between development teams and operations while driving DevOps best practices throughout the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of DevOps engineers, providing technical guidance and fostering a culture of excellence, innovation and continuous learning. This involves proactive leadership, mentorship, and career development for all team members.
• Oversee cloud architecture, migrations, and network planning/expansion across multiple data centers. Ensure timely, high-quality, and secure outcomes that align with business goals.
• Implement and maintain Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to improve engineering velocity and product quality
• Drive technical excellence by implementing containerization, orchestration technologies, and microservices architecture
• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for DevOps systems, processes, and best practices
• Develop and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity plans to ensure availability of critical systems.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with development teams to improve code quality and reduce deployment failures
• Implement security best practices to protect sensitive data against threats.
• Monitor system performance and capacity to ensure scalability for increasing user loads
• Serve as a subject matter expert on technology strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives
• Monitor performance and support professional growth by tracking individual and team performance, providing timely and constructive feedback, and implementing growth plans to drive ongoing improvement.
• Stay informed on industry trends and innovations by continuously monitoring emerging technologies. Advocate for the adoption of relevant innovations to keep the team and products ahead of the curve.

Qualifications & Experience

• Exceptional people management and mentoring skills, coupled with a proven track record of building, inspiring, and leading high-performing engineering teams.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in DevOps engineering, with 5+ years of experience managing DevOps teams.
• Proven track record of leading cloud migrations and implementing DevOps practices in enterprise environments.
• Strong hands-on experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) including networking, security, and infrastructure as code.
• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) and microservices architecture.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation tools (Bash, PowerShell, Terraform, etc.)
• Experience implementing and managing CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, TeamCity, etc.)
• Knowledge of security best practices and compliance requirements
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Key Competencies

Inspiring leadership and team growth

Empower, mentor, and develop high-performing teams, fostering a culture of trust, excellence, and continuous learning. Experience leading teams through technical transformations and migrations.

Technical Expertise

Deep understanding of cloud infrastructure, deployment automation, and modern DevOps practices. 

Exceptional stakeholder communication and collaboration

Foster strong partnerships by maintaining open, transparent, and effective communication with all stakeholders to ensure alignment.

Outstanding project management and delivery

Drive projects to successful completion by meticulously planning, prioritizing, and executing on commitments.

Championing Agile and DevOps excellence

Lead the adoption of Agile and DevOps best practices to deliver high-quality solutions swiftly, with the utmost flexibility and reliability.

Relentless process optimization

Continuously improve team processes to enhance efficiency, quality, and overall satisfaction. Adept at identifying and resolving complex technical and operational challenges.

Pay:

$182,000.00 - $274,000.00 + Eligible for Variable Compensation Plan

Commensurate with relevant qualifications and experience

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

• Health Savings Account

• Flexible Spending Account

• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match

• Life and Disability Insurance

• Critical Illness Insurance

• Accident Insurance

• Hospital Indemnity Insurance

• Paid Time Off and Holidays

• Flexible Working Schedule

Sphera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all colleagues. We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected status.

If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability during the application or recruiting process, please email us at [email protected] to make your request. To help us best respond, please include your name and the position you are applying for in your message.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the job and the general nature and level of work performed by job holders within this job. This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.