Director, DevOps Engineering

At Curriculum Associates (CA), we believe a diverse team leads to diversity in thinking, making our products better for teachers and students. If you read this job description, feel energized by what you see here, and believe you could bring passion and commitment to the role, but you aren’t sure you meet every qualification, please apply! Above all, we are looking for the right person!

This Director position is a key leadership role within the expanding DevOps group, which values teamwork, innovation, work/life balance, and autonomy. In this role, you will drive the strategic evolution of our AWS cloud infrastructure that supports Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready SaaS application, as well as critical internal systems.

i-Ready integrates powerful assessments and actionable insights with effective, engaging instruction in reading and mathematics, tailored to meet students’ individual needs. By providing teachers with valuable data for informed instructional decisions and offering students a personalized growth path, i-Ready makes a profound impact in education every day. If you’re passionate about making a difference in student outcomes and leading technical advancements, we invite you to join us!

The impact you'll have: 

• Lead the development and strategic advancement of our "shift left" initiatives in Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), driving early testing, quality assurance, and automation in the development process.
• Direct the design, implementation, and management of a scalable, secure infrastructure to support the i-Ready platform, ensuring high availability, resilience, and optimal performance within an Agile environment.
• Guide automation initiatives to reduce repetitive tasks, optimize deployment processes, and implement effective orchestration solutions, utilizing tools such as Puppet, Terraform, and AWS managed services.
• Drive the implementation and improvement of CI/CD pipelines to enable frequent, reliable software releases that support business goals.
• Oversee the establishment and continuous enhancement of monitoring and alerting systems to proactively identify and resolve issues, ensuring sustained system performance.
• Partner with the security team to enforce best practices for securing infrastructure and applications, conducting regular audits, vulnerability assessments, and risk mitigation.
• Cultivate a strong collaborative environment between development, operations, and security teams, fostering a DevOps culture that prioritizes efficiency, transparency, and continuous improvement.
• Work with cross-functional engineering teams to anticipate resource needs, manage infrastructure costs, and develop strategic plans to support future growth.

Who we're looking for: 

• 7+ years of leadership experience in DevOps or a related field, with progressive leadership responsibilities.
• Expert proficiency in managing and scaling infrastructure on cloud platforms such as AWS (preferred), Azure, or GCP, with a strong focus on high availability, security, and cost optimization.
• Advanced experience with configuration management and automation tools, including Ansible, Puppet (preferred), or Chef, demonstrating a deep understanding of infrastructure as code principles.
• In-depth knowledge of containerization technologies (e.g., Docker) and orchestration tools, with experience in leveraging these tools for scalable infrastructure solutions.
• Extensive expertise in CI/CD pipeline design and implementation, using industry-standard tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or CircleCI, with a focus on improving release efficiency and reliability.
• Comprehensive knowledge of security best practices for infrastructure and applications, including experience in integrating security controls into DevOps workflows.
• Proven experience with monitoring and logging tools such as Splunk, DataDog, and AppDynamics, emphasizing proactive system health management and rapid incident response.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or computer science, or equivalent experience in a technical capacity; advanced degree or certifications in cloud technologies, DevOps, or related fields is a plus.

Required Job Skills and Abilities: 

• Proven leadership skills in a fast-paced environment with the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a talent for developing innovative solutions through team collaboration.
• Experience mentoring and supporting team members, making strategic hiring decisions, and fostering career growth to position team members for success.
• Deep expertise in AWS Cloud technologies, with a strong unders