VP Cloud Operations - Based East or Central US Time zone - Global Software Company

About the CompanyOur client is a global software company (sub 100M revenue) which has a very strong market position and is positioned to scale.About the RoleAs part of exciting planned growth, we are hiring a VP of Cloud Operations to lead the strategy and day-to-day operations of the company’s cloud infrastructure, platform reliability, infrastructure automation, platform security and compliance readiness. The role will build and scale a high-performing Cloud Operations organization.The role requires a hands-on leader who can operate comfortably at both strategic and technical levels - partnering with engineering, product, security, compliance, finance, and executive leadership while also guiding teams responsible for AWS infrastructure, Infrastructure as Code, database platform operations, platform security, observability, incident response, capacity planning, and operational excellence.Candidates must have a background working in Enterprise SaaS companies, including managing Cloud Operations, Infrastructure, and/or platform engineering teams.ResponsibilitiesOwn the overall cloud operations strategy, roadmap, and execution model for production and non-production environments.Lead Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Operations, DevOps, SRE, Infrastructure as Code, and related platform operations functions.Establish and build operational standards for reliability, scalability, availability, platform security, compliance readiness, observability, performance, and cost efficiency.Drive adoption and governance of Infrastructure as Code practices using modern automation, provisioning, and configuration management tools.Oversee AWS cloud architecture and operations, including compute, storage, networking, security, monitoring, backup, disaster recovery, and capacity planning.Own platform security operations in partnership with security leadership, ensuring cloud environments, infrastructure services, access models, monitoring, vulnerability management, and operational controls meet enterprise security and customer assurance expectations.Partner with architecture and engineering teams to ensure cloud platforms are designed for resilience, maintainability, performance, and operational supportability.Define, monitor, and continuously improve operational KPIs, SLAs, incident response processes, change management practices, and service health reporting.Develop, mentor, and retain a strong technical leadership team while scaling staff capabilities, operating models, and delivery practices.Build strong partnerships with C-level executives, business stakeholders, customers, vendors, and technology partners.Prepare and deliver executive-level presentations covering cloud strategy, operational performance, cost trends, risk posture, roadmap progress, and investment recommendations.Qualifications10+ years of progressive leadership experience in enterprise SaaS companies, including managing infrastructure, cloud operations, DevOps, SRE, or platform engineering teams.Proven experience managing technical teams, including managers, architects, engineers, and globally distributed teams.Hands-on and leadership experience with AWS cloud services and enterprise-scale cloud operations.Strong understanding of Infrastructure as Code concepts, tools, governance models, and automation-first operating practices.Experience supporting enterprise database environments, including Oracle and PostgreSQL, with a working understanding of availability, backup/recovery, performance, monitoring, and operational support needs.Strong knowledge of production operations disciplines, including incident management, problem management, change management, release coordination, monitoring, disaster recovery, business continuity, and operational risk management.Strong working knowledge of cloud platform security practices, including identity and access management, network security, vulnerability management, logging, monitoring, secrets management, encryption, security operations, and audit evidence collection.Experience presenting to C-level executives and translating complex technical, operational, financial, and risk topics into clear business recommendations.