Head of Service for IT Operations and Infrastructure

EPFL, the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, is one of the most dynamic university campuses in Europe and is ranked in the global top 20 of many academic rankings. EPFL has more than 6'500 staff members who bring to life the three main missions of the School: education, research, and innovation. The EPFL campus offers an exceptional working environment at the heart of a community of more than 17'000 people, including nearly 12'500 students and 4'000 researchers from more than 120 different nationalities.
Head of Service for IT Operations and Infrastructure
Context and Mission
At the interface of cutting-edge research excellence, teaching, and major challenges such as the advent of AI or the management of sensitive data, the service for IT Operations and infrastructure (ITOP) of the information systems domain (DSI) of EPFL pilots the operation, maintenance, and evolution of EPFL's critical cross-functional IT infrastructures. As head of this service, you manage an average annual budget of approximately 8 MCHF and oversee a team of 60 FTEs.
Your teams cover the entire value chain related to the Institution's IT operations and infrastructures, ranging from the service desk to the deepest infrastructure layers, including datacenters. You direct the managers and guarantee that the services provided are robust, resilient, and meet the needs of students, faculty, and doctoral staff, as well as all staff.
The position is as strategic as it is operational. Under the direct supervision of the CIO, you contribute to defining and executing the School's IT strategy, collegially with the other heads of service of the DSI, and in close collaboration with the other Vice-Presidencies and Faculties. In parallel, you build and maintain a strong partnership with key stakeholders in the Swiss higher education ecosystem (Swiss Universities, Swiss Higher Education) and strategic suppliers.
Main tasks and responsibilities
Lead the service in all its dimensions: project and service portfolio, human and financial resources, quality, governance, and reporting.
Guarantee robust, resilient, and high-performance infrastructure operation: availability, performance and capacity analysis, hardware and software maintenance, resource optimization.
Ensure the security and continuity of the information system: reliability, data protection, continuity, recovery, and backup plans. In crisis situations, you lead the alert and communication processes according to the criticality of the events.
Lead and develop teams with your unit managers in a high-performance manner: recruitment, objectives, evaluation, skill development, and continuous alignment of the skills map with the evolution of the IS.
Negotiate and manage supplier relationships: contracts, partnerships, internal operating level agreements (OLA), and external service level agreements (SLA).
Be the preferred interlocutor for business units "" laboratories, institutes, faculties, central services "" to align services with their actual current and future needs.
Profile sought
Master or PhD in computer science, engineering or a title deemed equivalent, MBA or additional training in business management/governance, a major asset.
Minimum 15 years of professional experience, including at least 10 proven years in team management, with managerial reports, in the field of IT infrastructure.
Language levels: French (minimum C1), English (minimum C1), German (an asset).
Excellent synthesis and popularization skills, excellent writing skills in English and French.
Excellence in managing calls for tenders, proven and indispensable Swiss legal and contractual knowledge.
Confirmed experience in budget establishment and management.
Confirmed experience in leading and delivering complex IT projects.
Political capacity to converge decentralized interests, while guaranteeing overall institutional coherence.
High sensitivity to cybersecurity and data protection, as well as business continuity in exposed environments.
Personal and social skills:
Solution and client-oriented, keen sense of service, seeking dialogue while having and defending convictions, very good communication skills.
Excellence in contractual negotiations, interpersonal skills, and building long-term relationships.
Very comfortable during presentations, in English and French, whether in national or international contexts, as a client or member of steering committees, before a body of peers, or counterparts in other companies.
Ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure with a range of stakeholders.
High stress resistance.
Rigor, precision, proactivity.
Autonomy and sense of responsibility, making decisions and taking ownership of them.
Mentoring and coaching qualities.
We offer
The possibility of joining a dynamic and stimulating team
A high-quality multicultural and academic working environment
Opportunities for continuing education
Involvement at the heart of EPFL's Information systems
Notes:
The employee may be called upon to work exceptionally in the evening or on weekends.
The employee may be called upon to exceptionally provide on-call service.
Information
Start date: 1st December 2026, or to be agreed.
Occupancy rate: 100%
Contract type: CDI
Reference: 2424 jpidc787d05jm jpit0936jm jpiy26jm