Director/Head of IT

Role Description: The Director, Technology & Data is an onsite (4/1) role based at Chicago HQ, reporting to the CFO. This leader will own Data & Analytics, Enterprise Applications, and IT Operations across a multi-entity, multi-site manufacturing business. IT Operations run through a third-party MSP, which this role manages. Internally, the role will build the data platform, lay the foundation for reporting and automation, and drive transformation through enterprise applications and AI. The ideal candidate is a business-minded, hands-on technologist in a high-visibility role at a fast-growing company.

Key Responsibilities: Leadership: Own the IT & data roadmap and budget; build a lean internal team; manage vendor contracts, renewals, and SOW delivery; bridge business needs and technology Data & Analytics: Build a centralized Azure data environment with automated pipelines from NetSuite, SafetyChain, Circana, and SPINS; maintain a data dictionary; deliver reliable feeds to Power BI and Vena Develop and own the IT & data roadmap and budget, aligned to the company's growth plan, and present priorities, risks and trade-offs to the CFO and leadership team Automation & AI: Maintain a prioritized backlog of automation and AI use cases; ship practical solutions with measurable ROI; set guardrails for AI use Enterprise Applications: Serve as NetSuite system owner; manage implementation partners; integrate acquired entities; support EDI, Vena, Power BI, and finance toolsIT Ops & Security: Ensure resilient infrastructure for plants running ~20 hours a day; hold the MSP to SLAs; lead cybersecurity governance, DR, and threat assessments; act as escalation point for production issues Automation & AIDrive end-to-end transformation; understand users' needs, ensure required data foundation, and redesign & automate business processes around technology Establish and maintain a prioritized inventory of automation & AI use cases with business owners Develop and deploy practical automations with measurable ROIs through Enterprise Applications and AI tools (e.g., Claude, Cursor, etc.); this role is hands-on and expected to drive configurations & ship solutions Establish guardrails for AI use, including isolated data environments, role-based access & clear policies Enterprise Applications & ERPServe as system owner for NetSuite; lead the change review process and action with business stakeholders Direct and manage NetSuite partners, including scoping, prioritization and delivery Lead integration of new or acquired entities into the existing NetSuite environment Ensure the team provides in-house support for Enterprise applications, including but not limited to owning development of NetSuite saved searches, data loads and reconfigurations, setting up new partners and troubleshooting SPS Commerce EDI, driving Vena and Power BI adoption, and optimizing use of function-specific tools (e.g., Stampli, Confido, Princeton, etc.)Own integrations and support selection and implementation of new applications