VP, Cloud Infrastructure & Operations

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products, and is a steward of luxury and prestige brands globally. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD, and BALMAIN Beauty.

Position Summary

The Vice President, Cloud Infrastructure and Operations leads the global enablement, management, and optimization of cloud platform services, including cloud operations, engineering, and site reliability engineering (SRE). This executive is accountable for the strategic direction, operational excellence, security, and financial stewardship of cloud infrastructure across multiple brands and regions. The VP develops, manages, and mentors a diverse cloud team, driving innovation and transformation to support business growth, continuity, and the enablement of AI and data-driven platforms.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Set and execute the vision and strategy for cloud infrastructure and operations, aligning with business objectives and future growth.
• Serve as a senior-level point of contact for enterprise customers and internal stakeholders.
• Develop and execute a forward-looking strategy for cloud infrastructure that enables and accelerates AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics initiatives.
• Ensure the cloud environment supports scalable, secure, and high-performance data platforms and applications.

Cloud Operations & Engineering

• Lead hands-on management of cloud and on-premise data center operations, ensuring high availability, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery across Azure, AWS, and GCP.
• Oversee cloud security architecture, innovation, and transformation. Establish architectural standards, policies, and governance capabilities.
• Champion the adoption of modern cloud methodologies such as Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD, containerization (Kubernetes, Docker), serverless architectures, and automation frameworks.

AI, Data Platforms, and Modern Methods & Tools

• Oversee the design, deployment, and optimization of cloud-native data platforms, including support for big data, real-time analytics, and AI workloads.
• Collaborate with data science, analytics, and engineering teams to ensure infrastructure meets evolving business and technical requirements.
• Evaluate and implement cutting-edge tools and technologies to drive operational efficiency, reliability, and innovation.
• Promote a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement, leveraging modern DevOps and MLOps practices.

FinOps Responsibility

• Lead the development and execution of FinOps practices to optimize cloud spending and drive cost efficiency across all cloud platforms.
• Implement cloud usage monitoring, cost allocation, and budgeting strategies to ensure financial accountability and transparency.
• Analyze cloud usage patterns, identify opportunities for savings, and recommend architectural or operational changes to reduce costs.
• Partner with finance, procurement, and engineering teams to establish and enforce cloud cost management policies, reporting, and governance.
• Deliver regular reports and insights on cloud spend, trends, and optimization initiatives to executive leadership.

Service Management & Incident Response

• Design and deliver integrated service management reports.
• Provide support for ITIL tools (ServiceNow/JIRA) and bridge support between Cloud Engineering, Cybersecurity, and cloud service consumers.
• Receive and record incident information, resolve or triage issues, and manage critical incident and change management processes.

Compliance & Risk

• Oversee SOX, PCI, and internal audit compliance.
• Ensure privacy standards and regulatory requirements are met. Liaise with privacy and risk offices.
• Establish and enforce best practices for cloud data management, security, and compliance, ensuring robust support for AI and data-driven applications.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Collaborate with service providers, contractors, and vendors to ensure compliance with SLAs and delivery against committed service levels.

Talent Development

• Coach, develop, and influence direct and indirect teams. Foster continuous improvement and test skills through training exercises.
• Build and nurture a team with expertise in cloud, AI, and data engineering, fostering ongoing learning and skill development in emerging technologies and methodologies.

Innovation & Best Practices

• Keep abreast of latest technologies and industry trends. Communicate cybersecurity best practices and risks across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in IT leadership roles, preferably in global, multi-brand companies.
• Proven track record in cloud infrastructure, operations, and security engineering.Deep technical expertise in AWS, Azure, GCP, and cloud performance monitoring tools (e.g., Azure Monitor, Datadog).
• Experience with ITIL processes, incident/problem/change management, and integrated service level management.
• Strong working knowledge of network infrastructure, virtualization (VMware), firewalls, switches, routers, and identity management systems.
• Experience in operating within a Managed Service Provider model and global project delivery.
• Experience working in multi-cultural, global environments.
• Excellent problem-solving, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and lead cross-functional teams.
• Experience working in multi-cultural, global environments.
• Ability to travel (up to 10%).
• English language proficiency required.

Leadership Competencies

• Thinks Strategically: Anticipates and plans for future business, industry, and consumer needs.
• Aligns and Engages the Team in the Vision: Provides clarity and direction to achieve goals.
• Embraces and Initiates Change: Leads transformation and drives success.
• Develops Talent and Capabilities: Cultivates essential skills and maximizes team engagement.
• Strives for Excellence in Execution: Continuously improves effectiveness and learns from successes and failures. 

Pay Range:

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $221,600.00 to $377,200.00. Exact salary depends on several factors such as experience, skills, education, and budget. Salary range may vary based on geographic location. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for participation in a highly competitive bonus program with the possibility for overachievement based on performance and company results.

In addition, The Estée Lauder Companies offers a variety of benefits to eligible employees, including health insurance coverage (medical, dental, and vision insurance), wellness and family support programs, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, paid leave programs, education-related programs, paid holidays and vacation time, and many others. Many of these benefits are subsidized or fully paid for by the company.

Equal Opportunity Employer

It is Company's policy not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. The Company will endeavor to provide a reasonable accommodation consistent with the law to otherwise qualified employees and prospective employees with a disability and to employees and prospective employees with needs related to their religious observance or practices. Should you wish to apply for this position or any other position with the Company and you believe you require assistance to complete an application or participate in an interview, please contact USApplicantAccommodations@Estee.com.

Michigan Applicants: Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for employment must notify the company in writing of the need for an accommodation within 182 days after the date the person with a disability knew or reasonably should have known that an accommodation was needed.

Philadelphia Applicants: Philadelphia's Fair Chance Hiring Law

Rhode Island Applicants: The company is subject to chapters 29-38 of title 28 of the general laws of Rhode Island and is therefore covered by the state's workers' compensation law.