Manager, IT Infrastructure & Operations (Individual Contributor)

TRYST is a research-to-translation institution on the IIT Bombay campus, working across semiconductors, AI, health and bio, energy and clean technology, and related verticals. It is building the digital and IT environment for a multi-Centre organisation that is expected to scale toward 1,000+ people, while remaining on campus and partnering with IIT Bombay shared services.

This is a founding IT role: the opportunity to design and run the function, not to inherit one.

JOB PURPOSE

Own TRYST's IT infrastructure and day-to-day IT operations — identity and endpoint operations on Microsoft 365 / Entra ID, TRYST cloud and overlay connectivity, devices, backups, and first-line service.

Build the function from a standing start: standards, vendors, assets and the first hires. Do the work yourself until there is a team. Coordinate campus network, licensed software and journal access with the IIT Bombay Computing Centre rather than recreating those services. Grow the role into Head of Infrastructure as TRYST scales.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Note : It's an Individual Contributor role initially and based on Org. requirements , the team can be aligned later.

Infrastructure, cloud and campus overlay

• Design, implement and operate TRYST-owned infrastructure: Microsoft 365 / Entra ID, the endpoint estate, file and backup services, TRYST cloud (Azure as the starting tenancy), and overlay connectivity on the campus network.
• Partner with the IIT Bombay Computing Centre on campus LAN/Wi-Fi, research computing, and software / journal catalogues. Own the TRYST overlay, the join path for a new employee, and the escalation path to Computing Centre.
• Set infrastructure standards and runbooks that will still hold as TRYST grows across Centres and toward 1,000+ people, on a common identity and device baseline.
• Plan capacity, backup and disaster recovery for TRYST-owned systems. Campus backbone DR remains with Computing Centre.

Identity, endpoint and security operations

• Operate Microsoft 365 / Entra ID as TRYST's directory: account hygiene, groups, MFA, conditional access, privileged access, and the joiner / mover / leaver path from the HR system (Keka).
• Own endpoint management and protection (Intune or equivalent, disk encryption, patching and baseline hardening). TRYST handles research IP; unmanaged devices are not the default.
• Own infrastructure security for TRYST-run systems: access, backups, incident first-response, and the first set of IT security policies with the CEO.
• Keep security usable. Default access should follow the employee's role; exceptions should be the minority.

Service delivery

• Provide IT support until a dedicated service desk exists: provisioning, workstation and access issues, with a published response target.
• Establish a single, simple request channel and evolve it as headcount grows.
• Support lab, compute and connectivity needs of research Centres, escalating specialised research computing to Computing Centre or an agreed cloud pattern.

Vendors, assets and budget

• Own vendor relationships for devices, connectivity overlays, cloud, endpoint security and any managed-service overflow.
• Maintain the IT asset register and lifecycle — issue, recover, wipe and recycle — tied to joining and leaving.
• Manage the infrastructure and endpoint budget and provide actuals for TRYST IT cost planning.

Team and operating model

• Hire, coach and oversee the first support and infrastructure engineers as workload justifies it.
• Clarify ownership between TRYST IT, HR, Finance and Computing Centre, including where a service is TRYST-owned, outsourced, or provided by IIT Bombay.
• Leave the organisation able to add a Head of IT, an applications lead and a security lead as TRYST scales, without rewiring this job.

EXPERIENCE

Required

8–12 years in IT infrastructure, systems, network or workplace/endpoint engineering, with end-to-end ownership rather than ticket-only support.

• Hands-on with cloud identity and modern workplace (Microsoft 365 / Entra ID or a close equivalent): directory, MFA and device management — not only on-premises Active Directory.

• Experience designing and operating network, server/cloud and backup/disaster-recovery environments.

• Vendor, contract and budget management. Experience hiring or coaching at least one engineer.

• Comfortable remaining hands-on — imaging a laptop, resolving connectivity issues, supporting a joiner — as well as designing the environment.

Preferred

Built infrastructure for a growing organisation rather than only running a mature one.

• Campus, academic, research-lab or institutional environments, especially coordinating with a central computing or network group you do not control.

• Identity lifecycle (joiner, mover, leaver) with an HR system such as Keka.

• Familiarity with Indian vendor and procurement practice, and with Mumbai / IIT campus context.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

• High tolerance for ambiguity: standards will be written here, not inherited.
• Judgement that balances security, reliability and pace — research IP on one side, an early-stage timetable on the other.
• Credibility with scientists, operators and vendors, and the ability to hold a single TRYST IT stack rather than parallel Centre-level ones.
• A bias to hands-on execution in the first year, with the systems thinking so the second year is not a rewrite.

REMUNERATION

Level

Manager.

Compensation

Competitive and commensurate with experience