Director, IT

We are a lifestyle brand!

We are on a mission to provide the world with simple, wholesome food and beverage items that fit today's lifestyle, offering an intimate - yet fast and consistent - experience to our customers.

We love and take pride in what we do, and we currently offer an exciting opportunity to join a thriving and ever-growing brand in this industry.

ROLE OVERVIEW:

We are seeking a strategic and hands-on Director of Information Technology to lead our enterprise IT operations across a large-scale, multi-location restaurant organization. This executive will have direct oversight of the Network Operations Center (NOC), Security Operations Center (SOC), and the Project Management Office (PMO), ensuring seamless technology service delivery, robust cybersecurity posture, and disciplined project execution across all restaurant and corporate locations.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience managing 24/7 mission-critical technology environments in the hospitality or restaurant industry, with a strong understanding of point-of-sale ecosystems, network infrastructure at scale, and the unique operational demands of high-volume food service businesses.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic IT Leadership

• Define and execute the enterprise IT strategy aligned with business growth objectives, including new restaurant openings, acquisitions, and technology modernization initiatives.
• Serve as a key member of the senior leadership team, advising on technology investments, digital transformation, and operational efficiency improvements.
• Develop and manage the annual IT budget, ensuring cost-effective allocation of resources across NOC, SOC, and PMO functions.
• Establish and maintain vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and oversee technology procurement across all platforms and services.

Network Operations Center (NOC)

• Direct the NOC team responsible for monitoring, maintaining, and optimizing network infrastructure across all restaurant and corporate locations.
• Ensure 99\.9%\+ uptime for critical restaurant systems including POS terminals, kitchen display systems (KDS), online ordering platforms, and payment processing networks.
• Oversee WAN/LAN architecture, SD-WAN deployments, wireless access management, and ISP relationships for hundreds of distributed locations.
• Establish and enforce SLAs for incident response, escalation procedures, and proactive system health monitoring using ITSM platforms.
• Drive automation and tooling improvements to reduce mean time to resolution (MTTR) and increase first-call resolution rates.

Security Operations Center (SOC)

• Lead the SOC team in implementing and managing a comprehensive cybersecurity program to protect customer data, payment card information (PCI-DSS compliance), and corporate intellectual property.
• Oversee threat detection, vulnerability management, incident response, and forensic investigation capabilities.
• Ensure compliance with PCI-DSS, CCPA, state privacy laws, and any relevant industry regulations across all restaurant operations.
• Manage SIEM/SOAR platforms, endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, identity and access management (IAM) systems, and security awareness training programs.
• Develop and regularly test business continuity and disaster recovery plans for all critical restaurant and corporate IT systems.

Project Management Office (PMO)

• Build and lead the IT PMO to standardize project delivery methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) across all technology initiatives.
• Oversee the portfolio of IT projects including POS system deployments and upgrades, infrastructure rollouts for new restaurant openings, cybersecurity initiatives, and enterprise application implementations.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and on budget with clear executive reporting dashboards and KPI tracking.
• Champion cross-functional collaboration between IT, restaurant operations, finance, marketing, and supply chain teams.
• Implement resource management practices to balance capacity across concurrent projects and operational support demands.

Restaurant Technology \& POS Operations

• Oversee the deployment, maintenance, and optimization of restaurant technology platforms including point-of-sale systems, kitchen display systems, online ordering integrations, loyalty programs, and digital menu boards.
• Serve as the technology partner to restaurant operations leadership, ensuring IT services directly support guest experience, order accuracy, and speed of service.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field; Master’s degree or MBA preferred.
• 10\+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, with at least 5 years in a Director- level or senior management role.
• Demonstrated experience managing NOC, SOC, and/or PMO functions in a multi-site, geographically distributed environment.
• Strong background in network engineering, cybersecurity operations, and IT project/portfolio management.
• Deep knowledge of PCI-DSS compliance requirements and experience managing payment security in a retail or restaurant environment.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing technical teams of 20\+ staff across multiple disciplines.
• Experience managing IT budgets of $3M\+ and negotiating enterprise-level vendor contracts.
• Excellent executive communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Toast POS Platform Experience: Hands-on experience deploying, managing, and optimizing Toast POS across multi-unit restaurant operations is highly valued.
• Familiarity with Toast’s hardware ecosystem, API integrations, reporting tools, and third-party marketplace is a significant plus.
• Experience in the restaurant, hospitality, or food service industry with an understanding of front-of-house and back-of-house technology needs.
• Certifications such as CISSP, CISM, PMP, ITIL v4, or CCNP are strongly preferred.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and hybrid infrastructure environments.
• Familiarity with restaurant technology platforms beyond POS, such as inventory management (MarketMan, BlueCart), scheduling (HotSchedules, 7shifts), and delivery aggregators (DoorDash Drive, Uber Direct).
• Experience leading digital transformation or technology modernization initiatives in a high-growth environment.
• Knowledge of AI/ML applications in restaurant operations such as demand forecasting, dynamic pricing, and automated inventory management.

BENEFITS:

• Health \& Wellness – Medical, Dental \& Vision
• PTO
• Discounted Meals
• Growth Opportunities
• 401(k) Plan with Company Match

The general nature and level of work being performed by persons assigned to this job classification are contained in this job description. This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, essential job functions, duties, skills required and other job requirements of personnel in this role. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time as needed. Management reserves the right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to the job at any time.

Pura Vida Miami is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a workplace where diversity is celebrated and everyone feels welcome, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. We believe that building a team with diverse perspectives and experiences makes us stronger, more creative, and more connected to the communities we serve.

Agency Disclaimer

We’ve got this covered! At Pura Vida Miami, our Talent Acquisition team leads all hiring efforts internally. We do not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies, we mean it. Any resumes sent our way without a signed agreement in place (including those sent directly to our team or hiring managers) will be considered property of Pura Vida Miami and we won’t be responsible for any fees. If you’re interested in partnering with us, reach out to our Talent team first. We’re happy to connect the right way!

Salary Range:

$140,000-$145,000