Manager, Lightspeed IT Systems

Telesat • Ottawa • 2w ago

Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT) is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions worldwide to broadcast, telecommunications, corporate and government customers for over 50 years. Backed by a legacy of engineering excellence, reliability and industry-leading customer service, Telesat has grown to be one of the largest and most successful global satellite operators.

Telesat Lightspeed, our revolutionary Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, scheduled to begin service in 2027, will revolutionize global broadband connectivity for enterprise users by delivering a combination of high capacity, security, resiliency and affordability with ultra-low latency and fiber-like speeds. Telesat is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and has offices and facilities around the world.

The company’s state-of-the-art fleet consists of 14 GEO satellites, the Canadian payload on ViaSat-1 and one LEO 3 demonstration satellite. For more information, follow Telesat on X and LinkedIn or visit www.telesat.com [http://www.telesat.com/]

Must be eligible for Canadian Security Clearance and be a PR or Canadian citizen.

Candidates must live in the Ottawa area or be willing to relocate to Ottawa. Candidates must be willing to be onsite in office 5 days per week.

Reporting to the Sr Manager, IT Systems, the candidate provides technical, and team leadership required for daily systems operations for Corporate IT and Lightspeed Data Centres.

The candidate will manage the IT Systems team consisting of systems analysts and systems administrators, as well as Infrastructure engineers. The candidate will oversee priorities, project deliverables, staffing and related network budgets. They will be the senior expert in various system technologies and tools and be able to build roadmaps and collaborate on a technical level with vendors.

The manager will work closely with the IT PMO for project reporting and deliverables and closely engage with the IT Service Management team on requests and incidents including change requests and incident root cause analysis (RCA).

The manager will be required to help develop operational metrics and presentations on results and trends and be able to explain them to both a technical and non-technical audience.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Leadership & Performance Management
Lead and mentor a team of Systems Engineers, overseeing staffing, workforce planning, and performance evaluations.
Foster a high-performance culture through coaching, development plans, and clear accountability.
Manage on-call rotations and support schedules to ensure 24/7 operational coverage and responsiveness.
Project & Resource Coordination
Collaborate with the IT PMO to align infrastructure engineering deliverables with project milestones and release schedules.
Partner with project managers to allocate resources effectively and manage work assignments across initiatives.
Support Lightspeed Operations planning by coordinating staff availability and workload distribution.
Data Centre Operations & Incident Management
Take ownership of critical incidents, outages, and escalations, ensuring timely resolution and root cause analysis.
Drive continuous improvement in incident response and recovery processes in partnership with IT Service Management.
Monitoring, Automation & Optimization
Design and implement proactive monitoring systems, performance metrics, and automation strategies to enhance reliability and efficiency.
Identify and execute cost-saving opportunities and process improvements within network operations.
Architecture & Strategic Planning
Own and maintain the infrastructure services for Lightspeed, and all related documentation.
Develop and manage a long-term systems technology roadmap, including infrastructure stack and tools strategies as well as cost forecasting.
Ensure alignment of systems infrastructure with business goals and emerging technologies.
Vendor & Contract Management
Manage relationships with systems vendors and service providers, ensuring adherence to SLAs and performance standards.
Oversee hardware device support contracts, renewals, and lifecycle management.
Review and approve all quotes, requisitions, and purchases related to systems infrastructure.
Budgeting & Financial Oversight
Lead systems budget planning, forecasting, and cost tracking for projects and operations.
Monitor expenditures and ensure financial accountability across infrastructure initiatives.
Governance & Compliance
Ensure all changes and implementations comply with Telesat’s Change Management procedures and governance controls.
Collaborate with internal teams to optimize service delivery processes and turnaround times.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field.
Proven significant experience in managing and leading infrastructure and data centre teams.
Experience in troubleshooting and resolution of system issues as a member of an Operations team.
Strong verbal and written communication skills to collaborate with team members and stakeholders.
In-depth technical experience with Linux and Linux Clustering, MS Active Directory (Entra), Server and Storage devices and related hardware, advanced automation and scripting (e.g. bash, PowerShell, python), HPC (High Performance Computing) principles, Hypervisors and High-availability design
Previous Enterprise and Data Centre experience with in-depth technical knowledge of clustering and management of clusters including storage, DCIM (Data Centre Infrastructure Management), Operational monitoring and alerting, Backup and recovery Basic TCP/IP networking and routing
Experience with service level agreements and vendor contracts.
Experience with systems monitoring and alerting tools.
Experience with financial analysis and budgeting for data centre investment and ongoing operating costs.
Ability to manage multiple demands with time related constraints in a fast-paced environment.
Knowledge of Agile and DevOps methodologies.
Knowledge of Linux-based systems with containerization (Kubernetes).
Ability to attain Canadian CGP and Secret Clearance.

DECISION MAKING & SUPERVISION

Make decisions and recommendations requiring analysis and interpretation within established procedures.

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At Telesat, we take pride in being an equal opportunity employer that values equality in the workplace. We are committed to providing the best candidate experience possible including any required accommodations at every stage of our interview process. All qualified applicants that have been selected for an interview that require accommodations, are advised to inform the Telesat Talent team accordingly. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential.