Director, Information Systems

Who we are:

The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world.

Position Summary:

As a leader in the American Physical Society’s Information Systems Department, you will provide technical leadership and deliver innovative solutions to create first-class experiences for our customers and drive business growth. You will lead and manage several teams within the department, participate in all department management activities, and partner across the organization with business units and other management peers. Our software engineering and technical support teams will report directly to you, and you will have primary responsibility for cybersecurity, data governance, and other compliance issues. You will play a leading role in enabling APS to utilize information technology to meet its strategic and operational goals and in shaping and setting the strategic goals, strategies, and objectives for the Information Systems department.

The APS has a “remote first” concept that promotes equal treatment and equal access, independent of physical work location, with a majority of staff working primarily from remote work locations. This position could require at times in office work, various geographic events and meeting attendance as instructed by your Supervisor. APS values diversity and welcomes candidates from a variety of backgrounds. APS offers a dynamic work environment with an outstanding total compensation package including salary, outstanding benefits, and excellent paid time off.


Is This You:

• Provides oversight of one or more groups within the Information Systems department and supervises the staff within those groups. Ensures technical projects and tasks are assigned priorities that match the strategic goals of the APS as a whole while ensuring production systems are robust and have high availability.
• Exercises primary responsibility as the team leader to ensure that IT operations are timely, efficient, and accurate and rooted in modern ITIL 4 practices by:
  • Ensuring that recurring problems and critical issues are properly escalated, communicated, and resolved.
  • Defining problem and incident management processes, work with other Information Systems managers and others to integrate handoffs to developers, vendors, etc.
  • Taking a comprehensive service management approach to managing processes and delivered services
  • Providing group knowledge management solution that captures services supported, SLAs, person/group responsible, links to further documentation and developing and documenting Standard Operating Procedures for all processes
  • Aligning support workflow with ITIL 4 practices and newly defined workflows including defining roles that maximize the skills of group members
  • Apply continuous improvement to all work done by the group.
• Works within Information Systems and with other departments to initiate and implement changes to improve society operations and prioritize projects and other enhancements.
• Works to ensure APS maintains a leadership position in using innovative technology and processes to efficiently and cost-effectively serve physics and the global scientific community.
• Participates in the strategic planning as directed by the CIO and works to ensure resulting plans are implemented.
• Works to ensure that the APS information systems are fully supported, redundant, and recoverable as required by the APS Business Continuity Plan. Participates in the business continuity planning process.
• Directs the acquisition, design, development, implementation and maintenance of hardware and software used in APS business processes. Ensures data are properly protected to safeguard user privacy and business continuity.
• Works closely with the CIO in preparing annual IT budgets.
• Represents Information Systems within APS and to external committees as needed and as directed by the CIO.
• Maintains professional contacts within the physics community, the industries relevant to APS businesses, and the nonprofit scientific sector to recognize special needs and opportunities that affect APS. Represents APS in third-party initiatives and at professional conferences and seminars as needed.

Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience. ITSM/ITIL 4 practices and service management (certification in one or more areas preferred).      

Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Minimum five years experience supervising a technical team; budgetary responsibility preferred.
• Background in software development and familiarity with Amazon Web Services strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with scholarly publishing preferred.
• Experience oversees a team of 5-10 employees or more.
• Long-term management and strategic experience in information technology.
• Ability to work with diverse groups of people to build consensus.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Strong organization, documentation, and prioritization skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to adapt to quickly changing schedules.
• Ability to work well with interdepartmental teams as well as independently.

Travel: The position requires occasional travel to attend meetings and events as part of its core responsibilities, as well as additional travel as assigned.

Work Environment:

Our physical offices are located in Long Island, NY, Washington, D.C and College Park, MD. We are operational in most US states. While most duties can be conducted remotely, all positions require periodic in-person work at the assigned physical location and periodic travel to other APS locations, meetings and events as assigned by your Supervisor. The American Physical Society allows flexible work hours, responsiveness is required however during the core 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Standard Time workday. The successful candidate will join a collaborative international organization.

This is Us:

Departmental Values:

The Information Systems departmental values complement and extend the APS Core Values. How we work and how we interact must embody these values which encompass the areas of Customer Outcome Focus; Dedication and Responsibility; Quality and Agility; Curiosity, Open-mindedness, and Innovation; and Teamwork and Collaboration. The values are further described in a separate document, and every Information Systems employee has a responsibility for upholding them.

Help us achieve our mission of advancing and diffusing the knowledge of physics for the benefit of humanity, promote physics, and serve the broader physics community.

At APS, we:

• Provide a welcoming and supportive professional home for an active, engaged, and diverse membership
• Advance scientific discovery and research dissemination
• Advocate for physics and physicists, and amplify the voice for science
• Share the excitement of physics and communicate the essential role physics plays in the modern world
• Promote effective physics education for all

Our Core Values:

• The Scientific Method
• Truth and Integrity
• Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect
• Partnering, Cooperation, and Open Collaboration
• Speaking Out
• Education and Learning