Manager, IT - Systems & Operations

About Aspire Bakeries

At Aspire Bakeries, we don’t just bake breads, cookies, and cakes - we create foods that bring people together. From La Brea Bakery® artisan breads to Otis Spunkmeyer® cookies, our products are enjoyed by millions of people every day. Behind every bite are talented manufacturing and support teams who take pride in their work and our food.

We’re looking for hard-working people who will bring integrity, creativity, and a passion for excellence to everything they do. With 13 commercial bakeries across North America and a reputation as an industry leader, Aspire Bakeries is rising together with our people and our customers to be the best all-around bakery solution.

Why You’ll Love Working At Aspire Bakeries

• Culture: Our culture thrives on collaboration, diversity, and a shared passion for excellence, supporting team members and empowering growth.
• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus company-paid life insurance and additional voluntary options.
• Work-Life Balance: Paid parental leave, generous paid time off, and holidays for recharging.
• Financial Security: Competitive retirement plans, plus short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Growth & Development: Opportunities to build skills and grow your career through learning and development programs.
• Flexibility & Support: HSA and FSA plans to help manage everyday expenses.
• Recognition & Rewards: Performance incentive plans celebrating achievements across sales, bakery performance, and individual contributions.

About The Role: Manager, IT - Systems & Operations

We are seeking a System Administration Infrastructure Manager to join our team, with required onsite presence in Swedesboro, NJ or Cayce, SC four days per week. This role is responsible for the administration, reliability, security, and high availability of Aspire Bakeries’ enterprise infrastructure across both on‑premises and Microsoft Azure cloud environments. You will oversee hybrid workloads, manage physical and virtualized systems, lead data center operations, and guide a distributed team toward delivering secure, efficient, and scalable services across the enterprise.

Core Accountabilities (What You’ll Be Doing)

• Lead and develop a system administration team to ensure exceptional operational performance and customer service.
• Ensure high availability, security, and reliable operation of server, storage, and enterprise application environments across on‑premises and Azure.
• Oversee the design, deployment, and management of hybrid infrastructure solutions.
• Drive infrastructure modernization through upgrades, harmonization initiatives, and best‑practice technologies.
• Maintain infrastructure standards, documentation, and architectural diagrams for consistency and governance.
• Monitor system performance and implement improvements to enhance reliability and efficiency.
• Collaborate with IT leadership to develop processes, procedures, and strategies that improve service delivery and reduce risk.

Minimum Qualifications (What You Bring To The Table)

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent experience.
• 7–10 years of experience managing server, storage, domain services, and enterprise systems across on‑premises and Azure environments.
• Expertise in Windows and Linux OS, Active Directory, MSSQL, virtualized environments (Hyper‑V, VMware), and enterprise storage (SAN/NAS).
• Experience leading or coaching technical teams in a distributed environment.
• Ability to lift moderately heavy equipment (e.g., computers, peripherals) as needed.
• Ability to participate in on‑call rotation, work evenings/weekends, and travel 25–50%.

Preferred Qualifications (Extra Ingredients For Success)

• Industry certifications such as Microsoft Azure Administrator or Architect, VMware, Cisco Data Center, EMC, GIAC, or CISSP.
• Architect‑level knowledge of Commvault backup solutions.
• Experience with network management tools or large‑scale cloud migrations.
• Strong communication skills, able to explain complex concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in fast‑paced, high‑pressure environments.

Key skills/competency

• System Administration
• Azure Cloud
• Hybrid Infrastructure
• Team Leadership
• Enterprise Systems
• Network Management
• Data Center Operations
• Security Best Practices
• Disaster Recovery
• Performance Optimization