IT Infrastructure Team Lead

Quick Facts

• Role: IT Infrastructure Team Lead

• Location: Cologne-Ehrenfeld (hybrid; home office available)

• Team: Newly formed team of 10 experienced Infrastructure Engineers

• Work model: Full-time or part-time; flexible hours (flexitime)

Description

You will lead the Infrastructure team that keeps the company’s virtual power plant and business operations running, covering compute, connectivity, storage, backups, and Kubernetes. You own end-to-end responsibility for the data center infrastructure and network services, and you operate and evolve the productive Kubernetes platform on Red Hat OpenShift. You will also drive automation and Platform Engineering to build resiliency, availability, and compliance into the infrastructure from the start.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and coach Infrastructure Engineers and external partners

• Own end-to-end data center infrastructure responsibility, including hardware lifecycle management, rack setup and cabling, virtualization platforms, and operating systems

• Operate and evolve network infrastructure: datacenter switching & routing, WAN, BGP, firewalling, load balancing, and connectivity

• Operate and develop the productive Kubernetes platform (Red Hat OpenShift) and the underlying storage and backup landscape

• Advance automation and Platform Engineering for resiliency, availability, and compliance

• Build the new team from day one, including culture, working methods, roadmap, and collaboration with neighboring teams

Requirements

• Several years of leadership experience as a Team Lead; interest in developing people

• Multiple years of experience operating operational or critical infrastructure (preferably KRITIS or other regulated environments)

• Strong technical understanding of data center operations (compute, virtualization, operating systems) and enterprise networking (routing, BGP, firewalling, DNS, network architectures)

• Practical experience with container platforms, ideally Red Hat OpenShift

• Experience with storage and backup concepts

• Structured handling of incidents, risks, and resiliency; ISO 27001, KRITIS, or NIS2 audit experience is a plus

• Fluent German and English (spoken and written)

Benefits

• Hybrid and flexible work with home office equipment

• Flexitime with options to save time and use flexible additional vacation days

• Learning and development: language courses, coaching, and training

• Job bike (Jobrad) and Deutschlandticket

• Sports offers (e.g., Urban Sports Club, yoga courses)

• Regular events plus external support for childcare placement and other private/professional challenges

• High responsibility, room for ideas, and a supportive team