Samco - Head - Infrastructure & AI Operations

About Samco

Samco is a trailblazing fintech company headquartered in Mumbai, with a cutting-edge engineering hub in Chennai. We're revolutionizing trading and investment through technology, with a bold vision for AI-driven innovation in near future. Join us to lead the infrastructure that powers a fintech disruptor on the rise.

Website: https://www.samco.in/

Work Location: Mumbai (Prabhadevi - HO) , Chennai (Guindy - Tech Centre)

Your base location can be either Mumbai or Chennai, with the expectation of occasional travel to the other location as needed.

Role Overview:

- We're on the hunt for an exceptional Head of Infrastructure & AI Operations to steer our private cloud infrastructure and pioneer AI integration for Samco's next chapter. You'll lead a tight-knit team of 10-20 engineers in Chennai/Mumbai, managing a robust Private cloud setup along with building a new scalable AI infra.

- This role demands hands-on expertise in ESXi, Kubernetes, firewalls, and switches, paired with strategic vision to align tech with our trading platforms. If you're a master of infra who thrives on uptime, security, and innovation, this is your shot to shine.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Infrastructure & Private Cloud Management:

- Oversee the architecture, deployment, and maintenance of private cloud infrastructure (ESXi, Kubernetes, VM setups) to support mission-critical trading applications.

- Design and implement scalable, fault-tolerant, and resilient cloud environments.

- Develop and enforce best practices for server hardening, patch management, and disaster recovery.

- Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles for automated provisioning and maintenance.

- Optimize resource utilization and performance to handle high-velocity trading activities.

2. Network & Security Operations:

- Lead the management of firewalls (Cisco, Palo Alto), network switches, and access control mechanisms to safeguard infrastructure.

- Establish and maintain cybersecurity strategies, including threat detection, DDoS protection, SIEM, and identity access management (IAM).

- Oversee security compliance with regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

- Conduct regular security audits, penetration tests, and risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and enhance security posture.

3. DevOps, CI/CD & Automation:

- Build and optimize CI/CD pipelines, automated deployments, and monitoring tools for production stability.

- Implement traffic scaling mechanisms to manage load fluctuations in trading environments.

- Improve system observability with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, and real-time dashboards.

- Automate infrastructure processes to enhance operational efficiency and reduce manual interventions.

4. Cloud & Hybrid Strategy:

- Develop and implement a hybrid cloud strategy, integrating private cloud with AWS (EKS, S3, Lambda, CloudTrail) or other cloud providers.

- Evaluate cost-effective cloud solutions to enhance scalability and performance.

- Optimize cloud security, ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations and fintech industry standards.

- Lead cloud migration initiatives and modernization of legacy infrastructure.

5. AI Infrastructure & MLOps Leadership:

- Design and deploy AI-ready infrastructure, including GPU clusters, data pipelines (Kafka, Spark), and distributed computing environments.

- Build and optimize MLOps workflows for seamless AI model training, deployment, and monitoring.

- Integrate AI-driven analytics and automation into infrastructure operations for predictive scaling and anomaly detection.

6. Team Leadership & Stakeholder Collaboration:

- Lead and mentor a team of 10-20 infrastructure engineers, fostering a high-performance culture.

- Collaborate with trading, product, and engineering teams to ensure infrastructure supports ultra-low latency trading and financial applications.

- Establish and enforce IT governance frameworks, operational procedures, and SLA-driven service delivery.

Develop a roadmap for future technology investments aligned with business goals.

7. Fintech & Trading Infrastructure Optimization:

- Architect low-latency, high-throughput trading infrastructure that meets the demands of real-time transactions.

- Implement cutting-edge caching, load balancing, and microservices-based architectures.

- Optimize failover and disaster recovery mechanisms to guarantee business continuity.

- Enhance performance monitoring, capacity planning, and incident management protocols.

Qualifications:

- Experience: 10-15+ years in IT infrastructure, with 5+ years leading teams in private cloud environments.

Technical Skills:

- Deep expertise in VMware (ESXi, VM setups), Kubernetes (K8s), and private cloud management.

- Hands-on with firewall management (e.g., Cisco, Palo Alto), network switches, and routing protocols.

- Strong DevOps skills-CI/CD, automation, monitoring (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana).

- Familiarity with AWS (EKS, S3) and AI infra (GPUs, ML ops) is a plus.

- Leadership: Proven ability to lead 10-15 member teams, with a knack for mentoring and strategic planning.

- Achievements: Scaled infra under pressure (e.g., fintech, e-commerce traffic spikes).

- Education: BE/BTech in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred).

What We're Looking For

- A hands-on infra wizard who's mastered private clouds and thrives on keeping systems bulletproof.

- A forward-thinker eager to blend AI into fintech, with a passion for low-latency solutions.

- A leader who can rally a small, elite team to punch above its weight.

What We Offer

- Growth: Path to CIO/VP roles within 2-3 years

- Impact: Lead the tech core of a fintech poised for explosive growth