Manager, Technical Operations

Important: This role will be onsite out of our downtown Phoenix data center office on a full-time basis.

About the Role: 

The Guitar Center is seeking a dynamic Manager, Technical Operations to lead the Guitar Center Technology Operations Center (GTOC). This critical role oversees physical data center operations in Phoenix, AZ, and other corporate locations, while also leading enterprise-wide Major Incident, Change, and Problem Management through our centralized command center. The GTOC Manager ensures technology availability, fast incident response, and continual service improvement across enterprise systems and services. 
You will lead a cross-functional team responsible for physical server hosting, hands-on data center operations, and L1 infrastructure and application support, while also driving GTOC’s role in observability, hypercare, service validation, and enterprise-wide incident, change, and problem processes. 

Why Join Us? 

The Guitar Center Technology Operations Center is Guitar Center’s hub for proactive service monitoring, enterprise incident response, and operational continuity. Modeled on world-class availability centers, the GTOC integrates observability, data center operations, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver maximum uptime and seamless technology experiences. 

Responsibilities: 

Data Center & Corporate Infrastructure Operations 

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the Phoenix data center and physical infrastructure across corporate locations. 

• Manage hardware installation, cabling, asset tracking, and vendor coordination. 

• Provide on-site support for infrastructure activities including rack/stack, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management. 

• Ensure adherence to physical access, environmental monitoring, and maintenance standards. 

Guitar Center Technology Operations Center (GTOC) Leadership 

• Lead the 24x7 GTOC, ensuring effective L1 support, alert monitoring, and incident response. 

• Drive service observability and performance visibility using tools like Datadog and PagerDuty. 

• Oversee service validation, hypercare, and operational readiness for new and updated services 

Major Incident Management 

• Act as Incident Commander for enterprise-wide Priority 1 and critical outages. 

• Coordinate structured triage, escalation, communication, and resolution across teams. 

• Facilitate weekly executive review sessions to analyze major incidents and identify systemic trends. 

Change Management 

• Serve as Change Management Process Owner, ensuring production changes are governed, communicated, and risk assessed. 

• Lead the Enterprise Change Advisory Board (CAB) to review, document, and approve change requests. 

• Partner with technical teams to enhance change reliability, auditability, and automation. 

Problem Management 

• Own the Problem Management process to identify root causes and drive long-term solutions. 

• Develop automation and self-healing workflows to improve stability and reduce manual efforts. 

• Lead problem review sessions and coordinate with engineering teams on permanent fixes. 

Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Manage and mentor a team of analysts and engineers supporting operations and infrastructure. 

• Promote strong partnerships with engineering, architecture, security, and business support teams. 

• Champion a culture of transparency, accountability, agility, and continuous improvement. 

Qualifications & Experience:  

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field  

• 7 years of experience in IT operations, including 3 years in a leadership capacity  

• Deep expertise in enterprise IT operations, physical data center environments, and incident, change, and problem management  

• Strong working knowledge of the ITIL framework, including hands-on experience leading CAB meetings, conducting root cause analysis (RCA), and executing disaster recovery (DR) playbooks  

• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to perform under pressure in high-stakes, time-sensitive situations  

Preferred Skills  

• ITIL Foundation (or higher) certification strongly preferred  

• Hands-on experience with observability and automation tools such as Datadog, ServiceNow, PagerDuty, Ansible, and Jenkins  

• Proven track record implementing automation for change and problem management processes  

• Background in operational readiness, infrastructure reliability, and enterprise-level service quality assurance  

Compensation range: $150,000 - $200,000/yr. depending on background and experience a 10% annual, performance-related bonus. 

Disclaimer:      

While this job description outlines primary responsibilities, it is not a comprehensive list of all tasks. Duties may change or new responsibilities may be assigned as business needs evolve.      

Why Guitar Center Company? Here’s just some of the rewards:     

For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave—take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.     

This position is eligible to participate in the Guitar Center Company bonus program based on Company performance. The job posting is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee, which is always dependent on actual experience, education, and other factors. The pay range(s) listed are provided in compliance with state-specific laws. Pay ranges may be different in other locations.     

Why join us?     

With a career at Guitar Center, you become part of the world's largest multichannel musical instrument retailer. Whether at our Stores, Contact Centers, Distribution Centers, or Support Center, Guitar Center employees have a common goal: to help people find their sound and fill the world with more music.     

Love this gig and want to apply?     

Send your resume and cover letter today along with salary expectations!     

Guitar Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides fair and equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status prohibited under Federal, State, or local laws. All employment decisions are based on valid job‐related requirements.     

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website, you may request a reasonable accommodation to express interest in a specific opening. You can request reasonable accommodation by sending an email to recruiting@guitarcenter.com.