Principal, system operations manager

Be part of a team that unleashes the power of leading-edge technologies to help improve the health and well-being of those most vulnerable in our country and communities. Working at Gainwell carries its rewards. You’ll have an incredible opportunity to grow your career in a company that values work flexibility, learning, and career development. You’ll add to your technical credentials and certifications while enjoying a generous, flexible vacation policy and educational assistance. We also have comprehensive leadership and technical development academies to help build your skills and capabilities.

Summary

The Gainwell Systems Manager is a strategic, technical, and operational leader accountable for the performance, availability, modernization, and delivery of all systems supporting the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and related enterprise services. This role drives IT service management (ITSM) maturity, ensures seamless operations, and enforces governance over system changes, incidents, and escalations.

As a core member of the account leadership team, the Systems Manager owns system health, enforces escalation and ownership protocols, and ensures all systems and services are optimized, secure, and aligned with contractual and business outcomes. This role is not a traditional Project Manager or HR People Manager, but is accountable for the systems team’s technical delivery, excellence, and cross-functional coordination.

Your role in our mission

1. Operational Oversight & Systems Health
   • Own end-to-end Gainwell system availability, performance monitoring, and operational continuity.
   • Enforce defined escalation paths across L1–L5 tiers, ensuring no ownership gaps.
   • Lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and implement permanent corrective actions for all major incidents (P1/P2).
   • Maximize system updates, patches, and troubleshooting efforts.
   • Responsible for defect tracking (PROD and non-PROD).
   • Ensure system observability and lead rapid triage during outages or degradation events.
   • Maintain operational compliance with HIPAA, state/federal policies, and internal audit controls.
2. Technical Architecture & Modernization
   • Guide infrastructure modernization initiatives such as cloud-readiness, refactoring, virtualization, and platform reengineering.
   • Collaborate with architects and engineering teams to align with SOA, DevOps, and enterprise integration best practices.
   • Implement security best practices, including access controls, data protection, SOC audits, and help with disaster recovery planning and execution.
   • Coordinate with teams to remediate Security Vulnerabilities across systems.
   • Champion technical innovation and recommend solutions to increase scalability, security, and automation.
3. ITSM & Service Delivery
   • Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of ITSM processes, leveraging the ITIL4 framework.
   • Supervise Incident, Problem, Change, and Service Request Management across all system tiers.
   • Responsible for MIM reporting and communication.
   • Own, define and monitor KPIs and SLAs for service quality, proactively driving improvements.
   • Manage second-level support teams and coordinate with L1 providers for seamless escalation and response workflows.
   • Promote support to Release team for successful releases to build on project deliverables and compliance to client timelines.
   • Oversee annual DR exercise.
   • Support annual SOC audit.
4. Driving Delivery Excellence
   • Lead technical planning for system initiatives, migrations, upgrades, and risk mitigation efforts.
   • Understand Gainwell Technologies Policies and Procedures.
   • Provide weekly defect reporting and change requests.
   • Work closely with PMO for weekly/monthly reporting.
   • Participate in project governance, CAB, and readiness assessments for production deployment approvals.
   • Ensure successful alignment of technical execution with contractual obligations, security audits, and disaster recovery objectives.
5. Stakeholder & Client Engagement
   • Act as the primary systems liaison to client leaders (e.g., CDL, DHS, AGM), participating in governance and planning meetings.
   • Represent systems at weekly status meetings, steering committees, and delivery reviews.
   • Partner with clients to anticipate future needs, align on solution roadmaps, and maintain strong business relationships.
   • Provide clear communication and detailed impact reporting during outages, escalations, and planned changes.
6. Influencing Leadership & CSI Development
   • Lead and coach technical and operations staff across multiple delivery areas.
   • Set aligned objectives, drive performance feedback, and promote a culture of accountability and learning.
   • Maintain an Ownership Map—ensuring every service/system has clearly defined primary and secondary owners.
   • Encourage cross-training, succession planning, and bench strength development.

What we're looking for

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field (Master’s or PMP preferred).
• 10+ years in IT systems engineering, operations, or infrastructure leadership (Medicare MIS or healthcare platform experience preferred).
• 5+ years in technical and service delivery leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in ITIL4, ITSM, and technical project execution within complex, regulated environments.
• Knowledge of HIPAA, SOC, and enterprise compliance frameworks.

What you should expect in this role

United States remote opportunity. Video cameras must be used during all interviews, as well as during the initial week of orientation.

The pay range for this position is $99,000.00 - $141,400.00 per year, however, the base pay offered may vary depending on geographic region, internal equity, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. Put your passion to work at Gainwell. You’ll have the opportunity to grow your career in a company that values work flexibility, learning, and career development. All salaried, full-time candidates are eligible for our generous, flexible vacation policy, a 401(k) employer match, comprehensive health benefits, and educational assistance. We also have a variety of leadership and technical development academies to help build your skills and capabilities.

We believe nothing is impossible when you bring together people who care deeply about making healthcare work better for everyone. Build your career with Gainwell, an industry leader. You’ll be joining a company where collaboration, innovation, and inclusion fuel our growth. Learn more about Gainwell at our company website and visit our Careers site for all available job role openings.

Gainwell Technologies is an Equal Opportunity Employer, where all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), age, sexual orientation, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Gainwell Technologies defines “wages” and “wage rates” to include “all forms of pay, including, but not limited to, salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock, stock options, profit sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning or gasoline allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses, and benefits.