Director, IT Operations

Axsome Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company leading a new era in the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) conditions. We deliver scientific breakthroughs by identifying critical gaps in care and develop differentiated products with a focus on novel mechanisms of action that enable meaningful advancements in patient outcomes. Our industry-leading neuroscience portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for major depressive disorder, agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea, and migraine, as well as multiple novel product candidates addressing a broad range of serious neurological and psychiatric conditions that impact over 150 million people in the United States. Together, we are on a mission to solve some of the brain’s biggest problems so patients and their loved ones can flourish. For more information, please visit us at www.axsome.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X . About This Role Axsome Therapeutics is seeking a Director, IT Operations who will be responsible for leading and supporting a wide scope of IT operations and business technology programs that underpin Axsome’s business objectives. This position will lead a service desk that provides support for hardware, software, infrastructure, communications and information security related activities throughout the organization, while broadly supporting the IT Team’s operational goals and objectives. This person will also be responsible for maintaining high-priority incidents or requests during non-standard hours, including active weekend and evening and, perform additional responsibilities as assigned by IT leadership. This role is based at Axsome’s HQ in New York City with an on-site requirement of at least three days per week. We are unable to consider candidates who are looking for fully remote roles. Job Responsibilities and Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: Leadership & Team Management Provide strategic leadership and direction for the IT Service Desk, Desktop Support, and End User Support teams, including staffing, workforce planning, performance management, and professional development. Establish and enforce service delivery standards, operational procedures, and support policies, and build a high-performing support organization focused on exceptional customer service. Serve as a hands‑on leader when required, providing direct support during complex issues, high‑priority incidents, or resource‑constrained situations. Service Delivery & Operations Oversee the full lifecycle of incidents, service requests, problems, and escalations, including escalation frameworks and major incident management procedures. Ensure SLAs and KPIs are consistently achieved or exceeded, driving continuous service quality improvements through trend analysis, root cause investigations, and corrective actions. Engage directly in operational troubleshooting and incident response when needed to maintain service continuity and support team effectiveness. IT Service Management (ITSM) Own and optimize ITSM platforms including ServiceNow, Freshservice, Jira Service Management, or similar technologies, including workflows, service catalogs, knowledge management, reporting dashboards, and automation initiatives. Lead ITIL-based service management processes and ensure consistent documentation and governance of support operations across the organization. Serve as the business-facing owner of the employee IT support experience, monitoring and improving customer satisfaction, service responsiveness, communication quality, and overall support effectiveness. Customer Experience & Metric Reporting Develop self-service, knowledge management, and automation strategies that improve employee productivity and reduce repetitive support demand. Collaborate with business leaders to understand evolving support needs and continuously improve service delivery. Define, track, and report on operational KPIs including customer satisfaction, service level achievement, mean time to resolution, first contact resolution, ticket volume trends, and support cost effectiveness. Deliver regular service reviews and operational reporting to IT leadership and business stakeholders, using data and root cause analysis to identify opportunities for automation and process optimization. Vendor & Managed Service Oversight Manage relationships with outsourced help desk providers, support vendors, and technology partners, establishing service expectations, governance routines, and performance measures that hold vendors accountable. Review contracts, statements of work, and support agreements to ensure services align with business requirements and budget expectations. Oversee endpoint support for laptops, mobile devices, printers, conferencing technologies, and workplace collaboration platforms. Manage device procurement, deployment, refresh, inventory, and retirement processes, ensuring employees receive timely and effective support for productivity, collaboration, and enterprise applications. Security, Compliance & Governance Partner with Information Security and Infrastructure teams to support secure operations and ensure support processes comply with company security policies, audit requirements, and regulatory standards. Oversee onboarding, offboarding, access management coordination, and endpoint compliance activities. Participate directly in sensitive or high‑impact support activities to ensure adherence to security and compliance requirements. Requirements / Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered. 10+ years of progressive IT experience in service desk, desktop support, end user computing, or IT operations teams. At least 5 years of direct leadership experience overseeing helpdesk or service desk operations, including staff supervision, workload management, and performance accountability Proven expertise in administering ITSM platforms, support workflows, service catalogs, and operational reporting. Comprehensive knowledge of ITIL practices, incident management, service request management, change coordination, and continual service improvement. Demonstrated ability to manage vendors, managed service providers, service level expectations, and operational performance reviews. Excellent communication, leadership, stakeholder management, and customer service skills. Ability to work on site at least three days per week. We are unable to consider candidates who are looking for fully remote roles. Experience, Knowledge and Skills Experience in a biotechnology, pharmaceutical, life sciences, or other regulated environment. Experience with ServiceNow, Freshservice, Jira Service Management, Microsoft 365, endpoint management, collaboration platforms, and automation tools. ITIL 4 Foundation/Managing Professional and advanced Microsoft 365/Azure Administrator certifications preferred Proven ability to scale support operations, improve customer satisfaction, and implement measurable service delivery improvements. Experience troubleshooting computer and A/V hardware and software, supporting all-level ticket resolution, utilizing helpdesk tools such as JIRA and ServiceNow Cloud platform administration experience – Microsoft Azure required, and additionally, Amazon Web Services and other cloud-based technologies administration experience beneficial Experience with deploying and troubleshooting Windows, iOS, and Android devices Extensive knowledge of administration of the Microsoft stack (M365, Azure, Entra, Intune, Defender) Experience with Apple Business Manager administration for iOS devices Salary & Benefits The anticipated salary range for this role is $195,000 - $225,000. We encourage candidates of all levels to apply as there may be flexibility on final job title and responsibilities. The salary offer will be based on a variety of factors, including experience, qualifications, internal equity and location. Axsome offers a competitive employment package that includes an annual bonus, significant equity and a generous benefits package. Axsome is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Axsome Therapeutics does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or third-party recruitment agencies and will not pay placement fees for unsolicited candidates that are sent to hiring managers, the HR team or other Axsome team members. Only approved vendors who have been explicitly asked to support a specific search will receive access to our Applicant Tracking System to submit candidates for consideration.