As Williams' CIO Graeme Hackland steps down, a new Job of the Week
The CIO of Williams -- one of the world's leading Formula 1 teams -- is stepping down in June.
Graeme Hackland, who joined Williams as IT Director eight years ago, has spent 25 years in F1 including at Lotus and is moving on. That leaves what he described this week as a "great opportunity to step into an IT leadership role in a Formula 1 team!" adding that "there's only 10 people in the world doing this job."
We're making it our Job of the Week.
The job in question is advertised as IT Director rather than CIO (The Stack understands that Williams want to streamline the role and focus on operationally running IT but with the option to grow the role to a more strategic CIO position in future potentially) but with just a small handful of F1 teams out there the vacancy is unique -- and a compelling one.
Applications are due in by April 14. Williams Racing is based in Oxfordshire with a campus in Grove that includes access to a free onsite gym, fitness studio and classes, as well as "large open spaces to unwind during breaks and access to a subsidised canteen" the salary is predictably described as competitive.
The Williams IT director role will include full accountability for networking, infrastructure and cybersecurity, and leadership of the engineering systems, pperations and project delivery teams within IT. The company is looking for someone with five years-plus of experience leading IT teams. The successful candidate will be responsible for building out IT infrastructure under a “cloud first” strategy while keeping systems and data safe and secure.
"The responsibilities of the role will involve, but not be limited to project delivery; manufacturing systems; M365 and software development" as well as "assess current infrastructure and develop and maintain a “cloud first” IT infrastructure; architect, plan and manage the deployment of externally managed IT infrastructure services; upgrade and support of all internally managed IT systems based on the roadmap; implement and maintain IT security, disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities to protect the company’s information assets."
On a more forward-looking note the job spec includes a requirement to "follow technology and IT trends and evaluate their usefulness for the company" and to "work with stakeholders to define business and systems requirements for new technology implementations" as well as "evaluate new products and assist the business with technology decisions."
The IT Director will be part of the Williams Management Committee, influencing company level strategy.
"The IT Director will have experience in architecting, implementing, and maintaining infrastructure. They will have proven capabilities in project management and experience working with 3 rd party vendors or contractors to execute projects. The IT Director will be fully supported in developing and delivering a sustainable, proactive and customer focused IT Service to the organisation with support given to identify, attract, and retain talent to build and maintain a high-performing IT team" Williams said in its advert this week. Apply here by April 14.
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head in 1977. Williams has won nine Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships since its founding.
It was bought by private equity firm Dorilton Capital for an undisclosed sum in August 2020.
