Jennifer Armenta
Kirkland,WA
Summary
25+ years leading Datacenter Construction & Operations, software development, IT infrastructure, and strategic planning. Adept at driving innovation, managing large-scale projects, and fostering collaborative environments that deliver impactful results. Strong focus on aligning technological initiatives with business goals, ensuring flexibility and reliability in meeting evolving needs. Skilled in leadership, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and team management.
Overview
2026
2026
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Chief Technology Officer
ATOS
Irvine, TX
01.2025 - Current
- Achieved a 30% increase in operational efficiency through the integration of AI technologies into core business processes. Developed comprehensive policies and governance for AI, positioning operations and sales for successful agentic migration.
- Directed team efforts to secure ISO 27001 certification, elevating information security standards and increasing client trust. Oversaw implementation of AI-driven threat detection systems, significantly reducing response times to cyber threats and improving overall security operations.
- Led the development of agentic AI use cases for RCA reports, achieving $17M in change management savings and $9M in duplicate diagnosis tax savings. Drove initiatives to resolve 'juniorization wall' constraints by decoupling headcount from technology.
- Achieved significant reductions in software licensing costs through strategic partnerships with technology vendors while enhancing technological capabilities. Increased forecasting accuracy for emerging tech markets by pioneering the integration of AI-driven data analysis within 12 months.
- Directed deployment of multi-cloud environments, achieving significant reductions in downtime and improvements in disaster recovery readiness. Oversaw integration of cloud solutions including Microsoft Azure, Google GCP, Oracle OCI, Amazon AWS, IBM Cloud, and sovereign cloud on a global scale.
- Created a modular software development framework that streamlined product development processes, facilitating quicker market entry through agile and AI-SDL practices.
- Managed comprehensive land lease and acquisition processes, facilitating international datacenter consolidations and expansions to optimize sovereign cloud capabilities.
- Developed and enforced cybersecurity protocols aimed at reducing risks and maintaining adherence to industry regulations.
- Oversaw the strategic development and implementation of enterprise-wide IT solutions, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and objectives.
Vice President, North America Technology Solutions
VANTAGE DATACENTERS
Denver, CO
01.2024 - 01.2025
- Achieved alignment of technology initiatives with organizational goals through effective leadership and strategic vision. Enhanced last mile delivery processes by managing site selection and networking efforts. Drove construction and operations oversight to foster sustainable growth and innovation.
- Directed technology strategy formulation to align with overarching business objectives, emphasizing scalability and competitive positioning. Partnered with CTO and executive leadership to drive informed technology investment decisions, optimizing return on investment. Oversaw technology budgeting process, implementing robust cost management strategies.
- Fostered a culture of collaboration and accountability within a technology team, leading to improved performance. Launched employee engagement programs that promoted a growth mindset, resulting in enhanced team dynamics.
- Achieved successful product launches by collaborating with cross-functional teams to align technology solutions with business objectives. Oversaw product lifecycle from concept to market introduction.
- Achieved on-time and on-budget project delivery by aligning with company roadmap. Enhanced team efficiency through rapid decision-making processes from construction to fit-out. Successfully implemented architecture for client-facing and enterprise product suites. Deployed enterprise platforms such as ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Microsoft Azure, optimizing operations. Ensured full compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and industry standards, maintaining regulatory standards. Aligned operations with IT management frameworks (ITIL, COBIT, TOGAF) and security frameworks (NIST, ISO), enhancing security posture.
- Directed site selection negotiations and managed vendor relationships for outsourced projects, aligning initiatives with organizational objectives. Oversaw outside plant circuit delivery from land acquisition through operational execution.
- Facilitated collaboration among cross-functional teams to optimize operational design and achieve on-time delivery from third-party partners.
- Oversaw project execution from start to finish, maintaining compliance with established timelines and financial plans.
- Directed engineering initiatives focused on creating innovative solutions that improve product performance.
Senior Director, Artificial Intelligence Datacenter Strategy
MICROSOFT
Redmond, WA
01.2019 - 01.2024
- Achieved alignment of mission strategy and initiatives for end-to-end organizations, driving success in business and cloud datacenter initiatives. Established a comprehensive service portfolio and governance model to effectively prioritize resources and budget. Enabled senior leadership teams to systematically measure and prioritize technical debt remediation, enhancing overall operational efficiency.
- Established guidelines for AI and ML policy, promoting stakeholder engagement and alignment across essential business units.
- Coordinated efforts with product and engineering teams to ensure effective translation of AI strategies into comprehensive specifications and actionable roadmaps.
- Led a team of AI professionals in establishing strategic goals. Guided team efforts to achieve innovative outcomes in the creation and implementation of AI-driven solutions. Fostered an environment of collaboration and excellence in project execution.
- Led a team of applied scientists to enhance research capabilities and implement innovative foundation models and techniques.
Sr Director Network Acq, Edge & Telecom
Microsoft
2019 - 2024
- Directed initiatives to foster growth in Canada, US, and LATAM regions by leading interconnection and procurement of network resources. Oversaw execution of peering services for Azure. Managed the transition from manual to automated workflows for procurement and peering services. Supervised a global team of over 300 staff members.
- Facilitated implementation of Microsoft network solutions to support OpenAI's requirement for 400GB pipeline.
- Orchestrated comprehensive sourcing and delivery strategies for WAN, LAN, metro dark fiber, and edge technologies, integrating terrestrial and subsea satellite systems.
- Lead global Network Engineering, Data Center, and Network Security teams across multiple regions
- Define and execute long-term strategy for network scalability, performance, and modernization
- Implemented strategies to ensure robust network availability and security for enterprise-scale operations.
- Configured and maintained LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, and cloud infrastructures to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
- Oversee data center operations, including capacity planning, disaster recovery, and business continuity. Ensured NOC support for Tier1 through Tier 3
- Establish and enforce network security standards and compliance practices
- Manage vendors, RFI, RFP, contracts, and third-party service providers
- Directed cost optimization strategies within $850M global network operations budget, ensuring effective financial management.
- Report network performance, risk, and initiatives to executive leadership through OKR & BI analytic dashboards
Senior Director Datacenter MEP Operations
Microsoft
2019 - 2024
- Supported teams in enhancing productivity, quality, service, and operations across various organizations by guiding the strategic direction of Microsoft’s global data center operations, maintenance, and engineering teams. Collaborated with master black belts and green belts to implement lean six-sigma methodologies with partner vendors. Assisted in managing over 200 engineers and 20 managers focused on data center networking infrastructure engineering and performance.
- Managed global processing center to support critical business functions across distribution centers, focusing on transactions, vendor invoicing, and maintaining financial accuracy for capital expenditure and operational budgets.
- Orchestrated initiatives to broaden datacenter international presence while tripling operational capacity.
- Chaired the successful transformation of digital and business operations while increasing agility and driving scale through automation. Moved from paper to digital MOP. Added medium voltage program with energy marshalls.
- Managed data analytics software engineering initiatives, ensuring effective support for critical environments and optimizing operational workflows.
- Engineered integration CRM through Dynamics leveraging service-oriented architecture (SOA) to automate operational efficiency.
- Led data quality modernization resulting in YoY savings in vendor and infrastructure costs. Reduce external vendor management by 75%, creating new internal Critical Environment staffing role.
- Owned effective incident response for datacenter changes, ensuring thorough resolution and root cause analysis to enhance operational stability.
- Implemented continuous improvement mechanisms for end-to-end controls, achieving a 60% reduction in downtime.
- Deployed lean methodologies and conducted fresh eyes audits to drive innovation from operational floors to executive suites, resulting in $10M efficiency gains.
Sr Manager Global IT AMERICAS
AMAZON
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Built teams of impact focused resources for product, program, architects, and quality resources as well as remote engineering team with cost controls without reducing productivity. Management over 2000+ staff globally.
- Oversaw global processing center managing critical business functions across DCs, such as transactions, vendor invoicing, and financial accuracy for global capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational budget (OPEX).
- Drove CO+I cloud expansion through expanding global reach and tripling of capacity.
- Chaired the successful transformation of digital and business operations while increasing agility and driving scale through automation.
- Led Critical Environments and Datacenter organizations supporting Data Analytics, Software Engineering, Change/Incident Management, Capacity Planning, Demand Planning for People, Operational Excellence, Supply Chain and Business Operations
- Leveraged Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and internal Microsoft Dynamics stacks by creating reusable integration, PowerApps, and data science.
- Led data quality modernization resulting in YoY savings in vendor and infrastructure costs.
- Chaired Datacenter encountering change, incident response team including initial response, resolution, root cause analysis, and corrective action.
- Setup a 24x7 proactive Incident Management resulting in 60% decrease of downtime by adding continuous improvement mechanisms for end-to-end controls.
- In 60 days, achieved $10M efficiency by deploying Global 5S program, Six-Sigma Belt Program, LEAN Fresh Eyes Auditing, Voice of the Datacenter, and Innovation Hub for driving inventions from floor to executive suite level.
- Led cross-functional teams to optimize supply chain operations and enhance workflow efficiency.
- Implemented process improvements that reduced operational costs and improved service delivery timelines.
- Developed training programs for new employees, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and safety compliance.
- Analyzed performance metrics to identify areas for operational enhancement, driving strategic initiatives across departments.
- Collaborated with leadership on executing strategic plans that aligned with organizational goals and customer satisfaction standards.
- Mentored junior leaders in best practices, promoting knowledge sharing and skills development across teams.
- Spearheaded initiatives focused on technology integration to streamline logistics processes and improve inventory management systems.
IT Manager
NINTENDO OF AMERICA (NOA)
Redmond, WA
01.2015 - 01.2017
- Oversaw the Operations Service Delivery and 24x7 IT operation support using ITIL framework, customer meetings, workload planning, vendor management, and audit compliance (SOX, PCI, etc.) Served as a lead storage area network administrator and part of disaster recovery team, monitoring all critical backend infrastructure using EMC, Hitachi, Isilon, and Nutanix.
- Led the successful transition to cloud-based development systems and AWS cloud, moving 50% data to tiered storage technology which reduced cost per GB/TB
- Developed and set up application monitoring systems to alert proper staff of production issues.
- Virtually eliminated production deployment issues by formulating and implementing a release management process.
- Transformed the engineering department after three rounds of layoffs to maintain consistent workflow.
Chief Technology Officer
Green Apple Technologies
San Jose, CA
01.2014 - 01.2026
- Directed a cross-functional team of 50+, including engineers, data scientists and program managers. Drove digital transformation initiatives, leading to a 30% reduction in time-to-market for new products and a 20% reduction in escalation engagement.
- Established a data analytics team, driving data-driven decision-making and increasing ROI on marketing campaigns by 35%.
- Integrated AI capabilities into the company's product suite, resulting in enhancement in user experience and a increase in customer retention.
- Reduced infrastructure costs by 25% through the implementation of containerization and microservices architecture.
- Facilitated strategic partnerships with key technology vendors, lowering software licensing costs by 45% and enhancing technological capabilities.
Skills
- Datacenter Operations
- Executive Leadership
- Operations Management
- Network Design / Last Mile Delivery
- Automation Initiatives
- Vendor Relationships
- Software Engineering
- Agile Methodologies
- Strategy IT/Business
- Culture /People Growth
- Program/Project Management
- LEAN Six Sigma
- Machine Learning/AI
Accomplishments
- Led the development of a 5-year Innovation & Engineering roadmap that aligned with the company's 3x growth targets and net-zero sustainability goals by 2030. I spearheaded the adoption of liquid cooling systems and edge computing architectures, resulting in a 25% reduction in energy consumption across 10 new data centers. Spearheaded ESG initiatives to automate exposing data in SCADA to help drive chargeback models for customers.
- Responsible for delivery of ROI models showing 18% annual returns on a $150M CAPEX investments in automation. Reallocated 15% of the budget from legacy systems to AI/ML initiatives. Ensured governance and goals were established to meet aggressive obtainable ISO 27001 compliance
- Directed a 300-person global team of engineers, architects, and designers across the US, Europe, and Asia Created accountability that reduced project defect rates by 40% and accelerated feature delivery by 30%, earning the team "Global Engineering Excellence Award". The program was extended to vendor partners eco-systems to ensure system drove predictive maintenance over preventive including working with OEM partners to rewrite maintenance schedules based on data feedback saving $M.
- Ensuring Compliance Led compliance initiatives, conducting audits and implementing ISO 14001/45001 frameworks across 25 sites. Achieved 100% adherence to safety, environmental, and regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR, NEC), preventing potential fines and earning certifications that supported expansion into EU markets.
- Led Cross-Functional Initiatives spearheaded a cross-functional task force translating quantum computing trends into a proof-of-concept for secure edge data processing. This initiative identified $100M in strategic opportunities, resulting in ten pilot projects.
- Delivered a course for the learning & development team to utilize within the data centers using Lean Six Sigma tools. Over 250 belts were established working towards establishing Six Sigma Black belts embedded in the datacenter field operations.
- Ensuring Compliance Led compliance initiatives, conducting audits and implementing ISO 14001/45001 frameworks across 25 sites. Achieved 100% adherence to safety, environmental, and regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR, NEC), preventing potential fines and earning certifications that supported expansion into EU markets.
- in 2026.
Certification
- Security Clearances: TS/SCI - June 1997 Top Secret TS/SCI
- Certifications:
- ITIL Service Management Certification
- Six-Sigma certification
- Cisco (CCNA)
Timeline
Chief Technology Officer
ATOS
01.2025 - Current
Vice President, North America Technology Solutions
VANTAGE DATACENTERS
01.2024 - 01.2025
Senior Director, Artificial Intelligence Datacenter Strategy
MICROSOFT
01.2019 - 01.2024
Sr Manager Global IT AMERICAS
AMAZON
01.2017 - 01.2019
IT Manager
NINTENDO OF AMERICA (NOA)
01.2015 - 01.2017
Chief Technology Officer
Green Apple Technologies
01.2014 - 01.2026
Sr Director Network Acq, Edge & Telecom
Microsoft
2019 - 2024
Senior Director Datacenter MEP Operations
Microsoft
2019 - 2024
Additional Experience
- Manager Storage, Servers and Operations: TIDEWORKS / SSA MARINE, Seattle, WA
- Manager Operations, Principal Storage Area Network Engineer: SEATTLE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, Seattle, WA
- Principal Linux/UNIX Administrator: EMC2 /DELL
- Senior Virtual Administrator Networking & Storage: VMWARE
- Senior Network/LINUX Administrator: MOZY
- Senior Linux/UNIX Administrator: Panasonic
- Senior Firewall/UNIX Administrator: PRIMEX Aerospace