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Antares Capital

Private credit manager delivering risk-adjusted returns

Vice President - Reliability Engineering & Technology Operations

Full-Time
$175k - $225k+ Discretionary annual bonus
Senior
Chicago, IL, USA+1 moreMore locations: New York, NY, USA
HybridMust work from the Chicago or New York office.
Engineering ManagementEngineering Leadership
No H1B Sponsorship

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 7 years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, cloud engineering, infrastructure engineering, DevOps, technology operations, or related technical disciplines.
  • At least 3 years of experience leading engineering, reliability, platform, cloud, DevOps, or technology operations teams.
  • Strong experience operating and supporting applications within Microsoft Azure environments.
  • Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and container-based platforms.
  • Experience supporting distributed systems and cloud-native architectures.
  • Strong understanding of application architecture, system dependencies, and production support models.
  • Experience leading major incident response activities and outage management processes.
  • Experience implementing monitoring, observability, and alerting solutions using tools such as Datadog, Grafana, Splunk, Dynatrace, New Relic, or similar platforms.
  • Experience building automation solutions using scripting languages, APIs, orchestration tools, and workflow platforms.
  • Strong understanding of DevOps, CI/CD, release management, and software delivery practices.
  • Ability to define, measure, and improve KPIs related to reliability, availability, operational efficiency, and service quality.
  • Must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.
  • Must be willing to comply with pre-employment screening, including drug testing, reference verification, and background check.
  • Must be willing to work from the Chicago or New York office.
Responsibilities
  • Establish and lead Antares' Reliability Engineering function.
  • Define and implement strategies that improve system reliability, resiliency, scalability, and operational excellence.
  • Partner with engineering teams to embed reliability practices throughout the software development lifecycle.
  • Drive adoption of modern operational practices, including service ownership, operational readiness reviews, SLOs, error budgets, and post-incident learning.
  • Lead production operations across critical business applications and technology platforms.
  • Establish clear support models, escalation paths, ownership boundaries, and service management processes.
  • Oversee operational readiness, release support, change management, and platform health.
  • Improve operational maturity through metrics, automation, process simplification, and engineering collaboration.
  • Provide technical leadership for cloud-based platforms running in Microsoft Azure.
  • Partner with Infrastructure and Engineering teams to optimize reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency.
  • Support containerized workloads and Kubernetes-based environments.
  • Drive best practices around cloud architecture, capacity planning, platform resilience, security, governance, and cost optimization.
  • Ensure cloud platforms are designed and operated to meet business continuity and availability objectives.
  • Serve as the executive incident leader during major production events.
  • Coordinate cross-functional teams during outages and high-severity incidents.
  • Manage communications with business stakeholders and technology leadership.
  • Establish disciplined root cause analysis processes and ensure corrective actions are executed.
  • Reduce recurring incidents and operational risk over the long term.
  • Champion an automation-first and AI-enabled approach to technology operations.
  • Identify opportunities to leverage AI for incident triage, alert correlation, knowledge management, operational analytics, and runbook execution.
  • Partner with engineering teams to develop intelligent automation and self-healing capabilities.
  • Evaluate emerging AIOps, agentic AI, and automation technologies and drive adoption where appropriate.
  • Reduce manual operational effort through scripting, workflow automation, orchestration platforms, and AI-assisted tooling.
  • Build strong partnerships across Engineering, Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Architecture, Data, and Business teams.
  • Translate operational challenges into actionable roadmaps and measurable initiatives.
  • Drive accountability, execution excellence, and continuous improvement across the organization.
  • Present operational trends, risks, recommendations, and performance metrics to technology leadership.
  • Manage strategic relationships with technology vendors and managed service providers.
  • Ensure vendor accountability against service commitments and contractual obligations.
  • Lead vendor escalations during service-impacting events.
  • Integrate third-party support processes into internal operational workflows.
  • Partner with Engineering and Infrastructure teams to ensure systems meet recovery objectives.
  • Improve operational readiness for disaster recovery and business continuity events.
  • Support development of recovery automation, replay capabilities, and resilient platform architectures.
  • Promote documentation and operational knowledge sharing to reduce dependency on tribal knowledge.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience building or leading Reliability Engineering, Production Engineering, DevOps, or Platform Engineering organizations.
  • Experience implementing AI-assisted operational workflows, AIOps platforms, AI agents, or intelligent automation solutions.
  • Experience with ServiceNow, Control-M, or equivalent enterprise operational platforms.
  • Experience operating within highly regulated environments.
  • Financial services experience, including asset management, lending, banking, private credit, or investment management.

About the company

A

Antares Capital

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Website

Antares Capital manages private credit investments for institutional investors. It deploys capital through private debt strategies to support middle-market companies and other borrowers, earning returns from interest, fees, and capital appreciation. The firm relies on a long track record and a seasoned, cycle-tested team to assess risk, structure loans, and monitor portfolio credit quality. With approximately $80 billion of capital under management as of December 31, 2024, and offices in multiple North American and European cities, Antares differentiates itself through depth of experience, scale, and a broad, globally aware approach to credit investing. The company aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors and create long-term value for all partners by staying disciplined through credit cycles and maintaining a strong risk-management culture.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

$7M

Headquarters

Chicago, Illinois

Founded

1996

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Antares closed SLF III at $8.5 billion in May 2026, above target.
  • March 2026's $1.7 billion Ares-led continuation fund monetized old loans and attracted fresh capital.
  • Fitch's June 2026 stable outlook and $5.2 billion undrawn capacity support expansion.

What critics are saying

  • Private credit competition is pressuring structures and pricing across 2026 vintages.
  • AI disruptions will stress portfolio companies, especially healthcare and business-services borrowers.
  • A default spike would crush fundraising, impair AUM growth, and damage the franchise.

What makes Antares Capital unique

  • Thirty years of sponsor relationships still anchor Antares' direct-lending origination machine.
  • Antares held first place in 2026 large-cap direct lending with 26% share.
  • Fitch affirmed Antares BBB in June 2026, supporting institutional trust.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Profit Sharing
  • Paid Vacation
  • Fertility Treatment Support
  • Family Planning Benefits
  • Parental Leave

Company News

aiCIO
Oct 6th, 2026
Octagon Credit Investors names investor relations head.

Octagon Credit Investors names investor relations head. John Zilko will lead institutional client development at the $31 billion manager. Alternative credit manager Octagon Credit Investors LLC announced Wednesday the appointment of John Zilko as head of investor solutions and business development, reporting to COO Douglas McDermott. The firm - owned by insurance asset manager Conning - manages $31 billion in assets across collateralized loan obligations, broadly syndicated loans, structure credit, multi-asset credit and direct lending strategies in the below-investment-grade corporate credit and private credit markets. "John has a proven track record of building and leading institutional client businesses at some of the most respected firms in our industry. His deep credit market expertise, strategic perspective, and collaborative approach make him an exceptional addition to Octagon," Octagon CEO Gretchen Lam said in a statement. "As we continue to expand our business, John will play an important role in identifying new areas of demand, growing our client base, and advancing our commercial strategy." Zilko previously was head of Americas investor coverage at CPP Investments-owned credit manager Antares Capital and had been head of U.S. institutional sales at PineBridge Investments. "It is a rare opportunity to join a firm of Octagon's caliber," Zilko said in a statement. "Octagon has built an enduring franchise over more than three decades, grounded in disciplined investing and longstanding client relationships. The breadth of the firm's credit capabilities creates significant potential to serve both existing and new investors in new ways.: Zilko earned a bachelor of arts degree in finance from the University of South Florida. CPP Investments Partners with AT&T, GIP on fiber joint venture. Forged Fiber 37 will invest across 16 US states to help meet the growing demand resulting from the artificial intelligence boom. AT&T Corp. announced on Tuesday an agreement with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and BlackRock Inc.'s Global Infrastructure Partners unit to form a joint venture to invest in commercial fiber internet infrastructure. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval. Under the agreement, AT&T will hold a 50% stake in the venture - Forged Fiber 37 - with GIP and CPP Investments owning the other 50%. A statement from AT&T noted that the new organization will accelerate the delivery of the infrastructure needed to support the high-performance connectivity demanded by the artificial intelligence boom. "Demand for reliable, high-capacity connectivity continues to grow, making fiber infrastructure an increasingly important part of the digital economy," said James Bryce, CPP Investments' head of infrastructure, in a statement. "By combining AT&T's extensive fiber expertise with strategic capital, this joint venture is well positioned to expand critical connectivity across the United States and to generate long-term investment value for the CPP Fund." GIP manages more than $200 billion in assets. CPP Investments managed C$863.6 billion ($606.46 billion) in assets as of June 30, benefiting more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries.

Business Wire
May 12th, 2026
Antares Capital closes $8.5B Senior Loan Fund III, exceeding initial targets

Antares Capital, a leading alternative credit manager with approximately $90 billion in capital under management, has closed its Senior Loan Fund III with $8.5 billion in total commitments, exceeding initial targets. The fund invests in diversified portfolios of primarily senior secured loans across US and Canadian borrowers. SLF III attracted broad participation from new and existing investors, including employees, family offices, asset managers, insurance companies and other global institutions. The fundraise reflects continued institutional demand for private credit amid heightened manager selectivity. Antares leverages nearly 30 years of experience and long-standing sponsor relationships to source investment opportunities. The firm, backed by CPP Investments, maintains offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and London.

Yahoo Finance
Apr 23rd, 2026
Thoma Bravo's $5.1B Medallia wipeout deepens software, private credit reckoning

Thoma Bravo is nearing an agreement to transfer control of customer experience software firm Medallia to its lenders, wiping out $5.1 billion in equity. Creditors including Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global and Antares Capital, who hold $3 billion in Medallia debt, will take over the company. Thoma Bravo acquired Medallia for $6.4 billion in 2021 during the low-interest rate era. Lenders have already written down the debt significantly, with valuations ranging from 74 to 79 cents on the dollar. The collapse highlights mounting stress in private credit and software sectors. Business development companies are now trading at their deepest discounts to net asset values in over 5.5 years. There were $46.9 billion in distressed software loans across the private credit market as of February 2026.

Bloomberg Law
Apr 2nd, 2026
Pritzker-backed cleaning firm PLZ secures private credit refinancing from Ares

PLZ Corp., a cleaning-products maker backed by PPC Partners, has refinanced its debt through private credit lenders. Ares Management and Antares Capital arranged the financing for the company. PPC Partners was originally founded by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and his brother Anthony, members of the billionaire Pritzker family. The investment firm's backers include family groups and institutions worldwide. PLZ has been working with Houlihan Lokey to address its debt refinancing. Representatives for PLZ, PPC Partners, Ares and Antares declined to comment on the transaction.

Royal Crescent Publishing Limited
Mar 30th, 2026
Antares closes $1.7B continuation fund led by Ares for private credit portfolio

Antares Capital has closed a $1.7 billion continuation fund led by Ares Management, marking its second such vehicle. The fund purchased assets from a closed-end private credit fund, comprising over 300 first-lien, floating-rate loans. Ares Credit Secondaries funds led the transaction alongside a commitment from Antares. The deal provides existing investors with liquidity options whilst offering new investors access to Antares' private credit portfolio. Antares, which manages approximately $90 billion in assets, will continue managing the continuation vehicle and underlying loans. The transaction represents the second continuation vehicle between Ares and Antares within the past year. Evercore served as lead financial adviser, with GreensLedge and Moelis & Company also advising on the deal. Ares cited the investment as demonstrating its scaled capital base and expertise across credit and secondaries markets.