---
title: 'IT Operations Director at ZURU'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/it-operations-director-zuru-auckland-werjy7r986vs'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-23'
---

# IT Operations Director at ZURU

- **Company:** ZURU
- **Location:** Auckland, New Zealand
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-23
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/zuru/fdf0ed5a-d4ec-45ff-b901-1e0724d71a65

## Job description

## Who We Are

ZURU is a reimagination company. We look for categories that have stood still, then we build next-generation products and brands that set the new standard. ZURU Toys is reimagining play. ZURU Edge is reinventing everyday consumer brands. Rhodes Pet Science is reimagining pet science. ZURU Tech is leading the next building revolution. ZURU started in 2003 with two brothers from New Zealand, and we're still founder-owned and operated today. Since then we've become the world's second-biggest privately held toy company, and nearly half of all Gen Y and Gen Z households with kids in the US own a ZURU product. Today we're 5,000 people in 34 offices, selling into more than 150 markets, backed by over 100 acres of fully automated manufacturing. And we're only getting started.

The Opportunity Own global IT Operations for ZURU: employee technology, service delivery, infrastructure and business systems. Keep core systems available: outages are measured in minutes, never days. Stay at the front of agent-first IT, and bring ZURU the newest tools before anyone asks. Lead from the dance floor, not the balcony: automate, fix and ship with the team every week.

The Impact You'll Make Within 30 days, ship a service win a named business owner can measure. Every week, report core-system availability and demo automation clearing real requests. Within 90 days, every region runs on 1 scorecard you set, led by availability.

## What You'll Do

Direction and pace

- Set global IT strategy, scorecard, budget and suppliers.
- Make 10 fast decisions to get 7 right, and kill what doesn't work.

Dance floor leadership

- Take the hardest incidents and automations yourself.
- Lead from the work, not from status reports.

Experts leading experts

- Lead regional and functional IT leaders, including China.
- Raise talent density and hold them to pace.

Business partnership

- Sit with business leaders and agree the service that matters most.

Agent-first IT

- Rebuild IT operations around automation and agents.
- Cut repeat incidents and let agents clear routine requests end to end.

Resilience and security

- Test backup and recovery against business needs.
- Apply security standards without over-engineering.

Leadership team

- Sit on the Group Tech, Data & AI leadership team as a peer to business leaders.
- Debate hard, commit, and deputise for the Group Head.

## What You'll Bring

- Experience leading IT leaders across regions, including China, with ownership of the function's strategy and budget.
- Track record of measurable business wins within weeks of taking on a function.
- Current, hands-on automation of service workflows through APIs, scripting or AI agents.
- Experience running enterprise identity, endpoints, networks and cloud or datacentre infrastructure at scale.
- Experience owning availability, incident response, tested recovery and supplier performance for business-critical systems.

Who thrives at ZURU This isn't a 9-to-5. We move fast, think big and set goals most companies would call impossible, then go after them. The people who thrive here are entrepreneurs at heart. They own their work, chase bold ideas and never stop raising the bar. At ZURU, you drive your career, and we give you the platform to take it as far as you can. There are opportunities here that you won’t find anywhere else, and you'll be surrounded by talented people who make things happen. We're a true meritocracy: we reward impact, not tenure.

## How we work

Big ideas happen when great people work side by side, so we're office-first by design. Being together means faster collaboration, sharper decisions and stronger teams, and it's where the real learning happens. Some flexibility may be available depending on the role, location and business needs, but most roles are office-based. Want to see what life at ZURU really looks like? Follow [LIFE@ZURU](https://www.instagram.com/lifeatzuru/) on Instagram or [www.zuru.com](http://www.zuru.com)

ZURU – Reimagining tomorrow 🚀 ZURU may use AI tools to help screen, assess or select applicants.

## About ZURU

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: ZURU is a privately held, family-owned conglomerate that designs and manufactures innovative toys, disruptive consumer goods, and develops fully automated construction technology.
- **Entity Type**: Private (bootstrapped; funded via a $20,000 family loan and reinvested profits)
- **Headquarters**: Hong Kong (with major hubs in Shenzhen, Auckland, Los Angeles, London, Modena, Ahmedabad)
- **Founded**: 2003
- **Founders**: Nick Mowbray, Mat Mowbray, and Anna Mowbray

## Core Business
ZURU operates across three core divisions that span multiple industries: toys (ZURU Toys), fast-moving consumer goods (ZURU Edge), and construction technology (ZURU Tech). Its primary customers are children and families (B2C through retail and e‑commerce), consumers of personal care, baby, and pet products (B2C), and the global construction industry (B2B – developers, builders, and homeowners). The company’s mission, as stated on its website, is to **“reimagine tomorrow”** – relentlessly disrupting stagnant categories and redefining what’s possible.

## Products & Services
- **[ZURU Toys](https://zuru.com/)**: A portfolio of more than 15 toy brands including Mini Brands™, Bunch O Balloons™, XSHOT™, Rainbocorns™, Robo Alive™, Smashers™, and Fuggler™. Distributed to major retailers in over 120 countries. Known for rapid innovation and viral product launches.
- **[ZURU Edge](https://zuru.com/)**: A consumer‑goods division building “tomorrow’s brands” across five verticals:
  - **Baby Care** – Millie Moon (premium nappies), Rascals (value baby care)
  - **Personal Care & Beauty** – MONDAY Haircare (fastest‑growing haircare brand in the US)
  - **Pet Care** – Rhodes Pet Science
  - **Home Care**
  - **Health & Wellness**
- **[ZURU Tech](https://zuru.com/built-different-the-zuru-story/)**: A construction‑tech division developing the world’s first fully integrated, fully automated building ecosystem. Key components:
  - **Dreamcatcher** – A proprietary BIM (Building Information Modelling) platform built on a gaming engine that lets consumers customise homes room‑by‑room, automatically handling compliance, structural loads, and site conditions.
  - **Automated factory** – A planned full‑scale facility (2 km × 800 m) where components are manufactured without human intervention and shipped to site.
  - 600+ engineers working across six global R&D hubs; over 100 patents filed.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: $2.6 billion (as reported in ZURU’s own ‘Built Different’ story; year not specified, but context suggests 2024/2025)
- **Key Metric**: Employee count of **6,000** across 34 offices and 120+ markets (as of 2025). Annual revenue is not publicly disclosed.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: The company is self‑funded (no external investors). Key partners include **Disney, Universal Studios, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon** (for entertainment toy lines), **Ulta Beauty** and **KFC** for co‑branded consumer‑goods launches, and **IKEA** (furniture scanned into Dreamcatcher for home customisation).
- **Growth Signals**:
  - ZURU Edge – MONDAY Haircare became one of the fastest‑growing US haircare brands within two years of launch.
  - ZURU Toys – Bunch O Balloons transformed the water‑balloon category; annual shipments of certain items exceed 39 million units.
  - ZURU Tech – First full‑scale homes are in production; the team is actively scaling the factory and software development.
  - Headcount grew from 5,000 (earlier reference) to 6,000, reflecting continued expansion.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertical Integration**: ZURU owns its entire value chain – from concept and design to automated manufacturing (over 100 acres of factory space) and global distribution.
- **Speed of Innovation**: Known for being faster, leaner, and more agile than incumbents – “fire bullets, fail fast” is a core operating principle.
- **Cross‑Division Synergy**: Insights and lean manufacturing from toys are applied to consumer goods and construction, creating economies of scale and rapid learning loops.
- **Proprietary Construction Tech**: Dreamcatcher is a unique, patent‑protected platform that directly connects a consumer‑facing front‑end to fully automated production, potentially disrupting the $40 trillion construction industry.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale ZURU Edge**: Continue launching new brands in pet care, baby care, beauty, home, and health – targeting legacy categories with outdated incumbents.
- **Commercialise ZURU Tech**: Build the full‑scale automated factory, secure construction partners, and begin delivering homes at a fraction of traditional cost.
- **Global Expansion**: Extend reach into new markets (currently 120+ countries) and grow headcount, especially in engineering, R&D, and operations.
- **Talent Density**: Hire “the driven and the brave” – experts who can operate with radical candour and a compounding‑improvement mindset.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: ZURU’s internal DNA is built on principles like *Good Humans Only, Compounding Improvement (2% per week), Radical Candour, Shift the Needle, and Overprepare and Win*. The environment is described as high‑performance, meritocratic, and feedback‑driven.
- **Global Exposure**: Offices in 34 locations including **Shenzhen, Auckland, Los Angeles, London, Modena, and Ahmedabad**. Team members work on global projects that cross industries and markets.
- **Benefits**: Health insurance in most locations; 24/7 private gym (Shenzhen only); run clubs, table tennis, and social sporting teams; **Friday catered happy hours** to unwind and connect.
- **Professional Development**: Mentorship from leading entrepreneurs, access to training materials, and a culture of “leadership on the dance floor” – teams are given real responsibility early. Internship programs are available.
- **Work Model**: The company appears to be primarily **on‑site / office‑based**, though some roles may offer flexibility. The website emphasises collaboration and face‑to‑face connection.

## Sources
1. [zuru.com](https://zuru.com/) – Company overview, three divisions, mission
2. [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuru_(company)) – Founding details, founders, headquarters, brands
3. [zuru.com/built-different-the-zuru-story](https://zuru.com/built-different-the-zuru-story/) – Valuation, employee count, ZURU Tech details, factory scale
4. [zuru.com/careers](https://zuru.com/careers/) – Culture values (Good Humans Only, Compounding Improvement, etc.), benefits, locations, recruitment process
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/zuru](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/zuru) – Open roles (referenced for completeness)

## Other roles at ZURU

- [Senior Account Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-account-manager-zuru-minneapolis-nga8qky48qdz) — Minneapolis, MN / United States
- [ZURU Group Open & Close](https://feeny.ai/job/zuru-group-open-close-zuru-los-angeles-eqwfzcjbdm69) — Los Angeles, CA / United States
- [ZURU Edge | Designer - NPD](https://feeny.ai/job/zuru-edge-designer-npd-zuru-auckland-cc2gfpc705tc) — Auckland, New Zealand
- [External & Internal Audit Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/external-internal-audit-manager-zuru-auckland-826rn8x2zejv) — Auckland, New Zealand
- [Housing | Product Engineer - Mobile](https://feeny.ai/job/housing-product-engineer-mobile-zuru-milan-zfpa7e4gdea3) — Milan, Italy
- [Housing | Product Engineer - Web](https://feeny.ai/job/housing-product-engineer-web-zuru-milan-awkbgv2tmknv) — Milan, Italy
- [Marketing Manager - Growth Markets](https://feeny.ai/job/marketing-manager-growth-markets-zuru-sydney-nemebh6xeact) — Sydney, Australia
- [Marketing Manager - Growth Markets](https://feeny.ai/job/marketing-manager-growth-markets-zuru-auckland-k5r15w4qydng) — Auckland, New Zealand
- [Creator Partnerships Executive](https://feeny.ai/job/creator-partnerships-executive-zuru-auckland-9z1m38bryqc1) — Auckland, New Zealand
- [Creator Partnerships Coordinator – Europe](https://feeny.ai/job/creator-partnerships-coordinator-europe-zuru-auckland-jts1kf6c8dxk) — Auckland, New Zealand