IT Directors in SaaS: what 1000 LinkedIn profiles reveal about the role

Insights into the career paths for IT Directors at SaaS companies

So, what does it take to land an IT Director gig at a SaaS company these days? In a word: experience. The typical IT Director in our dataset has worked 7 different jobs over 23.6 years of professional experience. Do the math, and that averages out to 3.4 years per role. Interestingly, that’s also the median amount of time they’ve been in their current IT Director role — suggesting that the average IT Director might also be close to looking for their next job.

For most, this isn’t their first rodeo. The majority of IT Directors in SaaS are in their second or third stint in the role. But what about first-timers? When we zoomed in, we found that landing your first Director of IT title takes serious tenure — a median of 15.6 years of professional experience. It’s not an overnight leap; it’s a long-term climb built on a foundation of technical expertise and racking up management experience.

Are more IT Directors hired internally or from outside?

If you’re gunning for an IT Director role, should you stick it out at your current company or look elsewhere? Turns out, 58% of IT Directors were hired internally, while 42% were brought in from the outside. 

But here’s where it gets really interesting — first-time IT Directors are much more likely to be hired externally. Only 5.8% of IT Directors in our dataset were in their first-ever IT Director role, and nearly two-thirds of them landed the job by moving to a different company. 

‍The takeaway! If you’re aiming for your first Director of IT gig in SaaS, your best bet might be to make a strategic leap rather than waiting for an internal promotion.

What’s the typical path to IT Director roles?

Climbing the IT leadership ladder isn’t a straight shot — it’s a journey through different levels of responsibility. When we looked at the career paths of IT Directors at SaaS companies, we found a clear pattern in how they moved through individual contributor (IC), manager, and director roles.

On average, today’s IT Directors spent 9.2 years (or 39% of their careers) in IC roles, building their technical expertise and proving themselves as problem-solvers. From there, they transitioned into manager-level roles for an average of 6.4 years, developing leadership skills and overseeing teams. Finally, they made the leap to director-level roles, where they’ve spent an average of 8 years leading IT strategy and operations.

Given that the average IT Director tenure is 3.4 years per job, this means most IT Directors are currently in their third IT Director role. 

‍The takeaway! Becoming an IT Director isn’t a quick promotion — it’s the result of years of experience and leadership growth.

Skills, education and traits of SaaS IT Directors

So beyond time served, what sets IT Directors apart? Let’s talk education, experience, and the skills that matter most.

While many IT Directors hold degrees, a college education isn’t a golden ticket to landing the role. In fact, more than 40% of IT Directors don’t list any formal education on their LinkedIn profiles. That said, 39% have a Bachelor’s degree, and 19% hold a Master’s degree — so while higher education isn’t a must, it’s still a common path.

What type of experience do IT Directors have?

When it comes to experience, what’s missing is just as interesting as what’s there. Given the hype around artificial intelligence (AI), we were surprised to find that only 1.7% of IT Directors mention AI or Artificial Intelligence in their LinkedIn profiles. That suggests AI hasn’t yet become a major part of their day-to-day responsibilities — or at least, they’re not actively promoting it.

So what do IT Directors emphasize in their experience? As our word cloud analysis showed, leadership skills take center stage. Management experience looms large, followed closely by words like team, systems, solutions, operations, business, and infrastructure. That tells us that today’s IT Directors are focused on strategy, execution, and keeping their organizations running smoothly. 

‍The bottom line! Becoming an IT Director in SaaS is about more than just technical know-how. It’s about leadership, problem-solving, and managing change in the fast-paced SaaS technology industry.

Where are the IT Director jobs?

The types of SaaS companies IT Directors work at closely mirror the SaaS industry overall. But it’s interesting to see how these roles break down by company size, growth trends, and location.

What size of SaaS companies do IT Directors work at?

IT Directors are evenly split between small and large SaaS companies. Five hundred employees is the cutoff point. Exactly half of IT Directors work at companies with fewer than 500 employees, while the other half are at larger organizations. 

‍The takeaway! If you’re looking for an IT Director job in SaaS, think about what size of company you enjoy working at. There are plenty of jobs across the size spectrum.

Do IT Directors at SaaS companies work remotely?

Tech companies — especially smaller ones — are known for being remote-friendly. But does that apply to senior IT leadership? We found that 41% of IT Directors work remotely, meaning they’re based outside of a city where their company has a major office. And if we count those who live in the same city but work from home, that number is likely even higher.

How fast are the SaaS companies where IT directors work at growing?

Growth is the name of the game in SaaS, but not every company is scaling at lightning speed. Three out of four IT Directors work at companies that are growing, but growth rates vary widely. 36% of companies are either stagnant or growing at less than 5% per year. That said, nearly one in ten IT Directors are lucky enough to be working at a company that’s growing their employee count by 30% or more.

‍The takeaway! Pay attention to how fast your company is growing. In general the faster the better. If you’re among the 1 in 10 IT Directors at a company that’s shrinking by more than 5% a year you probably want to keep your ear open for new opportunities.

What cities have the most IT Director jobs at SaaS companies?

Here’s something unexpected: the location of IT Directors across the US mirrors the overall U.S. population pretty closely. Since SaaS companies tend to be more weighted to the east and west coast you might think that’s where IT Directors would live. But it turns out that’s not the case. 25% live in the western US (west of Colorado), 30% live in the middle of the country and 45% east of the Mississippi River. 

‍The takeaway! IT leadership opportunities in SaaS are thriving across the company — perhaps a sign that tech companies are becoming more distributed, or that SaaS businesses outside of traditional tech hubs are ramping up their IT leadership teams.

Wrapping it up and looking ahead

All of these insights are pretty cool. But they also raised a whole bunch of new questions for us. To answer them, we have to go grab some new data. Curious what we’re going to find? Follow us on LinkedIn or subscribe to our blog, and we’ll send you an update when our new research is live.

We’re always uncovering new insights about IT leadership in SaaS, and we love sharing them with you. Whether you’re planning your next career move, looking to hire top IT talent, or just keeping tabs on industry trends, we’ve got plenty more to explore.

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