IT Systems Administrator - Cloud Platforms

Big Ass Who?

We didn’t set out to start a fan company. We set out to solve a problem—workplace discomfort. (Sorry, HR, not your kind.) Facilities become furnaces during the summer, but businesses still expect peak performance and productivity. Without providing the basic human right of comfort, that’s just asinine. Seeing how overhead fans cooled California dairy cows begged a massive question for our founder. “Can a fan be made to revolutionize comfort for people?” he uttered.

That’s when the HVLS Fan Company was born—with the first-ever patented high-volume, low-speed fan. But that name? BOR-ing. And customers knew it. We kept getting calls asking, “Are you the guys who make those big ass fans?” Hell yeah, we are. And Big Ass Fans was born, complete with our own cheeky donkey mascot, Fanny. Today, we don’t just move air, we transform experiences. Big Ass Fans deliver comfort where it counts. We build every product like lives depend on it. Because, turns out, they do.

Our success is a result of the Big Ass Fans team’s innovation. Are you seeking an opportunity to work with extraordinary people with an entrepreneurial spirit? Do you have something that sets you apart from the rest? With a bias for action, we want you to #livelifebigass and bring the next great BAF product to market. From our customers to our employees, we are passionate about what we can accomplish together. The successful candidate will bring passion, energy, and a “get it done” mentality to BAF and the industrial business and contribute in a meaningful way to realize the company’s full potential in the market.

Opportunity

The IT Systems Administrator Cloud Platforms (AWS Focus) is part of the Madison Air Unified IT Operations team and helps support reliable, secure IT operations across Madison Air and Big Ass Fans. This role owns the day-to-day health, security, and continuous improvement of our cloud environments, with primary responsibility for AWS and secondary support for Azure. You’ll partner closely with application teams and 3rd-party managed service providers to deliver dependable operations, cost-aware scaling, and rapid incident resolution. You’ll also provide foundational DevOps capabilities (automation, infrastructure as code, and deployment enablement) to improve speed and consistency, while supporting core systems administration needs such as patching, endpoint/workstation management, and security controls.

What You'll Do 

• Administer and optimize our AWS cloud platform (primary) and Azure environment (secondary), including compute, storage, networking, identity, and security services.
• Own cloud operational excellence: monitoring/alerting, logging, backup and recovery, disaster recovery testing, and performance tuning.
• Implement and maintain cloud security controls (IAM least privilege, key/secret management, vulnerability remediation, encryption, and baseline hardening) in partnership with Security and Compliance.
• Collaborate within the Madison Air Unified IT Operations team to support shared platforms, standards, and operational processes across Madison Air and Big Ass Fans.
• Manage and govern 3rd-party managed service providers (MSPs): define SLAs/SOWs, coordinate changes and incident response, validate deliverables, and ensure documentation and knowledge transfer.
• Deliver foundational DevOps capabilities: support CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes, improve release reliability, and automate repetitive operational tasks.
• Build and maintain infrastructure as code (IaC) and configuration automation using tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or Azure Resource Manager/Bicep; version-control changes and promote through environments.
• Operate and improve observability: dashboards, metrics, traces/logs, and runbooks; participate in on-call rotation and lead/root-cause post-incident reviews.
• Manage patching and lifecycle management for cloud and on-prem systems (Windows/Linux), including testing, scheduling, and compliance reporting.
• Administer core IT systems and IAM as applicable (Active Directory/Azure AD/Entra ID, SSO/MFA, DNS/DHCP, certificates) and maintain accurate system documentation.
• Drive cloud cost management (tagging/chargeback basics, resource right-sizing, reserved capacity recommendations) and continually identify opportunities to improve reliability, security, and efficiency.

What You'll Bring 

• Bachelors degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 3+ years of hands-on systems administration experience (Windows and Linux) in a production environment.
• 2+ years of hands-on AWS administration experience (primary), including core services such as IAM, EC2, VPC, S3, RDS, CloudWatch/CloudTrail, and backup/DR patterns.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Azure services (secondary) such as Entra ID, Virtual Networks, VMs, Storage, and monitoring/logging.
• Experience coordinating or overseeing a 3rd-party MSP/vendor relationship, including change management, incident escalation, and deliverable validation.
• Foundational DevOps skills: CI/CD concepts, source control (Git), scripting (PowerShell/Bash/Python), and automation of routine tasks.
• Practical experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform and/or CloudFormation; Azure ARM/Bicep a plus).
• Understanding of security best practices: least-privilege access, MFA, logging/auditing, vulnerability/patch management, and secure network design.
• Experience with endpoint/workstation management (Intune or other MDM/RMM tooling), OS deployment, and tier-2/3 user support escalation.
• Strong troubleshooting skills across networking, identity, and infrastructure layers; clear documentation and communication habits.
• Preferred Certifications: AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate (or AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer Associate, per AWS update) within 6 months of hire. AWS Certified Solutions Architect  Associate; Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104); CompTIA Security+; HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate; ITIL Foundation.

Think you have what it takes, but your background doesn’t perfectly align with this role? No sweat! If this position gets your fan spinning, we encourage you to apply and tell us how you’ll succeed with your unique skills in your application. 

First 90 Days

Every Big Ass Fans employee is essential in working towards the company’s growth goals, and no goal is successful without a plan. When you kickstart your BAF journey with a strong 90-day plan, you’ll be set up for a great first day, week, month, quarter and beyond! Here’s a snapshot of the first 90 days as a BAF IT Systems Administrator - Cloud Platforms:

Days 1-30:

• Complete your onboarding activities, including an on-site 4-day FANdamentals training
• Onboard with IT, Security, and key business stakeholders; review current cloud architecture, accounts/subscriptions, network topology, and tooling.
• Establish access, runbooks, and support workflows; confirm on-call/escalation paths with internal teams and MSP(s).
• Inventory AWS/Azure resources, critical workloads, and dependencies; validate tagging standards, backups, and monitoring coverage.
• Assess current patching, vulnerability management, and endpoint management processes; identify immediate risks and quick wins.

Days 31-60:

• Harden and standardize AWS (and Azure where applicable): IAM reviews, baseline guardrails, logging, backup policies, and security configuration improvements.
• Implement or improve observability (dashboards/alerts) and incident response routines; tune monitoring for key workloads.
• Stand up initial Infrastructure-as-Code patterns (Terraform/CloudFormation) for common components; document conventions and deployment workflow.
• Partner with Engineering to support CI/CD needs and automate at least one repeatable operational task (e.g., environment provisioning, patching, or log retention).
• Formalize MSP governance: recurring operational review, SLA metrics, change validation, and updated technical documentation.

Days 61-90+:

• Deliver measurable reliability and security improvements: reduce alert noise, close high-risk gaps, and validate backup/DR readiness through testing.
• Expand IaC coverage and operational automation; introduce change controls and promote code through environments with peer review.
• Optimize cloud cost and performance (right-size, reservations/savings plans recommendations, storage lifecycle policies) and report outcomes.
• Mature endpoint/workstation management: patch compliance improvements, standard images/policies, and streamlined escalation procedures.
• Create a 6-to-12-month roadmap for cloud operations and platform improvements, including MSP improvements, tooling upgrades, and security initiatives.

The Interview Process:

1. Our First Chat: You’ll be speaking with a BAF Recruiter! Here, you’ll discuss the opportunity more in-depth, and talk through any questions you have, as well as cover the details of your professional background. 
2. Big Ass Fans Hiring Manager Interview: This will be a virtual interview with a Big Ass Fans IT Manager.
3. Madison Air Hiring Manager Interview: This will be a virtual interview with the Madison Air Hiring Manager to discuss the full scope of the role.
4. The Panel/Onsite Interview: As a final step, you'll be invited to an on-site interview to meet with several members of the team to cover any unanswered questions.

How do you live life Big Ass?

Wonder what it’s like to walk through our Headquarters, or what benefits and perks BAFers have? Click here to learn more!

Be a part of something BIG

You’re not just a member of the Big Ass Fans team; it’s BIGGER than us. We are a Madison Industries company - one of the largest and most successful privately held companies in the world. Madison Industries has fostered and built exceptional companies that are essential to our collective health and well-being. Come join our mission to make the world healthier, safer, and more productive to build something truly remarkable!

Why haven’t you applied yet?

Big Ass Fans is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin, age, disability or veteran status. Big Ass Fans maintains an environment where each individual is valued and respected. Individuals are expected to understand and comply with OSHA and ISO 9001 standards and procedures. Individuals are expected to apply safe work methods when performing the job requirements in hazardous and non-hazardous environments to avoid injury to self to co-workers or damage to property. Individuals are expected to report unsafe work conditions or equipment operation to supervisors immediately and observe all safety rules.