IT Manager

Lead, mentor, and grow a cross-functional IT team that may include Network Administrators, Systems Administrators, DevOps Specialists, and IT Specialists, fostering a culture of accountability, documentation, and continuous learning that exemplifies Kepler's Values 

Provide ongoing coaching, technical guidance, and career development through regular 1:1s and structured performance reviews 

Work alongside the team as a technical contributor, leading through hands-on involvement rather than delegation alone, while growing the team's independence rather than becoming a bottleneck 

Serve as senior technical escalation point for complex incidents across networks, servers, cloud platforms, identity systems, DevOps tooling, and business-critical applications 

Own IT operations end to end: service delivery, prioritization, support quality, incident response, root-cause analysis, and after-hours escalation coverage 

Own the reliability, scalability, and lifecycle management of Kepler's infrastructure, including network operations, Linux and Windows systems, identity and access management, virtualization, AWS, monitoring, backups, and disaster recovery 

Drive DevOps practices and automation, including CI/CD, infrastructure as code, configuration management, containerization, and controls around production access, deployments, and secrets 

Lead IT security practices and technical controls, including privileged access, endpoint protection, network security, vulnerability remediation, patching, and system hardening; partner with Security and Legal on customer, contractual, and compliance requirements 

Develop and maintain the IT operations roadmap, balancing immediate operational needs against longer-term investment in reliability, security, and operational maturity 

Contribute to annual planning, budgeting, vendor management, and technology lifecycle planning, and guide make/buy decisions 

Ensure accurate technical documentation and provide regular reporting to senior leadership on service performance, infrastructure health, security posture, operational risks, and resource needs 

Support hiring plans, lead interviews, onboard new team members, and act as primary liaison between IT Operations and Engineering, Security, People and Culture, Finance, and Facilities 

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience 

7+ years of progressive IT experience, with 3+ years of which were leading or managing multidisciplinary technical teams 

Demonstrated success in a player-coach role combining people management with meaningful hands-on technical responsibility 

Track record of picking up unfamiliar technologies quickly and self-directing your own learning, with specific examples of systems you learned on the job well enough to lead work on 

Strong practical experience with network administration, Linux and Windows systems, identity and access management, virtualization, and infrastructure operations 

Ability to independently troubleshoot complex issues across infrastructure, networking, cloud services, identity platforms, and operational tooling 

Experience with cloud platforms, preferably AWS 

Working knowledge of modern DevOps practices, including CI/CD, infrastructure as code, configuration management, containers, and scripting 

Familiarity with network security technologies, endpoint management, monitoring platforms, backup systems, and disaster recovery practices 

Proven ability to manage incidents, projects, operational risk, and shifting priorities, and to drive execution through ambiguity 

Track record of building healthy team culture and driving performance through clear expectations and feedback 

Strong communication skills and the ability to explain technical concepts, risks, and trade-offs to senior leaders and non-technical stakeholders 

Relevant certifications such as CCNA, CISSP, AWS, Linux Professional Institute, or ITIL 

Experience supporting hybrid environments spanning on-premises infrastructure and public cloud 

Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, or Ansible 

Scripting and automation experience with Bash, Python, or PowerShell 

Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, or SOC 2 

Experience leading disaster recovery, infrastructure modernization, cloud migration, or security-improvement programs 

Experience developing IT roadmaps, operational metrics, budgets, and technical business cases 

Experience working in fast-paced startup or aerospace environments