IT Manager

Striveworks helps organizations harness the power of artificial intelligence to solve real-world national security and business challenges by serving as the command center between data, models, and business outcomes. Founded by data scientists and engineers, Striveworks set out to make the journey from deployment to ongoing optimization simple and effective.

With Striveworks, organizations aren’t just deploying AI—they’re building systems that remain reliable, adaptable, and ready to scale in an unpredictable world. Mission-critical operations require models that perform where they’re deployed, scale as workloads grow, and adapt rapidly as AI capabilities advance. Striveworks meets these demands, increasing reliability and performance while lowering costs—and enabling confident, data-driven decision-making in dynamic environments.

As the IT Manager at Striveworks, you will be the primary architect and guardian of the internal infrastructure that enables our elite engineering and data science teams. This is a “player-coach” role: You will be challenged—and trusted—on day one to lead our IT strategy, manage vendor relationships, and mentor junior staff while also “rolling up your sleeves” to execute on hands-on technical projects.

You’re right for this opportunity if you have a deep background in systems administration, site reliability engineering, and DevOps. You understand that IT at an AI operations company isn’t just about help desk tickets—it’s about building high-availability systems, securing sensitive data, and optimizing the developer experience.

Your day-to-day will include:

• Infrastructure and cloud management: Directly manage cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-prem OpenStack), corporate networks, and endpoints for a hybrid workforce.
• Team leadership: Managing and mentoring a small IT/support team, setting clear KPIs, and fostering a culture of proactive problem-solving.
• Security and compliance: Partner with our security team to implement and audit CMMC controls and certification across our internal systems.
• Process automation: Drive the automation of onboarding/offboarding, hardware provisioning, and routine system maintenance to minimize manual overhead.
• Vendor and budget management: Evaluate, negotiate, and manage contracts with software and hardware vendors to ensure we have the best tools at the right scale.

This position offers a hybrid/on-site work environment at our office in northwest Austin, TX.

In addition to the specific skills and expertise detailed below, we are looking for individuals who share our values. Sharing a set of values allows us to move at the speed of trust. 

Collectively, we value a high-trust work environment where people respect each other and use candor kindly and constructively. We value work that intersects passion and perseverance, we geek out about the potential of our contributions, and we find joy in working hard on things that matter. Finally, we value taking ownership, having agency, and feeling individual responsibility for collective results.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• 12+ years building and maintaining IT infrastructure, with at least 2+ years in a formal or informal leadership/management role within a high-growth technology company.
• Proficiency in managing Linux servers and Windows endpoints at scale, alongside deep cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP/Azure) and SaaS/PaaS/IaaS administration.
• Proven ability to synthesize input from diverse stakeholders into a clear technical strategy, driving execution with the conviction to secure buy-in and the humility to adjust tactics.
• Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/Ansible), a passion for automation, and a solid understanding of TCP/IP networks, VPNs, and Zero-Trust architecture.
• Ability to translate complex technical requirements into business outcomes for executive leadership and to provide empathetic support to internal users.
• Due to the nature of this role, candidates must be a US person (a US citizen, a US national, or a Green Card holder).

We’re very interested in candidates who possess the above qualifications, and we appreciate and consider the addition of:

• Active Secret or TS/SCI security clearance
• CISSP, SecurityX, or similar technical leadership certifications
• Experience supporting engineers working with Kubernetes (K8s) and Linux containers
• Familiarity with NIST 800-171 and/or CMMC compliance frameworks

The anticipated base pay range for this position is $165,000–$185,000/year. Striveworks’ total compensation package includes a competitive base salary, equity grants, and cash bonuses.