IT Manager

• Kepler is seeking an experienced, hands-on IT Manager to lead its IT Operations team, spanning network administration, systems administration, DevOps, and IT support
• You’ll be accountable for the reliable, secure, and scalable operation of the technology environment that Kepler’s engineers, operators, and mission systems depend on every day
• This is a player-coach role. You’ll set priorities and develop the team, and you’ll also be in the work with them, troubleshooting escalations, designing infrastructure, running incident response, and executing projects
• You’ll also need to learn quickly: Kepler’s environment spans on-premises infrastructure and public cloud, changes often, and no candidate arrives knowing every tool in it
• What matters is that you can pick up an unfamiliar system fast enough to make sound decisions, evaluate trade-offs, and credibly support the specialists who own it
• Expected Time Breakdown:
• 35% - Team leadership and operational management
• 30% - Hands-on technical work and escalations
• 20% - Technical strategy and roadmap development
• 15% - Recruiting, onboarding, and administration
• Key Responsibilities:
• 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

Benefits

• Unlimited Vacation
• Comprehensive Health Coverage
• Stock Options
• Flexible & Hybrid Work Options
• Professional Development

• 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
• Familiarity with network security technologies, endpoint management, monitoring platforms, backup systems, and disaster recovery practices
• Working knowledge of modern DevOps practices, including CI/CD, infrastructure as code, configuration management, containers, and scripting
• Ability to independently troubleshoot complex issues across infrastructure, networking, cloud services, identity platforms, and operational tooling
• Demonstrated success in a player-coach role combining people management with meaningful hands-on technical responsibility
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Strong practical experience with network administration, Linux and Windows systems, identity and access management, virtualization, and infrastructure operations
• Experience with cloud platforms, preferably AWS
• Proven ability to manage incidents, projects, operational risk, and shifting priorities, and to drive execution through ambiguity
• 7+ years of progressive IT experience, with 3+ years of which were leading or managing multidisciplinary technical teams
• 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
• Experience supporting hybrid environments spanning on-premises infrastructure and public cloud
• Relevant certifications such as CCNA, CISSP, AWS, Linux Professional Institute, or ITIL
• Scripting and automation experience with Bash, Python, or PowerShell
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, or Ansible
• Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, or SOC 2
• Experience developing IT roadmaps, operational metrics, budgets, and technical business cases
• Experience leading disaster recovery, infrastructure modernization, cloud migration, or security-improvement programs
• Experience working in fast-paced startup or aerospace environments