IT Operations Manager

IT Operations Manager Overview Moonshot builds the power infrastructure that makes AI possible. Our electrical distribution equipment goes into the largest AI datacenter deployments in the country; our customers include the companies building the next generation of AI compute. We are in hypergrowth, moving into a purpose-built manufacturing campus near Dallas. Moonshot's Technology organization is scaling fast, and the IT Operations Manager ensures the foundation holds. You translate the Director of Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity's strategy into disciplined execution: building the standards, enforcing the controls, and keeping infrastructure stable across manufacturing and office operations as the company scales from roughly 160 users today toward 300 and beyond. This role exists because Moonshot has outgrown ad hoc IT and needs a player-coach who can run a team, set the bar, and still get their hands dirty when it matters. You report to the Director of Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity and own everything between strategy and the floor. Key Responsibilities - IT Operations Management: Translate the Director's strategy into a sequenced execution plan and hold the team accountable. Define and enforce operating standards, runbooks, and service procedures that scale with the business rather than breaking under it. Set and own the SLAs governing service management, request management, asset management, and CMDB discipline across all environments. Serve as the escalation point for complex infrastructure issues the team cannot resolve independently. - Team Leadership and Coverage: Directly manage a team of six across infrastructure engineering, systems administration, network administration, and desktop support. Assign clear ownership, set priorities and workloads, run structured 1:1s, and ensure coverage across facilities and shifts. Identify skill or headcount gaps and bring recommendations to the Director; do not let coverage problems become outages. - Infrastructure Reliability and Uptime: Own the reliability posture of Moonshot's IT environment across servers, virtualization (Hyper-V), SQL Server, networking, and printing at all sites. Oversee backup, disaster recovery, and restore processes, and verify them on a regular cadence. Lead incident response and outage communication from start to resolution, including escalation to ISPs and other vendors. The standard is no unplanned downtime; when an incident happens, the team has a documented response and a closed loop within a defined window. - Standards, Controls, and Audit Readiness: Define, document, and enforce IT controls across endpoints, access management, network security, and system configuration. Drive the RMM platform rollout and standardize endpoint management across the environment. Ensure the environment is audit-ready at all times, not just before a review. Partner with the Director on cybersecurity posture and ensure operational controls align with strategy-level frameworks and policies. - Project and Infrastructure Expansion: Lead the planning and execution of IT infrastructure projects, including new capability deployments, network expansions, and system upgrades. Plan capacity and lifecycle needs for growth toward 300 users, covering storage, compute, and network. Own the scope, sequencing, and delivery of infrastructure work from design through stabilization. Coordinate with internal stakeholders to hit project milestones without last-minute scrambles. - Vendor and MSSP Management: Serve as the primary operational contact for the MSSP/MDR provider, coordinating alert triage, remediation, and escalations. Own relationships with IT vendors, managed service providers, and hardware suppliers; hold vendors to defined SLAs and replace underperformers rather than carrying them. Manage hardware procurement, lifecycle tracking, and asset inventory discipline across all sites. - Hands-On Technical Execution: Stay technically current and bring direct networking and systems depth to the work. This is a working-manager role: capable of troubleshooting network issues, diagnosing system failures, validating infrastructure configurations, and partnering with the Director on IT roadmap planning and budget tracking alongside the team. Technical credibility is non-negotiable from day one, and the expectation is that it stays sharp as the team matures. Qualifications Experience: - 7+ years of hands-on IT infrastructure or operations experience, with at least 2 to 3 years in a team lead or management role over technical staff - Demonstrated experience deploying and executing IT infrastructure projects from design through stabilization, not just maintaining an inherited environment - Experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, or operationally intensive environments preferred; candidates whose entire background is stable enterprise IT should be prepared to address how they handle ambiguity and rapid change - Prior experience operating in a scaling or hypergrowth company where processes were built, not inherited, is strongly preferred Skills: - Networking and systems depth: hands-on proficiency with Windows Server, Hyper-V, SQL Server, Microsoft 365, Active Directory or Entra ID, hybrid on-premises/cloud environments, firewalls, VPNs, switching, and network segmentation across multi-site environments - IT operations management: SLA ownership, service management, incident response, change management, runbook development, CMDB discipline, and ITIL-aligned processes including incident, change, and problem management - Endpoint and RMM management: experience deploying and operating RMM and ITSM solutions; standardizing endpoint lifecycle, patching, and configuration at scale - Security and controls execution: endpoint security, access management, privilege controls, MSSP/MDR coordination, and audit-ready documentation practices; familiarity with common IT compliance frameworks (NIST, CIS, or equivalent) - People management: structured 1:1s, performance feedback, workload prioritization, coverage planning, and hiring; this person builds the team underneath them, not just manages the one they inherit - Communication: strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain outages, tradeoffs, and risk to non-technical leaders clearly and without jargon Education: - Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience - Microsoft certifications (Azure Administrator, Windows Server, Microsoft 365 Administrator, or equivalent) preferred but not required if the experience record is strong Why Moonshot? - Build Something That Has to Work: The infrastructure you manage is not a back-office function. It keeps manufacturing running, engineering designing, and operations shipping. Downtime here has real consequences, and the standards you set will be felt across the entire campus. - Ownership Without a Permission Slip: You decide how to execute. The Director sets the strategy; you own the plan, the team, and the outcome. Candidates who want a clear lane with real authority and visible accountability will be at home here. - Scale With the Company: Moonshot is in hypergrowth and moving into a 500,000 sq ft purpose-built campus. The IT footprint you manage today is a fraction of what it will be in 18 months. If you want your scope to grow as fast as the company, this is the seat to be in. - Technical Credibility Still Matters Here: This is not a role where you climb the ladder by leaving the technical work behind. Moonshot values managers who can still get into the details, hold the team to the right standard, and earn credibility on the floor. If you want to lead and still stay sharp, this role rewards that.