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IT Director
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Posted 22 days ago
Full Time
Tukwila, Washington
$180,000 - $220,000 Annually
About Our Client
Our client is an innovative startup building compact, deployable energy systems through rapid hardware iteration. Rather than pursuing a single large-scale outcome, the company develops transportable systems designed to be built, tested, and operated on short development cycles, turning real hardware into steady progress. This approach enables near-term applications that demand extreme energy density and endurance while advancing the underlying technology platform. Backed by government programs and a team experienced in delivering complex systems, our client is focused on bringing advanced technology into real-world applications.Our client might be a fit for you if:
You enjoy working closely with highly technical teams and helping organizations scale thoughtfully without becoming overly bureaucratic or rigid. You believe strong operational systems come from collaboration, good communication, practical problem solving, and building trust across teams. You are comfortable balancing long-term planning with hands-on execution and enjoy operating in environments where not every answer is fully defined upfront. You like helping people solve problems, improving systems over time, and building operational structure that supports ambitious technical work rather than slowing it down.About the Role
Our client is looking for a Director of IT to lead the evolution of the company's operational technology systems, IT processes, and internal support capabilities as the organization continues to grow. This role will oversee a small IT team and work closely with engineering, research, manufacturing, operations, and facilities groups to help build reliable, scalable, and secure systems across a highly technical and fast-moving organization.The IT organization operates as an enablement and partnership function. This role combines long-term strategic planning with hands-on operational leadership and requires someone who can balance structure with flexibility, communicate clearly across the company, and help build systems and processes that support both day-to-day execution and long-term growth.
Responsibilities
- Lead the evolution of the company's IT systems, operational processes, and internal technology capabilities as the company grows in scale, complexity, and geographic footprint.
- Manage, mentor, and support a small IT team responsible for corporate IT, operational support, endpoint management, identity and access systems, and security operations.
- Develop and communicate a long-term strategy for how IT systems, support models, operational processes, compliance with government standards and security practices should evolve alongside company growth.
- Partner closely with engineering, research, manufacturing, facilities, and operations teams to understand operational needs and help enable reliable, secure, and scalable workflows across the organization.
- Oversee company-wide IT operations including endpoint management, onboarding and offboarding, collaboration platforms, networking and connectivity, conference room and AV systems, physical access systems, operational support processes, and internal documentation standards.
- Sets AI strategy for company in partnership with other departments, owns AI data planning and implications for integration with company systems.
- Sets cybersecurity strategy for company in partnership with cross-functional leaders.
- Help establish scalable processes for user support, access management, device lifecycle management, operational training, and cross-site coordination across multiple locations and laboratory environments.
- Support the rollout and integration of operational systems and technical solutions in partnership with domain experts and specialized technical teams rather than operating as a fully centralized ownership function.
- Build strong working relationships across the company by approaching operational problems collaboratively, communicating clearly, and maintaining a service-oriented mindset.
- Establish effective communication structures for the IT organization, including operational planning, prioritization, status reporting, and executive-level updates.
- Evaluate vendors, platforms, and operational technologies to ensure systems remain maintainable, scalable, secure, and aligned with company needs.
- Help the organization balance speed, usability, operational consistency, and security as systems and processes continue to mature.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Significant experience leading or scaling IT operations in a fast-moving technical organization; experience in regulated fields is a plus.
- Strong understanding of corporate IT systems including identity and access management, endpoint management, networking, collaboration platforms, operational support, and security practices.
- Experience partnering effectively with highly technical groups across engineering, research, manufacturing, or operations environments.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to translate operational and technical priorities clearly to both executive leadership and day-to-day users.
- Experience balancing long-term planning with hands-on operational execution.
- Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as NIST 800-171, CMMC, SOC 2, ISO 27001, ITAR, or similar environments.
Bonus Experience
- Experience supporting multi-site laboratory, manufacturing, or industrial environments.
- Experience helping organizations scale operational maturity without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy or friction.
- Experience working in organizations transitioning through periods of rapid growth or increasing regulatory complexity.
- Familiarity with physical access systems, operational security systems, and cross-site connectivity planning.
- Experience building operational training, documentation, and internal communications structures.
- Experience partnering with specialized technical teams to support purpose-built operational or infrastructure solutions.
What Success Looks Like
- Teams across the company trust IT as a collaborative and enabling partner.
- Operational systems and support processes scale effectively as the company grows across teams and locations.
- Security, usability, and operational consistency improve together rather than competing with one another.
- The IT organization communicates clearly, plans proactively, and helps support broader company execution and long-term strategy.
- Technical teams are able to move quickly while still operating within secure, maintainable, and well-supported systems.
Additional Considerations
- Location: Prefer onsite to support in-person team.
- Sites: Multiple office locations.
- Travel: Occasional travel for team events as needed.
- Schedule: Standard business hours, with flexibility during critical periods.
Benefits
- Excellent medical, dental, and vision benefits.
- 10 paid holidays and a company-wide December holiday break.
- Generous paid vacation and sick time.
- Small, tight-knit team with low barriers to action.
- Exposure to a wide range of challenging, hands-on engineering problems.
- Meaningful equity in the form of stock options.
