Head of IT
About The Role:
We are seeking a highly capable and customer-oriented Head of IT to lead and scale the IT and infrastructure functions of a rapidly growing Silicon Valley startup. With manufacturing and engineering offices in Emeryville and Santa Clara, you will oversee a lean but expanding team of internal staff and consultants. In this role, you will architect, implement, and scale corporate infrastructure to support a data-rich manufacturing environment that handles sensitive and regulated information (including DoD-related data). You will be responsible for ensuring our systems are secure, efficient, and adaptable to the needs of a fast-growing enterprise.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who thrives in high-growth environments, values efficiency, reliability and scalability, and knows how to build processes that leverage modern, business-enabling technologies. You’ll enjoy working closely with a talented and driven team across the company, serving as both a strategic partner and a trusted operator. With strong communication and change management skills, you’ll guide system implementations, upgrades, and continuous improvements as our enterprise evolves.
What You’ll Do:
- Build and enforce IT standards, governance, and best practices across the organization.
- Proactively monitor, expand, and optimize systems to ensure robust, reliable performance as the business scales.
- Plan and Scale IT Infrastructure: Design, execute, and document a current and future roadmap of corporate architecture with the purpose of efficient and aligned execution to support the company’s growth.
- Own change management processes, guiding implementations, upgrades, and rollouts.
- Collaborate closely with the information security team to manage and extend security practices across physical access control systems, endpoints, and corporate infrastructure.
- Implement and maintain robust information security controls tailored to scale with high growth companies.
- Develop and maintain a forward-looking IT Growth, Risk & Compliance roadmap aligned with company strategy.
- Identify and execute on compliance requirements related to sensitive data handling (including DoD-related requirements).
- Proactively identify risks and lead mitigation strategies.
- Incident Response & Operations
- Evaluate existing IT incident response processes, up-level robustness, including triage, documentation, resolution, and escalation processes.
- Ensure continuous improvement in IT operations and service delivery.
- Team Leadership & Vendor Management
- Manage and mentor a small IT team (up to 5 people).
- Oversee and contract outsourced IT and security resources effectively.
- Foster a customer service-oriented IT culture across the organization.
- Technology & Systems Architecture
- Design and implement scalable IT processes and systems for organizations in the 100-500 headcount range.
- Architect integrated corporate systems across HR, Finance, Data, IT, and Security functions to support business needs and growth.
What You’ll Need:
- A first-principles mindset — you question assumptions, reframe problems from the ground up, and approach challenges with a foundational understanding rather than relying solely on precedent.
- 10+ years of IT experience, with at least 3+ years in leadership roles.
- Deep understanding of enterprise systems architecture and integrations (HRIS, ERP/Finance, IT, Security, Data platforms).
- Acts as a player-coach who can dive into the details when needed
- Holds a high bar for operational excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Track record of building and scaling IT systems for mid-sized companies (100-500 employees).
- Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
- Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) from an accredited four-year institution.
The compensation for this position also includes equity and benefits.
Salary Range
$175,000 - $235,000 USD
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