IT System Administrator

Xscape Photonics develops custom photonic platform solutions designed for ultra-high bandwidth connections inside data centers to power AI systems. The company's proprietary ChromX platform targets scaling of AI computing performance in an environmentally sustainable manner and is optimized for power, cost, scale and reliability. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIn or visit www.xscapephotonics.com .

As Xscape Photonics scales its photonic technology from innovation to volume production, we are looking for a IT System Administrator to own, maintain, and elevate our IT infrastructure, endpoint environment, and engineering operations. In this role, you will provide end-to-end support ranging from Tier 1–3 user troubleshooting to infrastructure management, cybersecurity compliance, and specialized engineering tool administration.

This position will require candidate in the office 5 days a week.

The ideal candidate thrives in a dynamic environment supporting cross-functional teams—including Engineering, Operations, and Administration—and brings strong hands-on experience across Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud identity platforms, and lab/EDA environments.

What you will do:

User & Endpoint Support

- Provide comprehensive Tier 1–3 IT support for on-site and remote employees across Engineering, Operations, and Administration.

- Lead employee onboarding and offboarding workflows, including provisioning hardware, managing user accounts, and enforcing role-based access controls.

- Support and maintain laptops, workstations, and specialized lab-connected endpoints.

- Administer core identity and collaboration suites, including Active Directory, Okta, and Google Workspace.

- Oversee endpoint protection, EDR, and system backup services using Acronis Cyber Protect.

Infrastructure & Systems Management

- Deploy, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot physical on-premises servers and systems.

- Administer multi-OS environments, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.

- Manage virtualization infrastructure, including Hyper-V and Proxmox.

- Maintain network health and connectivity, including VPNs, Wi-Fi, SonicWall firewalls, and Ubiquiti networking hardware.

- Administer and optimize TrueNAS storage systems to ensure data availability and performance.

Engineering & Lab IT Support

- Support specialized engineering applications and EDA design tools (e.g., Cadence, Synopsys).

- Manage, configure, and troubleshoot engineering software license servers (e.g., FlexLM).

- Ensure high availability, connectivity, and performance for critical manufacturing and hardware test workflows.

Security, Risk & Compliance

- Drive cybersecurity protocols and support ongoing compliance initiatives, including ISO 27001 compliance and SOC 2 readiness.

- Implement and enforce access controls, endpoint protection, centralized logging, and backup verification to meet audit standards.

Cloud, DevOps & Collaboration Support

- Provide operational support for GitLab, CI/CD pipelines, and developer workflows as needed.

- Administer collaboration platforms, specifically Jira and Confluence.

- Maintain and streamline integrations across engineering toolchains, identity providers, and IT systems.

What you will need:

Required Experience

- Experience: 4+ years of systems administration or IT operations experience supporting multi-platform environments (Windows, Linux, macOS).

- Identity & Access Management: Deep proficiency with Active Directory, Okta, and Google Workspace.

- Networking & Security: Solid understanding of subnets, VLANs, VPNs, SonicWall firewalls, Ubiquiti networking, and EDR platforms (Acronis Cyber Protect preferred).

- Virtualization & Storage: Practical experience administering Hyper-V, Proxmox, and TrueNAS or similar storage arrays.

- Compliance Standards: Familiarity with implementing security controls aligned with ISO 27001, SOC 2, or NIST standards.

Preferred Experience & Certifications

- Direct experience supporting hardware/semiconductor engineering teams, including Cadence and Synopsys license server management.

- Experience with DevOps tools and developer workflows (GitLab, CI/CD, Jira, Confluence).

- Relevant professional certifications (e.g., CompTIA Security+, Network+, Okta Certified Administrator, MCSA/MCSE, Linux Professional Institute).