Get to Know Us
Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find and fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by ITOps/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs.
We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools, false positives resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox” security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn it alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results.
SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced IT Manager to lead our internal IT Operations. This is a critical, hands-on leadership role responsible for ensuring the stability, security, and scalability of our company's internal technology ecosystem.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on technical expert who thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment, with a proven track record of successfully scaling IT infrastructure, optimizing business processes, and driving security initiatives from 250+ to 1,000+ employees. This role aligns business operational needs with technical expertise across Help Desk functions, Enterprise Business Applications, and crucial Business Integrations.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP & SCALABILITY
- IT Roadmap & Strategy: Define, implement, and manage a roadmap for the internal IT environment that aligns with the company’s hyper-growth and security posture.
- Project Management: Lead and manage complex IT infrastructure and application projects (e.g., system migrations, compliance readiness initiatives) from initiation through deployment, ensuring delivery on scope, time, and budget.
- Team Leadership & Development: Directly manage, mentor, and develop the IT Operations team, fostering a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and customer service.
- Process Optimization: Identify and execute opportunities for automation, efficiency gains, and cost reduction across IT processes and business applications.
- Technology Identification and Implementation: Lead the evaluation, selection, and secure implementation of new technologies and platforms to enhance security, efficiency, and employee experience.
- Budget & Vendor Management: Manage the IT operations budget, oversee vendor selection, and negotiate contracts for SaaS tools and services.
- Scalability Planning: Plan and implement capacity improvements and technical upgrades to ensure IT systems can effortlessly scale with the company's rapid growth.
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE & ITSM
- Service Management: Lead and execute core IT Service Management (ITSM) best practices, including Incident Management (response, prioritization, and communication), Problem Management (root cause analysis), and implementing a formal Change Management process for all changes to production IT systems.
- System Stability: Oversee the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the internal IT infrastructure, ensuring maximum uptime, performance, and reliability.
- Help Desk & Hands-On Support: Serve as the primary escalation point for complex Tier 1-3 technical issues, providing hands-on support for hardware (Mac/Windows), software, and network issues.
- Employee Lifecycle: Standardize and manage the employee lifecycle process (Onboarding/Offboarding), ensuring a smooth, secure, and compliant provisioning and de-provisioning of access and equipment.
- Documentation: Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for IT processes, SOPs, system configurations, and end-user guides.
- Automation and AI: Drive the adoption of automation and AI within IT operations to reduce manual effort, including configuring chatbots for Tier 1 and 2 support, lifecycle management for secure onboarding and offboarding sequences, automating ticket routing, securely provisioning and de-provisioning applications, and implementing predictive system maintenance alerts.
BUSINESS APPLICATIONS & INTEGRATIONS
- Application Ownership: Own the selection, deployment, maintenance, and offboarding of core enterprise business applications (e.g., CRM, HRIS, Financial Systems).
- Data Integrity: Design, implement, and maintain robust and secure integrations between business applications to ensure data integrity and seamless workflow across departments.
- Governance: Establish clear ownership, access controls, and usage policies for all managed business applications.
SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE OPERATIONS
- Compliance Execution: Directly support and execute controls related to key compliance frameworks across the IT environment, specifically SOC 2 (operational evidence, access reviews), ISO 27001 (ISMS controls), and FedRAMP (operational security and documentation for readiness).
- Security Enforcement: Enforce operational security protocols across all systems and endpoints, including vulnerability management, patch deployment, and security awareness training.
- Infrastructure Management: Manage and maintain core IT infrastructure, including Identity and Access Management (IdP), Endpoint Management (MDM), and network configuration, ensuring adherence to internal security policies and relevant compliance standards.
- Data Privacy: Implement and manage operational controls to ensure compliance with global and regional data privacy regulations, including GDPR, CCPA, and other relevant US Data Privacy requirements, focusing on data access, retention, and deletion procedures within IT systems.
WHAT YOU’LL BRING
- 5+ years of progressive experience in IT Operations, System Administration, or a similar role, with at least 2 years in a management or lead capacity focused on operational excellence.
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
- Proven track record or experience scaling IT Operations with Business Operations and Company growth (specifically managing environments scaling from 250+ to 1,000+ employees).
- Proven track record of managing and mentoring direct reports or leading cross-functional teams successfully.
- Demonstrated ability to function as a Project Manager for complex, high-impact technical projects.
- Must have prior experience in a fast-paced startup or high-growth company that has successfully scaled through rapid employee expansion.
- Proven ability to manage complex, multi-platform IT environments while ensuring high service levels.
- Deep knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) principles and practices (e.g., ITIL framework).
- Exceptional ability to bridge the gap between business operational requirements and technical solutions execution.
- Strong commitment to security-first operational practices.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, VPNs, DNS, Wi-Fi) in a corporate setting.
REQUIRED TECH STACK EXPERIENCE
Identity and Access Management (IAM):
- Deep technical proficiency in managing and scaling solutions like Okta (including Okta Identity Governance and Okta Workflows) and Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure AD).
- Expertise in secure provisioning protocols, including SCIM provisioning and SCEP.
- Strong familiarity with implementing and enforcing Device Posture assur