IT Infrastructure & Projects Engineer New Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Dawn Aerospace; Christchurch; Hybrid; NZD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Dawn Aerospace in Christchurch is seeking an experienced IT Infrastructure & Projects Engineer to own our shared IT infrastructure, solve complex problems, and deliver infrastructure, security and compliance projects from scoping through implementation.

You will be the trusted local IT authority, working with our Netherlands lead and colleagues across Dawn’s sites, taking initiative, documenting work, and owning incidents from investigation to resolution while supporting engineering,

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience operating shared IT infrastructure and resolving complex issues.
• Practical Windows and Linux server administration and troubleshooting.
• Strong networking fundamentals: DNS, DHCP, subnets, routing, firewalls, VPNs.
• Experience with Microsoft 365, Entra ID, endpoint management and device encryption/compliance.
• Experience working with MSPs or outsourced technical partners.
• Experience delivering small to medium IT projects.
• Strong technical documentation and operational record keeping.
• Clear communication and ownership to drive issues to resolution.
• Eligible to work in New Zealand; export-control requirements awareness is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own Christchurch's shared servers, network infrastructure and IT services.
• Lead resolution of complex incidents affecting shared services with internal teams, MSP and suppliers.
• Identify recurring problems and implement lasting improvements.
• Maintain infrastructure documentation, inventories, dependencies and recovery procedures.
• Deliver IT, security and compliance projects from scope to handover.
• Coordinate technical work across internal teams and MSP.
• Maintain security/compliance evidence and documentation.
• Act as day-to-day technical contact with NZ MSP and ensure follow-through.
• Support IT activities across engineering, manufacturing and business operations.

Skills

IT infrastructure ownership

Windows Server

Linux Server

Networking

Microsoft 365

MSP coordination

IT project delivery

Technical documentation

Ownership & communication

Export controls awareness

Tools

PowerShell

Ansible

GitLab

Intune

Job description

Dawn Aerospace is entering its next phase of growth. We're looking for an experienced IT Infrastructure & Projects Engineer to take hands‑on ownership of shared IT infrastructure in Christchurch, solve complex technical problems and deliver infrastructure, security and compliance projects.

You’ll be the trusted local IT authority in Christchurch, working closely with our Senior IT Lead in the Netherlands and colleagues across Dawn’s international locations.

This role suits someone who takes initiative, works independently and enjoys taking a problem from initial investigation through to a practical, documented and supportable solution.

What you’ll do

• Take operational ownership of Christchurch’s shared servers, network infrastructure and supporting IT services.
• Lead the resolution of complex incidents affecting shared services or multiple users, coordinating internal specialists, our MSP and other suppliers where needed.
• Identify recurring problems and implement lasting technical or process improvements.
• Maintain accurate infrastructure documentation, inventories, dependencies and recovery procedures.
• Deliver defined IT, security and compliance projects from scoping through implementation and handover.
• Coordinate technical work across internal teams, our New Zealand MSP and other suppliers.
• Maintain the technical documentation and evidence needed for security, customer and compliance requirements.
• Act as Dawn’s day‑to‑day technical contact with our New Zealand MSP, ensuring ownership is clear and issues are followed through to resolution.
• Support IT activities across our engineering, manufacturing and business operations.

What you’ll bring

• Strong hands‑on experience operating shared IT infrastructure and resolving complex technical issues.
• Practical Windows and Linux server administration and troubleshooting experience.
• Strong networking fundamentals, including DNS, DHCP, subnets, routing, firewalls and VPNs.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365, Entra ID, endpoint management, access permissions, device compliance and encryption.
• Experience working with MSPs or other outsourced technical partners.
• Experience delivering small to medium‑sized technical projects.
• Strong technical documentation and operational record keeping.
• Good judgement, clear communication and the confidence to take ownership of problems through to resolution.
• The right to work in New Zealand and ability to meet applicable export‑control requirements.

Formal qualifications are welcome, but demonstrated technical judgement, ownership and delivery matter more.

Useful additional experience

Experience in any of the following would be an advantage:

• Engineering, manufacturing, aerospace or another technically demanding environment.
• Microsoft Intune, conditional access or privileged‑access controls.
• Endpoint detection and response, vulnerability management or security monitoring.
• Engineering systems such as GitLab, internal wikis, product data management systems or database‑backed applications.
• Security assessments, customer compliance requirements or audits.
• Infrastructure automation using PowerShell, Ansible or similar tools.

Why Dawn?

• Work directly with teams designing, building and operating aerospace technology.
• Take meaningful ownership of IT services at a major Dawn location.
• Combine hands‑on technical work with infrastructure and security projects.
• Help shape how our IT environment develops as Dawn grows.
• Work in an environment where practical judgement, initiative and personal accountability matter.

Diversity & Inclusion

At Dawn Aerospace, we believe that diverse teams build better solutions. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences are valued and supported to do their best work.

About Dawn Aerospace

Dawn Aerospace is a space transportation company with a purpose.
Our mission is to enable the next generation of space users by providing more sustainable and scalable ways to access and move around in space. We believe this access, in the form of a transportation network, will fundamentally change what’s possible from space. We currently focus on three areas of space transportation:

• In-space propulsion
  We're a leading supplier of turnkey green propulsion systems for various classes of satellites. Our systems utilise safe, accessible propellants and we have over 170 of these propulsion units on more than 40 operational satellites already. A further 200 units are in production.
• In-space servicing
  Coupled with our propulsion expertise, we are ensuring that our customers' satellites are refuellable. In the coming years, Dawn will offer a refueling service to enable life extension of customer satellites. This new market is aligned with our sustainability goal to ensue a clean and safe space for everyone!
• Spaceplane
  We are developing the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever to take off from a runway, combining the extreme performance of rocket propulsion with the reusability of conventional airplanes to enable high-frequency, low-cost access to sub-orbital space.

Our international teams are distributed across four locations: the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and the USA.

Important!

If you think you have what it takes but are unsure that you check every box, we still want to hear from you.

You arrive on Monday and discover a recurring issue affecting multiple users in the Christchurch office. The cause isn’t obvious, documentation is patchy, and the MSP has already tried a few fixes. Talk us through how you would take ownership of the problem from investigation through to a lasting solution.

Tell us about the most technically challenging IT infrastructure problem or project you’ve personally owned. What was the environment, what did you actually do yourself, what went wrong along the way, and what was the end result?

You have three things land at once: a server issue affecting an engineering team, a security finding that needs attention, and a new starter who needs access today. How would you prioritise them, and what would you do first?

What are your salary expectations? *

For export control reasons, please advise all the citizenships you currently hold or have previously held (include dual or multiple citizenships). *