Head of IT Systems Engineering

Asana; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 252,000 - 296,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mental health benefits

Career coaching

Family-building benefits

Long-term savings/retirement plans

In-office dining options

Job summary

Asana is seeking a Head of IT Systems Engineering in San Francisco to lead the teams that power how every Asana employee works. You will own the strategy, architecture, and operations behind our SaaS productivity apps, corporate endpoints, identity, and user lifecycle to keep employees secure and productive.

This role is based in our San Francisco office with an office-centric hybrid schedule. In-office days are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with Wednesday work-from-home options and Friday

Qualifications

• 10+ years of IT experience with cloud-first environments.
• 5+ years leading teams of systems engineers and software engineers.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of IAM: SSO, SAML, SCIM.
• Experience with hosted cloud apps: Okta, Google Workspace, Slack, Asana, Figma.
• Experience establishing governance for AI usage, data protection, vendor risk.
• Track record of setting strategy and roadmaps and delegating while coaching.

Responsibilities

• Develop the multi-year vision, roadmap, and architecture for Systems Engineering.
• Lead Client Platform, Application Engineering, and Identity & Integrations teams.
• Own the strategy and operation of endpoints, SaaS apps, identity, and user lifecycle.
• Drive IT’s AI strategy and governance for platforms like Claude, Gemini, OpenAI.
• Set AI usage policies in partnership with Security, Legal, and Privacy.
• Represent Systems Engineering to senior stakeholders with clear priorities.

Skills

Leadership

Cloud-first IT

IAM

Budgeting

AI strategy

SaaS tools

Scripting & APIs

Enterprise IT security

Tools

Okta

Google Workspace

Slack

Figma

Puppet

Intune

JAMF

Munki

Job description

Asana is hiring a Head of IT Systems Engineering to lead the team that powers how every Asana employee works. Reporting to the Head of IT, this San Francisco-based leader owns the strategy, architecture, and operations behind our SaaS productivity applications, corporate endpoints, identity, and user lifecycle, setting the standards and roadmap that keep every employee secure and productive. You will also influence the way Asana evaluates, adopts, and governs the tools and platforms our employees rely on. You will be responsible for the Client Platform Engineering, Application Engineering, and Identity & Integrations teams, who deliver this work. This role has one manager level report.

You ask good questions, are confident in not knowing everything, and would rather build with others than go it alone. You are crisp and detail oriented, but comfortable working outside the boundaries when the situation calls for it. You bring a proven record of success, a passion for technology, and, like us, you value hard work and fun in equal measure.

This role is based in our San Francisco office with an office-centric hybrid schedule. The standard in-office days are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Most Asanas have the option to work from home on Wednesdays. Working from home on Fridays depends on the type of work you do and the teams with which you partner. If you're interviewing for this role, your recruiter will share more about the in-office requirements.

What You’ll Achieve

• Develop the multi-year vision, roadmap, and architecture for Systems Engineering, aligned with Asana’s business priorities and Asana’s broader AI strategy
• Accelerate an Agentified Asana, helping teams across Asana embrace our tools and reduce the friction of manual work.
• Partner with leaders across Asana to build and maintain an efficient and effective portfolio of SaaS tools to enable all Asanas to do their best work.
• Lead, develop, and grow the Client Platform Engineering, Application Engineering, and Identity & Integrations teams, including hiring, performance management, succession planning, and career development
• Own the strategy and operation of corporate endpoint management, SaaS application management, identity, and the full user lifecycle
• Drive IT’s AI strategy, from evaluating and governing platforms such as Claude, Gemini, and OpenAI to building AI agents and automation for onboarding, access requests, support, and compliance workflows
• Partner with Security, Legal, and Privacy to set AI usage policies, data access controls, and vendor risk standards, including identity-based access and data loss prevention for AI tools and integrations
• Set client platform standards and drive excellence in system performance, patching, and configuration compliance
• Partner with IT Support, IT Infrastructure, and Security leadership to resolve issues, reduce risk, and improve the employee experience
• Represent Systems Engineering to senior stakeholders, communicating priorities, tradeoffs, and results clearly

About You

• 10+ years of IT experience, including 5+ years directly leading teams of systems engineers and software engineers in a fast-paced, cloud-first environment
• Proven ownership of purchasing, inventory management, and budgeting at scale
• Strong, hands‑on knowledge of current IAM practices and cloud-based identity, SSO, SAML, and SCIM
• Experience with hosted cloud applications, including Okta, Google Workspace, Asana, Figma, and Slack
• Experience establishing governance for emerging technology, including AI usage policy, data protection, and vendor risk review
• Track record of setting strategy and roadmaps, then delegating effectively while staying close enough to the details to coach and unblockExperience with configuration management and automation tools such as JAMF, Intune, Puppet, and Munki
• Working knowledge of scripting and API integration (REST, OAuth, Python, PowerShell, Bash, or equivalent)
• Hands‑on experience with enterprise AI platforms such as Claude, and OpenAI, including deployment, administration, and integration through APIs, connectors, and MCP servers
• Demonstrates curiosity about AI tools and emerging technologies, with a willingness to learn and leverage them to enhance productivity, collaboration, or decision-making

How You Work

• A strong mix of problem solving and a positive, service-oriented attitude
• Excellent communication and documentation skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and cross-functional partners
• Curiosity and a bias toward experimenting with AI in your own work, and the ability to lead a team through rapid change

At Asana, we're committed to building teams that include a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills, as this is critical to helping us achieve our mission. If you're interested in this role and don't meet every listed requirement, we still encourage you to apply.

What We’ll Offer

Our comprehensive compensation package plays a big part in how we recognize you for the impact you have on our path to achieving our mission. We believe that compensation should be reflective of the value you create relative to the market value of your role. To ensure pay is fair and not impacted by biases, we're committed to looking at market value which is why we check ourselves and conduct a yearly pay equity audit.

For this role, the estimated base salary range is between $252,000 - $296,000. The actual base salary will vary based on various factors, including market and individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process. The listed range above is a guideline, and the base salary range for this role may be modified.

In addition to base salary, your compensation package may include additional components such as equity, sales incentive pay (for most sales roles), and benefits. If you're interviewing for this role, speak with your recruiter to learn more about the total compensation and benefits for this role.

We strive to provide equitable and competitive benefits packages that support our employees worldwide and include:

• Mental health, wellness & fitness benefits
• Career coaching & support
• Inclusive family building benefits
• Long-term savings or retirement plans
• In‑office culinary options to cater to your dietary preferences

These are just some of the benefits we offer, and benefits may vary based on role, country, and local regulations. If you're interviewing for this role, speak with your recruiter to learn more about the total compensation and benefits for this role.

About Us

Asana is a leading platform for human + AI collaboration. Millions of teams around the world rely on Asana to achieve their most important goals, faster. Asana has been named to Fortune's Best Workplaces for 7+ years and recognized by Fast Company, Forbes, and Gartner for excellence in workplace culture and innovation. We offer an exceptional office-centric culture while adopting the best elements of hybrid models to ensure that every one of our global team members can work together effortlessly. With 13+ offices all over the world, we are always looking for individuals who care about building technology that drives positive change in the world and a culture where everyone feels that they belong.

We believe in supporting people to do their best work and thrive. Our goal is to ensure that Asana upholds an environment where all people feel that they are respected and valued, whether they are applying for an open position or working at the company. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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