Information Technology Manager

Symphony Search; Elgin (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Symphony Search is seeking an IT Manager to build and run a manufacturing IT environment end to end. You will lead a two-person team of Systems Analyst and Network Administrators in South Elgin, IL and Genoa, IL, with hands-on leadership and active involvement in daily operations.

You will own budgets, select vendors, modernize infrastructure, manage ERP/AS400, security, backups, and data reporting, and partner on company-wide AI initiatives.

Qualifications

• 7+ years IT/infrastructure experience with 2+ years leading teams or projects.
• Bachelor's degree or relevant certifications in IT.
• Manufacturing/industrial IT experience and on-site availability.
• Hands-on networking, firewall, backup, DR, and security posture ownership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop two Systems Analyst / Network Admins; set priorities.
• Oversee infrastructure, servers, networking, security, and DR.
• Manage ERP/IBM i (AS/400) health, patches, access, and vendor relations.
• Own data reporting with SQL Server, Power BI, and Microsoft Fabric.
• Own IT budget, capex requests, and vendor negotiations; engage AI initiatives.

Skills

Team leadership

IT strategy

Manufacturing IT

Networking & security

Budget & vendor mgmt

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT/Computer Science

Tools

Fortinet

SQL Server

Power BI

Microsoft Fabric

Entra ID

Job description

We are creating a new position for an IT Manager position. This hire will build the position function and run it. You'll lead a two-person team of Systems Analyst / Network Administrators. This is a hands-on leadership position; half leadership, half hands-on technical work. If you want a role where you delegate everything and live in meetings, this isn't it. If you want to own a manufacturing IT environment end to end and actually fix it, keep reading.

Most IT manager openings are backfills - you inherit someone else's decisions and spend two years unwinding them. This one is a blank sheet. The systems are here, the team is here, and the budget authority comes with the seat. What's missing is someone to lead it.

REPORTING STRUCTURE

Reports to the VP of Operations and will operate between both plants in South Elgin, IL and Genoa, IL.

FIRST 18 MONTH IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES

• Security and disaster recovery. Harden our posture, get backups and DR genuinely tested rather than assumed, mature identity and patching, and stand behind our answers on cyber-insurance and customer security questionnaires.
• Infrastructure modernization. Server and network refresh, plant wireless coverage, end-of-life hardware, and real resilience for the systems that keep two plants running.

Everything else is important. These two are the mandate.

Job tasks

• The team. Lead, develop, and set priorities for two Systems Analyst / Network Administrators. Make sure both plants are covered.
• Infrastructure and network. Windows Server, virtualization, Fortinet firewalls, switching, VLANs, wireless, Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, and the endpoint fleet
• Security, backup, and DR. Owned, tested, and documented - not inherited and hoped for.
• ERP and IBM i (AS/400). You keep the platform healthy - hardware, software, patching, access, and the vendor relationship. You do not need to write RPG or program the AS/400.
• Data and reporting. SQL Server, Microsoft Fabric, and the Power BI reporting the business runs on.
• The plant floor. Machine networks, shop-floor terminals and printers, PLC/HMI connectivity, and the IT/OT boundary at both sites.
• Telecom and building systems. Phone system, time clocks, badge access, cameras.
• Budget and vendors. The IT budget, capital requests, contract negotiation, and vendor relationships.
• AI adoption. Partner on our company-wide AI initiative - tooling, governance, and helping people actually use it

REQUIREMENTS

• 7+ years of progressive IT and infrastructure experience, including 2+ years supervising staff or leading projects and vendors.
• A bachelor's degree in IT/Computer Science or current, relevant certifications - one or the other. We care that you've formally learned this, not where.
• Manufacturing or industrial IT experience. You understand that a line down is a different emergency than a laptop down, and that IT serves the shop floor as much as the office.
• Hands-on networking and firewall administration. Real LAN/WAN, routing, switching, VLANs, and firewall work - not desktop support with "networking" listed as a skill.
• Personal ownership of backup, DR, and security posture at a previous employer. Not following someone else's runbook - owning the thing.
• Ability to work onsite and split your time between the South Elgin and Genoa plants.
• Availability as the escalation point for after-hours issues affecting production. Your team handles first-line; you're the call when it's serious.

Nice to have

• Fortinet experience (it's what we run)
• MSP (managed service provider) background