IT Manager

Synectics for Management Decisions Inc; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Synectics for Management Decisions Inc. seeks a hands-on IT Manager to own the enterprise infrastructure, cloud environments, and security posture.

You will report to executive leadership and oversee operations across data centers, AWS, and Microsoft 365, with a focus on AI tool integration and proactive infrastructure management. Hybrid work arrangement in the Washington DC metro area with travel to multiple company locations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive, hands-on systems administration and IT operations experience in an enterprise or sole-administrator environment.
• Proven expertise administering hyperconverged infrastructure (Dell VxRail), VMware vSphere, and vSAN storage pools across multi-environment (Dev/Test/Prod).
• Demonstrated proficiency with AWS Cloud Administration (IAM, EC2, S3, VPCs) and Microsoft 365 Tenant Management (Entra ID, SharePoint, Exchange, Conditional Access).
• Deep working knowledge of enterprise firewalls, network subnets, VPNs, enterprise Wi-Fi controllers, and endpoint security.

Responsibilities

• Own the enterprise IT footprint, balancing day-to-day systems administration with strategic security posture improvements.
• Lead virtualization, cloud architecture, and network operations across two branch offices and DC metro locations.
• Oversee AI tool integration, workflow automation, and proactive infrastructure management.
• Manage vendor relationships, SLAs, and lifecycle management for hardware and cloud services.

Skills

IT Management

Cloud Administration

VMware/vSphere

AWS

Microsoft 365

Security

Governance

AI Integration

Tools

VMware vSphere

VMware vSAN

Dell VxRail

AWS IAM

AWS EC2

Entra ID (Azure AD)

SharePoint

Jira

Job description

Position Summary:

We are seeking a hands-on, highly autonomous IT Manager to take full operational ownership of our enterprise infrastructure, cloud environments, and security posture. Reporting directly to executive leadership, this role serves as the primary technical authority for our entire IT footprint-balancing day-to-day systems administration, network security, user support, and modern AI tool integration with the proactive infrastructure management, documentation, and vendor oversight needed to keep our business running seamlessly. Work location is hybrid and must be able to travel to the company's multiple work locations and server locations in the Washington DC metro area.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

IT Operations, Virtualization & Cloud Architecture

• Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) & Hybrid Environments: Direct, hands-on administration of offsite colocation data center infrastructure centered on Dell VxRail HCI clusters running VMware vSphere and vSAN storage architecture; maintain network segmentation, storage policies, and compute allocation across isolated Development, Testing, and Production (Dev/Test/Prod) cluster environments, executing routine health checks, node maintenance, and firmware upgrades.
• AWS Cloud Administration & Dev Support: Manage multi-account AWS environments, including IAM role-based access policies, VPC networking, security groups, billing/cost optimization, and infrastructure provisioning across segregated Development, Testing, and Production (Dev/Test/Prod) cloud environments to support internal software development lifecycles and deployment pipelines.
• Microsoft 365 Tenant Administration: Manage complete Microsoft 365 administration-including Entra ID (Azure AD), Conditional Access policies, Exchange Online, Teams, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and SharePoint architecture, site permissions, and document governance.
• Branch Office & Network Operations: Oversee network perimeter firewalls, routing, enterprise Wi-Fi, and secure site-to-site connectivity across two serverless branch office locations supporting hybrid staff collaboration.
• AI Tool Integration & Workflow Automation: Evaluate, deploy, and administer enterprise AI tools (such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude) and generative workflows to automate routine IT operations, streamline ticket resolution, and optimize overall department productivity.
• Vendor & Lifecycle Management: Manage relationships with hardware OEMs (Dell/VMware ProSupport), cloud providers, ISPs, software vendors, and colocation facilities; oversee SLA performance, contract renewals, and hardware lifecycles.

User Support & Service Delivery

• Tier 1–3 Escalations: Serve as the sole escalation point for Tier 1–3 technical support and system issues, resolving tickets within established Jira Service Desk SLAs.
• Identity & Access Management: Manage user onboarding, offboarding, system provisioning, and access management tied to formal role-based access control (RBAC) matrices.

Required Qualifications & Technical Competencies

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive, hands-on systems administration and IT operations experience in an enterprise or sole-administrator environment.
• Virtualization & HCI: Proven expertise administering hyperconverged infrastructure (Dell VxRail), VMware vSphere, and vSAN storage pools across multi-environment (Dev/Test/Prod) setups.
• Cloud Platforms: Demonstrated proficiency with AWS Cloud Administration (IAM, EC2, S3, VPCs) supporting software development environments, and Microsoft 365 Tenant Management (Entra ID, SharePoint, Exchange, Conditional Access).
• Networking & Security: Deep working knowledge of enterprise firewalls, network subnets, VPNs, enterprise Wi-Fi controllers, and endpoint security.

• Process & Compliance Maturity: Solid background operating within process-driven, certified frameworks (ISO 27001, ISO 9001, CMMI Level 3), utilizing formal change control and Jira workflow tracking.
• AI Tooling & Policy Awareness: Practical experience utilizing enterprise AI productivity tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) to streamline IT tasks, alongside a solid understanding of AI security risks, data confidentiality, and corporate acceptable-use governance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting federal government contractors or government agency environments.
• Familiarity with NIST cybersecurity frameworks, FISMA, FedRAMP, and applicable federal security requirements.
• IT certifications such as ITIL, CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+, or Microsoft/AWS certifications.
• Experience with IT modernization, cloud migration, automation, and emerging technologies, including AI-enabled solutions.

Additional Requirements

Must be able to pass a background check prior to starting work and maintain eligibility throughout the engagement.

Salary range for this position is $150,000.00 - $160,000.00

Work Authorization: The Company is not currently sponsoring new H-1B visa petitions. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without requiring new employer-sponsored H-1B visa sponsorship at this time.

Synectics is an Equal Opportunity Employer.