IT Manager II

State of South Carolina; Columbia (SC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental coverage

Pension plan

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) in Columbia, SC seeks an experienced IT Infrastructure Manager to lead server and network operations across on-premises and cloud environments. The role emphasizes security, reliability, and modernization to support critical public safety missions.

You will mentor a team of engineers, manage vendor relationships, and drive upgrades and automation. The position includes 24/7 on-call responsibilities and a comprehensive state benefits package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT or related field with 7+ years of Windows Server/IT infrastructure experience.
• Knowledge of Windows Server, VMware virtualization, enterprise storage, routing, switching, firewalls, and Azure.
• Ability to lead, mentor server and network infrastructure teams and manage vendor relationships.
• Must pass a national background check and be willing to travel; on-call for 24/7 operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day server and network teams; provide technical guidance.
• Oversee hardware/software upgrades to servers, virtualization hosts, storage, and network; implement automation.
• Maintain and monitor SLED infrastructure; optimize performance and cost.
• Coordinate with vendors for quotes, evaluation, and installation of technologies.
• Coordinate security reviews/audits and disaster recovery planning.

Skills

IT infrastructure

Windows Server

VMware

Azure cloud

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT or related field

Tools

VMware

Networking hardware

PowerShell scripting

Job description

About SLED

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is a premier statewide law enforcement agency dedicated to serving and protecting the citizens of South Carolina. With a proud history rooted in integrity, professionalism, and public service, SLED is committed to providing high-quality investigative, intelligence, and forensic services to support law enforcement agencies across the state.

Job Responsibilities

About SLED

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is a premier statewide law enforcement agency dedicated to serving and protecting the citizens of South Carolina. With a proud history rooted in integrity, professionalism, and public service, SLED is committed to providing high-quality investigative, intelligence, and forensic services to support law enforcement agencies across the state.

At SLED, we value dedication, ethical conduct, accountability, and a strong commitment to justice. Our agency plays a vital role in maintaining public safety and supporting criminal justice efforts at the local, state, and federal levels. From advanced forensic science to homeland security, criminal investigations, and criminal justice information systems, SLED's diverse responsibilities make it one of the most dynamic law enforcement agencies in the state. We foster a professional work environment where teamwork, respect, and continuous improvement are fundamental. Our employees are held to the highest standards and are given opportunities to grow within a mission-driven organization that makes a meaningful difference in South Carolina communities. Learn more about why you should join our team at www.sled.sc.gov.

General Responsibility

Manage the operation, maintenance, and optimization of SLED's IT infrastructure, including physical and virtual servers, virtual hosts, storage, and network. Manage a team of system and network engineers. Recommend, develop, configure, install, monitor, and support the agency's infrastructure. Provide technical support and guidance to system and network engineers and mentors the team to provide the best solutions for SLED's infrastructure. Manage vendor relationships, including contract negotiation, performance monitoring, and issue resolution. Assist in overseeing the physical security, integrity, and safety of the data center, server, storage, and network environments. Establish cost-effective cloud solutions.

Specific Duties

• Provide day-to-day management of the server and network teams, including engineers and the agency's server, virtual host, storage, and network hardware, software, and security solutions. Provide technical guidance to team members.
• Oversee hardware and software upgrades to SLED's servers, virtualization hosts, storage, and network, and the installation of new and enhanced products. Maintain and monitor SLED's infrastructure. Implement automation of manual processes. Provide recommendations to the IT Director on opportunities to optimize the performance, reliability, and cost effectiveness of SLED's infrastructure, including servers, virtualization, storage, and network.
• Foster a collaborative and positive work environment that encourages innovation and professional growth. Coordinate team activities, prioritize tasks, and ensure that deadlines are met.
• Coordinate with vendors and other IT staff to recommend, develop quotes for, evaluate, and install technologies for SLED's infrastructure, including network, storage, backup, virtualization, cloud, hardware, and software platforms.
• Coordinate required security reviews and audits of server, storage, and network infrastructure. Manage disaster recovery.

Minimum And Additional Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in communications, business administration, information technology, mathematics, statistics, management information science or a related field and a minimum of seven (7) years' experience in IT virtual/physical Windows Server Environment. Relevant experience may substitute for the bachelor's degree on a year-for-year basis.
• Knowledge of server and network infrastructure, including Windows Server, VMware virtualization, virtual hosts, enterprise storage, routing, switching, firewalls, and cloud platforms such as Azure.
• Ability to lead, manage, and mentor server and network infrastructure teams.
• Ability to design and maintain secure scalable environments while enforcing policies and security measures.
• Ability to manage vendor relationships, including contract negotiation, performance monitoring, and issue resolution.
• Must be able to communicate effectively and align IT operations with organizational goals and compliance requirements.
• Must pass a national fingerprint and background check.
• Employee may be required to travel, and this will include overnight travel.
• This role supports 24/7 infrastructure and the employee will on call.

Additional Comments

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including, but not limited, to lactation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

Supplemental questions are considered part of the official application.

SLED offers an exceptional benefits package for FTE positions that includes:

• Health, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse, and Children
• 15 days annual (vacation) leave per year
• 15 days sick leave per year
• 13 paid holidays
• Paid Parental Leave
• State Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation Programs

Benefits For State Employees

The state of South Carolina offers eligible employees generous benefits, including health and dental insurance; retirement and savings plan options; and paid vacation and sick leave. Plus, work-life balance programs such as telecommuting and flexible work schedules are available to employees of some state agencies.

Insurance Benefits

Eligible employees may enroll in health insurance, which includes prescription coverage and wellness benefits. Other available insurance benefits include dental, vision, term life insurance, long term disability and flexible spending accounts for health and child care expenses.

Retirement Benefits

State employees are also offered retirement plan options, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Additionally, eligible employees may elect to participate in the South Carolina Deferred Compensation Program, which is a voluntary, supplemental retirement savings plan offering 401(k) and 457 plan options.

Workplace Benefits

State employees may also be eligible for other benefits, including tuition assistance; holiday, annual and sick leave; and discounts on purchases, travel and more.

Note:

The benefits above are available to most state employees, with the exception of those in temporary positions. Employees in temporary grant and time-limited positions may be eligible for all, some or none of these benefits as benefits are associated with each position type. For these positions, contact the hiring agency to determine what benefits may be available.