IT Systems Administrator

Substack Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Substack Inc. in San Francisco is looking for an IT Systems Administrator to manage internal IT operations, focusing on identity management and compliance. This role requires experience with Okta and a familiarity with SOC 2 standards.

The selected candidate will be pivotal in onboarding processes, managing vendor relationships, and ensuring compliance readiness. The compensation package includes a competitive salary ranging from $120,000 to $160,000, along with equity and benefits.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years in corporate IT or systems administration.
• Hands-on experience setting up SSO integrations with Okta.
• Familiarity with SOC 2 requirements.

Responsibilities

• Administer Okta for identity and access management.
• Manage IT onboarding for new hires.
• Serve as point of contact for IT tool vendors.
• Support SOC 2 compliance efforts.

Skills

Experience in corporate IT or systems administration

Hands-on Okta experience

Experience with Apple-focused MDM

Familiarity with SOC 2 requirements

Strong communication skills

Organizational skills

Tools

Okta

Iru/Kandji

Jamf

Vanta

Drata

Job description

Substack is building a new economic engine for culture, giving the brightest, most interesting, and most creative people on the internet the power of their own publishing platform. Substack empowers independent writers, artists, videographers, podcasters, and creators of all types to create, share, and make a living off their work through subscriptions, while offering them creative freedom, ownership, and a direct connection to their audiences.

About the Role

We're looking for an IT Systems Administrator to own our internal IT operations end to end. This is a hands‑on individual contributor role for someone who thrives in a fast‑moving environment, takes pride in running a tight, well‑organized IT function, and knows how to build systems that scale. You'll be the go‑to person for everything from onboarding new hires to managing our SaaS tool stack and supporting our path to SOC 2 compliance.

What You'll Own

Identity & Access Management

• Administer Okta across our full tool stack — managing SSO, SCIM provisioning, and app integrations
• Onboard and offboard users across both Okta and non‑Okta applications
• Add and deactivate tools in Okta as our stack evolves
• Manage and track access for vendors and contractors, ensuring appropriate permissions are granted and revoked promptly

IT Onboarding & Endpoint Management

• Own the new hire IT onboarding experience — from laptop setup to tool access on day one
• Manage device enrollment, configuration, and compliance through Iru
• Maintain hardware inventory and manage device lifecycle

SaaS & Vendor Management

• Serve as the point of contact for IT tool vendors
• Identify integration requirements for new tools and manage their setup and deprecation
• Maintain documentation on our tool stack, access policies, and vendor relationships

SOC 2 Readiness

• Partner with our Systems Team to support SOC 2 compliance efforts
• Help implement and manage our future compliance platform, such as Vanta.
• Ensure IT processes around access, onboarding, and offboarding meet audit requirements

What We're Looking For

• 3–5 years of experience in a corporate IT or systems administration role, ideally at a tech company
• Hands‑on Okta experience — you've set up SSO integrations and managed provisioning, not just administered existing configs
• Experience with an Apple‑focused MDM — Iru/Kandji, Jamf, or similar
• Familiarity with SOC 2 requirements and ideally experience working in or toward a SOC 2 environment
• Experience with compliance platforms like Vanta or Drata is a plus
• Strong communicator who can work cross‑functionally with operations, engineering, and external vendors
• Organized and process‑oriented — you document what you build and build for repeatability

Substack’s compensation package includes a market‑competitive salary, equity for all full‑time roles, and exceptional benefits. Our cash compensation salary range for this role is $120,000-$160,000. Multiple factors, including candidate experience and expertise, determine final offer amounts and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Substack is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), age, national origin, veteran or disability status. We’re seeking people passionate about enabling independent expression and building a better business model for creators. If you want to see what media, communities, and content can become when unmoored from advertising models, and you have the skills and experience to contribute, we’d love to meet you.

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