Network & IT Administrator

Light Iron; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 105,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental and vision coverage

401(k) plan

Equity incentive program

Job summary

Light Iron is seeking a Network & IT Administrator to manage the facility’s network, security, and end-user technology. You will administer Arista EOS switches, Palo Alto firewalls, StorNext storage, and associated systems to support high-speed media workflows across editorial, color, finishing, and delivery.

The role reports to the Director of Engineering and requires hands-on experience with enterprise networking, storage, and security practices in a post-production environment.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years in network/IT administration in media
• Experience with Arista switches and PAN-OS firewalls
• StorNext storage administration experience
• Strong documentation and incident response
• Knowledge of Google Workspace, VPNs, DNS/DHCP

Responsibilities

• Maintain LAN, WAN, and wireless networks and VPNs
• Configure Arista EOS switches and QoS for media traffic
• Manage StorNext storage and Hyper-V cluster
• Provide first-line IT support for staff and theaters
• Ensure security controls and TP N compliance

Skills

Networking

TCP/IP/VLANs

Documentation

Incident response

Security mindset

Tools

Arista EOS

Palo Alto PAN-OS

StorNext

Google Workspace

Hyper-V

Job description

Company Description Light Iron is a full-service post-production facility specializing in dailies, color grading, finishing, and mastering for film, television, and streaming content. The company is known for blending advanced technology with creative expertise to support storytellers at every stage of their projects. Light Iron serves a wide range of clients in the entertainment industry, providing high-quality post-production workflows and solutions. Now proudly employee-owned, the organization fosters a collaborative culture where team members can contribute to innovation at the intersection of artistry and technology.

Job Scope:

The Network & IT Administrator is responsible for the day-to-day administration, security, and support of the company’s network, IT systems, and end-user technology, ensuring the facility’s infrastructure remains secure, available, and performant for production operations.

Reporting to the Director of Engineering, this role administers the facility’s wired and wireless networks, firewalls, shared storage, user accounts, endpoints, and core IT services, and serves as the first line of technical support for staff, client suites, and theaters. The role specializes in the facility’s core platforms: Arista switching, Palo Alto Networks firewalls, and Quantum StorNext shared storage. The Network & IT Administrator implements and maintains the technical controls that support the company’s content security program, including TPN requirements, and works with the engineering team to keep the high-speed media network performing for editorial, color, finishing, and delivery workflows. The Director of Engineering owns infrastructure strategy, design, and architecture; the Network & IT Administrator configures, maintains, monitors, and documents that environment day to day and escalates design and architectural decisions to the Director of Engineering.

Key Responsibilities:

Network Administration & Performance

• Administer, monitor, and maintain the facility’s LAN, WAN, and wireless networks, including switches, routers, firewalls, and VPN
• Configure, administer, and troubleshoot Arista switches (EOS), including VLANs, link aggregation/MLAG, QoS, and high-speed (10/25/40/100GbE) media network connectivity
• Support the high-bandwidth media network connecting workstations, shared storage, machine rooms, and theaters
• Manage network segmentation, VLANs, IP addressing, DNS/DHCP, and internet circuits, and coordinate with ISPs and carriers
• Monitor network health and performance, and diagnose and resolve outages, bottlenecks, and connectivity issues, prioritizing systems impacting active productions

Security & Content Protection

• Implement and maintain technical controls supporting the company’s content security program and TPN requirements, including firewall rules, network isolation, multi-factor authentication, logging, and patching
• Administer Palo Alto Networks firewalls (PAN-OS), including security policies, zones, NAT, App-ID/User-ID, threat prevention, GlobalProtect VPN, and log review, using Panorama where deployed
• Provision and deprovision user accounts, permissions, and system access in step with onboarding, role changes, and offboarding, coordinated with the role-based badge access system
• Maintain endpoint protection, vulnerability patching, and backup verification across workstations and servers
• Prepare documentation and evidence for security assessments, audits, and studio security questionnaires
• Respond to, document, and escalat[e] security incidents to the Director of Engineering

Shared Storage Administration

• Administer and monitor Quantum StorNext shared storage, including volumes, metadata controllers, client connectivity, quotas, and capacity reporting
• Troubleshoot storage performance and availability issues affecting editorial, color, finishing, and delivery workflows, and coordinate with Quantum support on escalations, firmware, and software updates
• Maintain StorNext access controls in line with the facility’s content security and permissions model
• Maintain and monitor the Microsoft Hyper-V failover cluster, including cluster nodes, Cluster Shared Volumes, virtual switches, and cluster networking, using Failover Cluster Manager, Hyper-V Manager, and PowerShell
• Perform routine cluster maintenance, including rolling host patching and firmware updates, node drill and live migration, and validation of cluster health after changes
• Create, configure, and maintain virtual machines, templates, checkpoints, and resource allocations (CPU, memory, storage, and virtual networking) for internal services
• Verify backup and replication jobs for virtual machines and the cluster, and perform restores and failover tests as scheduled
• Monitor cluster capacity, performance, and alerts, and report capacity trends and hardware or design concerns to the Director of Engineering

IT Systems & End-User Support

• Provide first-line technical support for staff workstations, peripherals, conference rooms, client suites, and theaters
• Deploy, configure, image, and maintain macOS, Windows, and Linux workstations
• Administer Google Workspace, Slack, and other core business system accounts and configurations
• Maintain hardware and software inventory, license tracking, and asset lifecycle records
• Coordinate with outside IT and managed service providers on escalations, vendor support, and after-hours coverage
• Maintain current network diagrams, system documentation, runbooks, and change logs for the Arista, Palo Alto, and StorNext environments
• Implement infrastructure projects and changes as designed and directed by the Director of Engineering
• Work with the Director, Business Systems on network access, permissions, and integrations required by internal software platforms; software development remains with that team
• Communicate planned maintenance and service interruptions to staff and schedule changes around active productions

Recommended Skills & Personal Attributes:

• Methodical troubleshooter who works problems through to root cause
• Service-oriented and patient when supporting non-technical staff and clients
• Strong security mindset and discretion with confidential client content
• Calm and focused under pressure, particularly in production-critical situations
• Detail-oriented, with disciplined documentation habits
• Strong sense of ownership and follow-through on assigned systems and tickets
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively with engineering, production, and software teams
• Curious and committed to keeping current on networking, security, and media technology

Required Experience & Expectations:

• 3–5+ years of experience in network administration, IT support, or systems administration, preferably in post-production, VFX, broadcast, or media
• Hands-on experience administering enterprise switching, routing, firewalls, and wireless systems
• Hands-on experience configuring and supporting Arista switches (EOS)
• Hands-on experience administering Palo Alto Networks firewalls (PAN-OS), including security policy management and GlobalProtect VPN
• Hands-on experience administering Quantum StorNext shared storage in a media environment
• Solid working knowledge of TCP/IP, VLANs, routing, VPN, DNS/DHCP, and network monitoring tools
• Experience supporting high-throughput media networks and shared storage environments such as SAN and NAS
• Experience administering macOS, Windows, and Linux systems in a mixed environment
• Experience with Google Workspace administration, identity and access management, and multi-factor authentication
• Working knowledge of content security frameworks such as TPN and MPA Content Security Best Practices, or the ability to learn them quickly
• Networking or security certifications (e.g., CCNA, CompTIA Network+, Security+) preferred; Palo Alto (PCNSA/PCNSE), Arista (ACE), or Quantum StorNext certifications a plus
• Ability to manage multiple requests and priorities in a fast-paced production environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly in documenting technical processes

Work Environment and Physical Demands:

This job operates in a professional office environment, including machine rooms, client suites, and theaters. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands and reach with hands and arms. The employee may also be required to lift product or equipment weighing up to 50 lbs.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

This position works standard business hours but may require evening and weekend work, including scheduled maintenance windows outside of production hours and participation in an on-call rotation for production-critical issues.

Travel:

Occasional local travel to vendor, client, or remote sites may be required.

The salary range for this position is $105,000 to $130,000 per year. Actual pay within this range is based on factors such as experience, skills, and qualifications. This position is eligible for Light Iron’s benefits program, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) retirement plan, and paid time off], details of which are provided separately. As an employee-owned company, Light Iron offers eligible employees the opportunity to participate in its equity incentive plan, subject to plan terms and approval.