Tech Ops Lead

Why the Stratosphere? From first principles, it is the obvious place to build. Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites orbit at 400 kilometers, moving at 17,000 mph and offering only brief snapshots. An autonomous solar-powered bird at 20 kilometers, or 65,000 ft, flies steady above the clouds and weather. In other words, it’s very close to Earth. And persistent by flying in circles. Effectively a Cell Tower in the Sky. The Stratosphere provides the physics of permanence. That persistence is priceless. That is Skylink. Start small. Build upward. The first product of Icarus is a small, affordable solar-powered Stratospheric bird. A platform designed to be light, simple, and built under constraints. Affordability is the foundation. More importantly, it solves a real use case now. A wedge into the market through intelligence and communications. A beachhead that proves the model, attracts customers who need it so badly they’ll use it even before it’s perfect, and opens the path to market disruption at scale. The vision: Skylink The vision goes further than building one plane or even one fleet. The goal is Skylink: a persistent Stratospheric grid delivering continuous intelligence, uninterrupted communications, and global connectivity. A new layer of infrastructure. The next backbone of how we see, sense, and connect the world. Our mission at Icarus is to re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. We asked ourselves: what is the fastest and best way to execute this? The answer was not to start with a massive, billion-dollar program. It was to start with affordable birds, scale endurance step by step, and build upward into Skylink. Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. You will build and run the IT systems that keep our engineers, technicians, and operators moving. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. The role As a Tech Ops Lead, you will own internal IT from the laptop on a new hire's desk to the systems that keep our factory connected. This is a hands-on individual contributor role with end-to-end responsibility. You will configure hardware, administer systems, troubleshoot issues, write automation, and see projects through to a working result. We need someone who can execute independently: understand the problem, decide what matters, get it working, and make sure it stays fixed. You should be equally comfortable helping a teammate recover access, tracing a network issue, deploying a fleet of devices, and eliminating a recurring task with a script. You will work on-site with engineering, manufacturing, operations, and leadership. Clear communication and initiative are essential. You will explain technical tradeoffs in plain language, advocate for a practical plan, and implement improvements that help the business move faster. We value evidence of systems you have built and operated over employer names or compliance credentials alone. What you'll own • Day-to-day IT execution. Be the first point of contact for internal IT issues. Diagnose problems, communicate clearly, restore service, and close the loop with the people affected. • Devices and workstations. Purchase, provision, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot laptops, engineering workstations, peripherals, printers, and meeting-room equipment. Keep asset records, spares, and software licenses organized. • Identity and business systems. Administer Microsoft 365, accounts, groups, email, collaboration tools, and application access. Make onboarding fast and offboarding complete, with access approved and documented. • Reliable connectivity. Deploy and troubleshoot office and factory Wi-Fi, switches, firewalls, VPNs, cabling, DNS, and DHCP. Work with engineering on clear boundaries between corporate IT and product or test systems. • Practical security. Implement and maintain MFA, least-privilege access, device management, encryption, patching, endpoint protection, and appropriate logging. Partner with compliance owners on required controls and evidence. • Automation. Use PowerShell, Python, shell scripts, or APIs to automate device setup, account lifecycle tasks, inventory, and recurring administration. Use AI tools and agents where they make operations faster and more reliable, with appropriate access controls and human review. Test changes and document how they work. • Recovery and reliability. Maintain backups, test restores, monitor critical services, and document recovery steps. Handle incidents with clear priorities, safe changes, and verified fixes. • Projects from start to finish. Own migrations, new tools, vendor coordination, and factory IT improvements. Manage the details, follow through on dependencies, and verify that the result works for its users. • Simple, useful documentation. Keep systems, ownership, access procedures, and troubleshooting guides current so important knowledge does not live in one person's head. What we're looking for • 3+ years of hands-on IT, systems administration, or infrastructure experience, or equivalent demonstrated experience delivering and operating these systems. • A record of personally shipping improvements and resolving difficult problems. Be ready to explain what you did, how you tested it, and what changed as a result. • Strong Windows and Microsoft 365 administration skills, including identity, permissions, endpoint management, and practical security controls. • Networking fundamentals and the ability to troubleshoot methodically across devices, services, and connectivity. • Comfort writing and maintaining scripts or small integrations that remove repetitive work. • Good judgment when handling sensitive information, privileged access, incidents, and production changes. You know when to act, when to escalate, and how to leave a clear record. • Clear communication, responsive support, and the ability to prioritize urgent issues while completing longer-term projects. • Ability to work at our El Segundo factory five days a week. Bonus • Built or scaled IT at a startup, hardware company, factory, or other fast-moving environment. • Experience with Microsoft Entra ID, Intune, macOS or Linux administration, virtualization, cloud infrastructure, or engineering software environments. • Implemented technical controls and gathered evidence for NIST 800-171, CMMC, or similar security programs. • Supported site moves, factory expansion, or recovery from a significant outage. • Used AI tools or agents to automate operational work and can explain the measurable result. What success looks like in your first 90 days • New hires have working equipment and the right access on day one. • IT issues are resolved with clear communication, and repeat problems become permanent fixes. • Devices, accounts, licenses, and critical systems have accurate records, secure configurations, and tested recovery procedures. • Routine work becomes simpler and more reliable through automation that the team can maintain. • Phishing-resistant sign-in controls, tested incident playbooks, and a weekly control-review cadence improve security without unnecessary friction. • Leadership can see current user and license inventories, ticket ownership, and service metrics. • Onboarding and offboarding are reliable, password-manager adoption is practical, and required compliance evidence stays current. Our culture = elite sports team. Winning = having fun • Hyperfocus • Extreme Ownership • Radical Transparency Why Icarus • Meaningful equity • Top market salary and bonuses • Health, dental, and vision insurance • Factory in El Segundo • Real ownership, real hardware, real flight • Small team, massive responsibility • High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture • Dream desk setup • Daily lunch • Unlimited Celsius Hiring process • Phone screen with the hiring manager via Microsoft Teams • Onsite presentation and panel Q&A, including a practical technical discussion focused on troubleshooting, systems ownership, and work you have delivered US salary range $120,000 - $160,000 USD per year This range reflects base salary only. Actual compensation depends on relevant experience, skills, qualifications, and role scope. Equity is part of Icarus' total compensation package. We're an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.