Director of IT Engineering

What You’ll Do

We are seeking a Director of Information Technology to lead our internal IT function across a fully remote, security-focused SaaS company. This leader will own the overall IT strategy, operations, and service delivery for our global workforce, overseeing multiple teams (e.g., Help Desk / End-User Support, Corporate Systems, and IT Infrastructure) and the managers who lead them.

You will be accountable for delivering a secure, reliable, and friction-minimizing technology experience for employees while partnering closely with Security, Engineering, People, and Finance to support Horizon3's growth.

In this role, you will:

• Define and drive the multi-year IT strategy and roadmap, aligned with company goals and the broader Security & IT vision.

• Own end-to-end accountability for the performance, quality, and outcomes of the Help Desk, IT Engineering, and Business applications teams

• Own IT service delivery for a distributed, remote-first workforce, ensuring reliable endpoint, identity, and collaboration experiences for employees.

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing IT organization, including managers and senior individual contributors across Help Desk, Corporate Systems, and Infrastructure.

• Establish and continuously improve IT operating rhythms, including intake, prioritization, change management, incident management, and communication practices.

• Partner with Security, Engineering, and Compliance to design and operate secure-by-default IT environments, with strong identity, access management, device compliance, and data protection controls.

• Oversee selection, implementation, and lifecycle management of core IT platforms and tools (e.g., identity and access management, endpoint management, MDM, collaboration suite, device and asset management, ticketing).

• Own and optimize IT budgets, vendor relationships, and contracts, balancing cost control with reliability and user experience.

• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and service-level objectives (SLOs) for IT (e.g., ticket response and resolution times, employee satisfaction, device compliance rates, onboarding time-to-productivity).

• Partner with People team and hiring managers to deliver a smooth technology onboarding and offboarding experience, including provisioning, access setup, and device logistics for remote employees.

• Ensure IT processes and documentation (runbooks, knowledge base articles, standards) are created, maintained, and leveraged by the team.

• Lead IT support for periodic company events (e.g., in-person summits, trainings) and any office or hub environments as needed.

• Serve as an escalation point for complex or high-impact IT incidents, collaborating with Security and Engineering on root cause analysis and long-term remediation.

• Communicate clearly with executives and stakeholders about IT priorities, tradeoffs, risks, and progress.

As a People Leader, You Will

• Recruit, hire, and onboard talented IT professionals and managers to support our organizational goals.

• Set the operating rhythm for IT Leadership, prioritization, planning cadences, escalation paths, and cross-team coordination, so the teams operate as one integrated organization rather than silos.

• Set clear expectations and success metrics for your teams, and provide regular feedback, coaching, and career development.

• Build a culture that emphasizes ownership, service excellence, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

• Recognize and retain high performers while addressing performance gaps with clarity and fairness.

• Model calm, accountable leadership during incidents and periods of high change.

What You’ll Bring

• Significant experience (typically 10+ years) in IT, with at least 5+ years in people leadership roles, including managing managers and multi-site or distributed teams.

• Proven track record owning IT strategy and operations for a mid-sized or larger organization, ideally in a SaaS, security, or other highly regulated / security-conscious environment.

• Demonstrated ability to manage other managers and have a track record of developing them.

• Experience operating in a remote-first or hybrid workplace, supporting distributed employees across time zones.

• Deep understanding of core IT domains, including:

  • Endpoint management (macOS and/or Windows) and device lifecycle

  • Identity and access management (e.g., Okta, Entra, or similar)

  • Collaboration and productivity suites (e.g., Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom)

  • Ticketing and ITSM tooling (e.g., Jira Service Management or similar)

  • Network and office connectivity in hub locations (Wi-Fi, conference rooms,)

  • Enterprise AI administration and enablement (e.g., Claude, Gemini, AWS Bedrock or similar)

  • Cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS, or similar)

• Strong partnership history with Security, Engineering, and Compliance teams on identity, access, and device security controls.

• Demonstrated ability to design and implement IT processes at scale (intake, change management, incident management, problem management, asset management).

• Comfort making pragmatic tradeoffs between ideal architectures and business reality, while still moving toward secure, durable solutions.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and to present options, risks, and recommendations clearly.

• Strong vendor management skills, including evaluation, negotiation, and ongoing performance management.

• High bias for action, ownership, and follow-through in ambiguous, rapidly changing environments.

Nice to Have

• Experience in a high-growth startup or scale-up environment.

• Background in cybersecurity, IT security engineering, or exposure to security frameworks and audits (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP).

• Experience building or supporting IT operations for federal, regulated, or public sector customers.

• Prior leadership of IT in a remote-first organization.

Location & Travel

This role is open to candidates located in the United States and is primarily remote. Occasional travel (up to ~10%) may be required for in-person team meetings, company events, or work at hub locations.

• Base salary range [or Total On-Target Compensation]: $218,000 - $256,000 annually. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills.

Perks of Horizon3

• Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.

• Hybrid & Remote Work: We embrace a mix of remote and hybrid work models depending on role and location, including our Chicago office, where some roles require regular in-office presence.

• Base salary range: $218,000 - $256,000 annually. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills.