Senior IT Operations Engineer

SENIOR IT OPERATIONS ENGINEER - ROLE OVERVIEW

The Senior IT Operations Engineer designs, maintains, secures, and evaluates Kwik Lok's global network, infrastructure, and cloud systems. This role performs highly complex systems support work across a multi-site, international manufacturing environment while providing exceptional customer support to staff. The Senior IT Operations Engineer is responsible for network and infrastructure design, development, and management; identity and endpoint security; and disaster recovery readiness and serves as a senior technical resource to the IT/IS team. This position reports to the Enterprise Systems Manager and works directly with Plant Managers, Departmental Leaders, international site contacts, and external carriers and vendors to deliver on the Company's infrastructure and security initiatives.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES AND RESULTS

Network Architecture and Operations

• Design, install, configure, and manage network infrastructure (firewalls, routers, switches, wireless access points) across Kwik Lok's headquarters, manufacturing plants, and international sites, including Australia, Japan, and Ireland.
• Design and maintain resilient WAN architecture, including dual-ISP and wireless/cellular failover configurations, to protect plant connectivity and production uptime during carrier transitions or outages.
• Implement network segmentation separating corporate, production/plant-floor, and guest traffic; manage VLAN design, routing, NAT and access rules, IPSEC VPN, and IPS/IDS.
• Design and support enterprise wireless networks (802.1X/WPA2-Enterprise, RADIUS/NPS), including plant-floor wireless supporting warehouse scanning (WMS/RF-Smart), wireless card readers, and other operational technology.
• Manage multi-vendor network platforms (Ubiquiti/UniFi, Meraki/Cisco, Fortinet, SonicWall, and Barracuda filtering platforms), standardizing configurations across locations.
• Manage network monitoring tooling, conduct regular network performance tests, and produce network status reports.

Security, Identity, and Endpoint Management

• Create and implement network and infrastructure security measures; lead response to security incidents, including credential compromise and unauthorized access.
• Administer identity and access management across Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft 365, and single sign-on platforms (OneLogin), including role-based access control and MFA initiatives.
• Own endpoint security and management posture using Microsoft Defender and Intune, supporting company-wide device standardization (Intune/Autopilot) across offices and plants.

Infrastructure, Virtualization, and Disaster Recovery

• Support virtualization and server infrastructure (Nutanix or comparable platforms), including VM provisioning, Windows Server OS upgrades, and lifecycle modernization of legacy servers.
• Support and document backup and disaster recovery systems (Veeam, Rubrik), including VM snapshots, full backups, and SaaS backup, contributing to a documented and tested disaster recovery posture.
• Participate directly in the deployment, repair, replacement, disposal, and inventory management of computing equipment (firewalls, routers, switches, access points, laptops, phones, printers, conference room hardware).

Service Delivery and Documentation

• Provide seamless customer service support to end users; respond quickly and professionally to employee calls and tickets, and ensure all work is captured in the centralized IS ticketing system (Happy Fox).
• Own issue resolution from start to finish by monitoring unresolved issues and requests to ensure prompt resolution; handle escalated network and infrastructure support issues.
• Communicate clearly with each customer to ensure their understanding of next steps and likely resolution time frames.
• Author clear standard operating procedures and runbooks (in Scribe) covering infrastructure processes, hardware procurement and replacement, and onboarding/offboarding, including documentation that enables non-IT staff to self-serve tier-1 issues and reduce ticket volume.
• Differentiate between errors caused by hardware, software, desktop, server, and misunderstanding of usage, and route each to the correct resolution path.

Projects, Vendors, and Team

• Assist the Enterprise Systems Manager with deployments across infrastructure, networking, telecom (including cloud phone system rollouts), and site buildouts and expansions.
• Work with vendors, carriers, and service partners (ISPs, managed network providers, hardware manufacturers) to ensure equipment and applications are repaired, upgraded, and renewed on schedule; support vendor evaluations and contract and renewal tracking.
• Serve as a technical resource and mentor to the IT team when working through network and system administration issues; participate in change control to minimize operational risk.
• Contribute to IT policy, governance, and security standards; advise leadership on infrastructure best practices.
• Provide off-hours availability to respond to system outages and perform system upgrades and maintenance across global time zones.

General

• Cultivate a workplace culture that emphasizes deep business alignment, accountability for outcomes, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Maintain knowledge of emerging technologies and the ability to apply them in the service of the company's key business goals.
• Support Kwik Lok production activities through the manufacture of Kwik Lok closures with a focus on continuing improvement of quality, food safety, and manufacturing processes.
• Other duties as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience: At least 5 years of experience in network and infrastructure support, including multi-site or distributed environments
• Certifications: CCNP or CCNA required. CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, AWS Solutions Architect, or Microsoft certifications a plus
• Demonstrated experience with firewall management, WAN/LAN architecture, network segmentation, VPN, and enterprise wireless (802.1X)
• Experience with cloud networking and application delivery (Azure), source control (Git/GitHub), and CI/CD practices
• Intermediate to advanced proficiency in the Microsoft ecosystem: Microsoft 365 administration, Entra ID, Intune, and Defender
• Experience supporting virtualization, Windows Server environments, and backup and recovery platforms
• Experience leading incident response and root cause analysis, or serving as an escalation point in an MSP or multi-client environment
• Experience authoring IT policy and governance standards (for example, compliance-driven segmentation or security standards)
• Must be able to pass pre-employment drug and background screenings
• Must have a valid US passport, or be able to obtain after hired
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship

KEY SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES

• Approaches work with an innovative spirit, constantly focused on continual improvement; shows initiative and enthusiasm in suggesting and implementing new concepts and ideas.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the desire to actively drive opportunities to resolution and continually improve processes.
• Exceptional organization and task management skills, able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate technical information clearly and respectfully with all internal audiences, keeping internal customer service a top priority.

ALL THE DETAILS...

• Pay commensurate with experience: $117,800 - 128,600
• Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm PST. Occasional off-hours availability required to support business needs across global time zones.
• Insurance Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription, Life and Disability Insurance plans (eligible 1st of the month following date of hire)
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) Plan with company match (90 day waiting period, restrictions apply)
• Paid Time Off: (90 day waiting period, prorated for first year)
  • Vacation: 120 hours a year, with increases based on years of service
  • Holidays: 70 hours a year (8.5 days): 1 Floating Holiday, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the Friday following, half day on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day
  • Sick Leave: 40 hours a year, prorated for first year
• Other Compensation: Employees may be eligible for annual performance bonuses
• Location: Remote. This role requires travel approximately 25-35% of the time, with most travel to Kwik Lok’s Yakima headquarters. Occasional travel to domestic and international plant locations may be required for special projects, deployments, or business needs.
  • Telework expectations: Must be available and responsive during scheduled work hours and possess a physical workspace that facilitates telework (internet access, ability to focus on work during work hours if others are present in the home, successfully complete telework environment safety assessments on a regular basis). Employees must use video during virtual meetings to support non-verbal communication continuity. Kwik Lok will supply the employee with all necessary technology to perform work.
• Work environment: Professional office and manufacturing plant environment. Work in plant and warehouse areas (network closets, wireless surveys, hardware installation) will be required periodically. Regularly required to communicate with others; frequently sits, occasionally stands and/or walks; uses hands and fingers to type and grasp; reaches with hands and arms; may lift up to 50 lbs. on occasion. Requires close visual acuity for viewing a computer terminal, preparing and analyzing data, and extensive reading. Noise level in office environment 10dB, 85-95 dB in production environment.

To learn more about Kwik Lok, visit www.kwiklok.com.

Kwik Lok is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. We strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply. We value a diverse workforce and provide equal opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, genetic information, status as a veteran, unrelated criminal conviction history, or any other characteristic protected by law. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job, or participate in the application and interview process.

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