IT Infrastructure Manager

The Opportunity

Lumai is redefining how the world computes. We are an ambitious, venture-backed UK startup pioneering a breakthrough AI accelerator for data centers which uses 3D optical compute. Our radical technology uses light to perform computation at orders of magnitude faster speeds and at far greater scales than ever before, all whilst consuming far less energy than traditional approaches.

Lumai is unlocking performance and efficiency gains that could transform the economics of AI and compute infrastructure and reshape how intelligence scales globally.

If you are passionate about bringing groundbreaking technology to market, and want to be part of a team pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible, Lumai is where you can make it happen.

About Lumai

Founded in 2022, Lumai is a University of Oxford spinout using optical processing to accelerate large language models (LLMs) and other transformer-based AI systems. The team combines expertise in optical computing, machine learning, and physics.

Lumai has already secured over $15 million in investment from leading deep-tech investors like Constructor Capital, IP Group, PhotonVentures and government grants, and is scaling rapidly to deploy the fastest optical compute currently available globally.

The Role

We are looking for an IT Infrastructure Manager to establish and lead the internal platform that powers all of Lumai. In this role, you will take ownership of the compute, storage, networking and CI/CD environments that our optics, hardware, firmware and software engineers rely on every day.

This is a high-impact position where you will shape our engineering infrastructure, technical operations and security standards from the ground up. You will help us replace manual setups with automated, reliable and secure workflows, whilst also overseeing core IT operations as our team grows. If you enjoy building dependable platforms, keeping engineering teams moving fast and leading technical projects, there is a lot of meaningful work to do here.

What You'll Do

• Platform Delivery & Tooling: Lead the team setting up automated provisioning, CI/CD pipelines, internal developer tools, and lab and cloud networking and monitoring
• Technical Operations & IT: Ensure engineers are unblocked quickly on build, network, or access issues, while managing company IT essentials like identity management, laptops/devices and key software tools
• Security & IP Protection: Build security into our daily setup from the start across all servers, code repositories, sensitive simulation data and devices, without slowing down development
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Work closely with our optics, hardware and software leads to understand what their workflows need and make sure our platform scales cleanly with the business

What We're Looking For:

Must-Have

• Experience managing or mentoring engineers across infrastructure, platform, DevOps, or IT, with a clear focus on getting things done
• Hands-on experience with cloud and on-premise compute, storage, and networking - comfortable guiding technical choices and talking through architecture, without needing to write code all day
• Experience running build systems, CI/CD pipelines, and test automation
• Practical understanding of access management, network security, and device security, keeping systems protected without getting in engineers' way
• Comfortable overseeing core IT setups, device fleets, and user onboarding in a fast-growing team
• Strong communicator - able to listen to engineers across different disciplines, understand their bottlenecks, and turn them into simple, practical technical solution

Strong Preference For

• Experience working with hardware, simulation, or embedded software teams
• A builder mindset - comfortable in an early-stage, fast-moving environment where you're setting up new processes and platforms rather than just maintaining old ones

Compensation & Benefits

• Highly Competitive Salary: We are not saying our salary is a blank check, but let's just say it won't be a source of your stress
• Share Option Scheme: We are all in this together! We believe in shared success while we build the Lumai of tomorrow
• Pension Scheme: Plan for retirement with AVIVA
• Private Health Insurance: We firmly believe that you come first, and a happy you is a healthy you! Look after yourself and your loved ones with AXA
• Cycle to Work: Spread the cost of a bike, a bike and accessories or just accessories, and save on tax
• L&D Allowance: Stay at the forefront of your field with a £500 annual development budget
• Subsidised On-site Lunches: Enjoy on-site healthy meals at half the price, as Lumai covers 50% of the cost
• Holidays: Enjoy some deserved "me time" with 25 days paid holiday (plus bank holidays) per year
• Socials: Be part of an inclusive community enjoying occasional all-company off-sites, lunches and socials

Lumai is an equal opportunity employer. We make hiring decisions on merit, scope-fit, and the strength of the working relationship we expect to build with each hire. Applications welcome from candidates of any background. If you are not sure whether you are a fit, send a note anyway.