Technical Operations Specialist

Strike is an offensive security company that runs a hybrid AI + human penetration testing model at scale. Our AI Hacking Agents autonomously execute threat emulations against client assets, while a curated community of specialized hackers (Strikers) and an internal Hacking Team ensure quality, coverage, and depth that no single approach delivers alone.

We work with companies across the globe - from fast-growing fintechs to large banks and enterprise clients - delivering continuous security validation through our PTaaS platform.

Position Overview

Before our AI Agents can find a single vulnerability, they need to reach the target. That first mile, connecting to client environments through VPNs, firewalls, proxies, SSO configurations, MFA setups, WAF rules, and network restrictions, is the most common blocker in our pipeline, and it's where this role lives.

As a Technical Operations Specialist, you own the initial setup and connectivity of every engagement. Your job is to make sure our AI Agents land on target with a stable, working connection so the Hacking Team and the Strikers can focus on what they do best: hack. When an asset won't connect, you're the one who diagnoses, troubleshoots, and resolves it, working directly with clients, Customer Success, and Sales when needed.

You bring deep experience in networking, systems administration, and technical support. You know how corporate networks work from the inside, the firewalls, the proxies, the identity providers, the edge cases. That expertise is exactly what we need. At the same time, you're entering the cybersecurity side of your career: you'll work embedded in the Hacking Team, surrounded by senior pentesters and AI-driven offensive tools, building a real path into offensive security over time.

This role is not a help desk. You're solving problems that directly unblock revenue, client delivery, and product performance at the most critical point in the pipeline.

Key Responsibilities

Initial setup and connectivity

• Own the end-to-end process of connecting client assets to our AI Agents: VPN configuration, firewall rule validation, proxy setup, authentication flows (SSO, MFA, TOTP, OAuth), and network access troubleshooting.

• Diagnose and resolve connectivity blockers independently. When you can't resolve it alone, coordinate with the client's IT team to get it done.

• Ensure every engagement reaches a stable first run before handing off to the Hacking Team or Strikers.

Ticket management and documentation

• Close and tag setup tickets with clear resolution notes, root cause, and steps taken.

• Document recurring patterns, common blockers, and client-specific configurations to build a knowledge base that enables future automation.

• Maintain clean intake for the rest of the organization: Product, Engineering, AI, and the Hacking Team action on what you produce.

Cross-functional coordination

• Work with Customer Success, Pre-Sales, and KAMs to resolve client-facing connectivity issues. You're the technical voice in those conversations.

• Escalate issues that go beyond connectivity (agent behavior, product bugs, security-relevant edge cases) to the appropriate team with enough context for them to act.

• Provide structured input to Product and Engineering on setup friction, missing features, and automation opportunities based on what you see in the field.

Process improvement

• Identify repetitive setup patterns that can be automated or templatized.

• Contribute to building pre-flight checks, setup playbooks, and diagnostic tools that reduce time-to-first-run over time.

• Track and report on setup metrics: time-to-connect, blocker frequency by type, client-specific recurrence.

Requirements

Must-have

• 5+ years of experience in network administration, systems administration, or technical support engineering.

• Deep hands-on knowledge of networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, DNS, VPNs (IPSec, WireGuard, OpenVPN), firewalls, proxies, NAT, routing.

• Experience troubleshooting corporate network environments: SSO/SAML integrations, MFA configurations, WAFs, load balancers, cloud networking (AWS/GCP/Azure VPCs, security groups).

• Ability to work independently, diagnose problems systematically, and resolve them without hand-holding.

• Advanced English, written and spoken (daily working language for client communication and documentation).

• Clear, structured communication - you'll explain technical networking issues to non-technical stakeholders (CS, Sales) and to highly technical ones (Hacking Team, Engineering) alike.

Preferably

• Junior-level cybersecurity experience or demonstrated interest: vulnerability scanning, penetration testing workflows, offensive tooling, CTFs, bug bounty participation, or security operations.

• Experience with Linux server administration and scripting (Bash, Python) for troubleshooting and automation.

• Familiarity with authentication protocols: OAuth 2.0, SAML, OIDC, Kerberos.

• Certifications: CCNA, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, or similar.

• Experience working in a SaaS, security, or platform company where you interfaced with external client environments.

Career Path

This is a deliberate entry point into offensive security. You join with the networking and sysadmin expertise we need today, and you grow into cybersecurity with the Hacking Team over time.

What that looks like in practice:

• You start embedded in the Hacking Team from day one - not isolated in an IT silo.

• As you build context on how our AI Agents and Strikers work, you'll gradually take on security-adjacent tasks: config reviews, basic triage support, asset validation.

• You'll have direct access to senior pentesters, offensive tooling, and real engagement data - the kind of exposure that accelerates a cybersecurity career faster than any certification alone.

• Your long-term trajectory within Strike leads toward Hacking Operations: pentest lifecycle management, quality oversight, and eventually hands-on security work.

We've built this path intentionally. We're not hiring you to stay in setup forever - we're hiring you to grow.

Why Strike

• You'll work inside a Hacking Team, not an IT department. Your colleagues are pentesters and AI Agents, not helpdesk operators.

• You'll solve real problems at the intersection of networking and offensive security - every connection you unblock leads directly to vulnerabilities found and clients protected.

• You'll have a concrete career path into cybersecurity, backed by mentorship and daily exposure to the craft.

• Remote-first, async-friendly culture. Flexible schedule, paid time off.

• Conference sponsorship and access to training resources (Defcon, Ekoparty, Black Hat, HTB, etc.).

• Competitive compensation (USD, contractor).