Senior IT Operations Engineer

Kwik Lok Corporation manufactures Kwik Lok closures and operates across headquarters, manufacturing plants, and international sites. The Senior IT Operations Engineer designs, maintains, secures, and evaluates global network, infrastructure, and cloud systems while supporting security, identity, endpoint management, disaster recovery, customer service, and IT projects.

Responsibilities:

• 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
• 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
• 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)
• 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
• 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
• 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

Requirements:

• At least 5 years of experience in network and infrastructure support, including multi-site or distributed environments
• CCNP or CCNA required
• 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 have a valid US passport, or be able to obtain after hired
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship
• 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
• CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, AWS Solutions Architect, or Microsoft certifications a plus
• Approaches work with an innovative spirit, constantly focused on continual improvement; shows initiative and enthusiasm in suggesting and implementing new concepts and ideas