Apple Client Platform Engineer (Remote, US)

Apple Client Platform Engineer (Remote, US)

About Alectrona

Customer experience is more than meeting an SLA.

Our team is passionate about making Apple “just work” for our clients, because we want you to experience the delight of a truly functional technology environment, without the friction of IT getting in the way. We get excited about what we do, and we love sharing that passion with our partners.

Enterprise IT becomes enjoyable again.

We actually love what we do, we take a lot of pride in the quality of our work, and for us, customer experience is paramount. The SLA is not the only metric that drives us. We get deeply invested in finding ways to keep our clients as excited as we are. In an industry that hasn't changed much in over a decade, we are actively reimagining what clients should expect from technology vendors. So we want to show off what's possible -- not just what's been promised.

We treat all people as if they're smart and know what's best.

...because our clients are smart, and they do know. We work with clients that inspire us, and whose missions we want to support. That mutual respect results in trusting relationships and productive communication about business pain points and solutions. We won't hide behind intimidating security-speak and IT jargon. We say what we mean, and mean for clients to understand what we say.

Our clients put their people first - and so do we.

Happy employees create happy customers. Downtime is expensive, and top talent shouldn't spend entire days downloading apps and setting up workstations. Our clients understand this, and demand the best for their people as a matter of business strategy. We bring a matching sense of purpose and excitement to every client engagement.

What you'll do at Alectrona

You will lead professional services engagements for organizations running Apple at scale. That means designing the management platform, building the parts that do not exist yet, and telling the customer the truth about what will and will not work.

• We're a fully remote team across multiple time zones, and we expect you to work well in that environment and be willing to meet in person a few times per year, present at conferences, and be an active member of the team.
• Design, deploy, and hand over Apple management platforms: MDM, identity, patching, security tooling, and the integrations that tie them together.
• Own services engagements end to end in accordance with our company values. You scope the work, plan it, run it, document it, and close it out. We expect you to be able to effectively manage your own time and projects. Our team enjoys this flexibility and autonomy and the responsibility that comes with it.
• Solve the problems that get escalated after everyone else has tried. Packet captures, log spelunking, protocol-level MDM debugging, troubleshooting undocumented behavior in macOS.
• Understand software development concepts: automations, integrations against vendor APIs, custom agents, deployment tooling. We don't expect you to write apps, but it is important to understand the code you're deploying and know how to fix stuff that isn't working.
• Challenge customers when their plan will not survive production. Arguing for a better approach is part of the job, and you have to do it well enough to keep the relationship.
• Run scoping calls. Uncover the business driver behind the request, and then explain what the work will take in plain language.
• Support our small and medium business managed services customers alongside the rest of the Alectrona team.
• Provide technical support and guidance to our managed services customers, including properly recording notes, updating documentation, and resolving tickets within SLA targets.
• Mentor other engineers and colleagues to raise the standards and help everyone learn.
• Shape new products and services. Alectrona builds its own software, and the ideas come from the field.
• Perform all job responsibilities in alignment with the core values, mission and purpose of the organization.
• Adhere to the highest moral, ethical and legal standards to deliver an environment that promotes respect, innovation and creativity.
• Support and promote a positive, inclusive workplace where the talents and strengths of our increasingly diverse workforce are welcomed, further developed, and expressed in our work.

What we're looking for

This is a high mid-level to senior role. We are looking for an engineer who is an expert in Apple management and knows the rest of IT well enough to work across the whole stack a customer runs. You will be supporting a variety of customer types, from end users to IT managers.

Apple and endpoint management

• Deep experience managing Apple devices in a variety of types of environments. This means complex management beyond help desk support and basic engineering
• Solid hands-on expertise in at least two enterprise Apple device management platforms, and the ability to pick up the others fast. Our work spans Jamf Pro, Microsoft Intune, Omnissa Workspace ONE, Fleet, Iru (formerly Kandji), Addigy and Mosyle.
• Command of the Apple management stack itself, not just one vendor's console: this includes an understanding of the MDM protocol, Declarative Device Management, Automated Device Enrollment and Apple Business, APNs, configuration profiles, TCC and PPPC, FileVault, code signing and notarization, Platform SSO, etc.
• Experience migrating fleets between platforms, and a solid understanding of what each vendor does well and where another solution might be stronger.

Software/DevOps skills for managing endpoints

• You are familiar with more than just using basic shell scripts. Confidence in writing your own Shell scripts and troubleshooting code at a minimum. Swift, Python, Go or other experience is a plus.
• Use AI to accelerate and complement your code, not as a wholesale replacement. We want efficiency, productivity, and anti-slop creativity. At Alectrona, we view AI not as a replacement for human expertise, but as a multiplier for your existing skills.
• Using git, participating in code review, leveraging CI, and testing and packaging are part of how you work, not something another team does for you.
• You leverage APIs, webhooks, and automation workflows to complete tasks and build processes that scale.

The rest of IT

• IP networking: familiar with TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, 802.1X, VPN, proxies and TLS inspection. 
• Server and identity administration: supporting Platform SSO, WebAuthn, Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace, Active Directory, SAML, OIDC, SCIM, Kerberos, and certificate authorities.
• Security and compliance: CIS Benchmarks, NIST 800-53, SOC 2, ISO 27001, endpoint detection tooling, vulnerability management, and how each of these applies to securing Macs in production.

Working with customers

• Experience and confidence delivering paid professional services or consulting to external customers.
• You are comfortable actively leading and training customers on implementing configuration changes when we aren't provided direct access to systems.
• Experience and confidence in supporting end users and small businesses in our managed services operation.
• You explain complex technical work to people who do not share your background, in writing and out loud.
• You participate in discovery, kickoff, and project scoping calls as the engineering voice; ask good questions and translate client context into technical decisions.
• You have the confidence to stand up for what's right, whether it's about a technical best practice or just common sense. You challenge your customer to think differently and maintain trust in our recommendations.
• You stay steady when a project goes sideways, the workload swings, or a customer is unhappy.
• Fluent English language proficiency (required).

Education and certifications

• Four-year degree, or the equivalent in experience and knowledge. We understand these skills don't come from higher education alone.
• Appreciated, but not required; however, you should have the skill to obtain any or all of these certifications quickly: Apple Certified IT Professional, Jamf Certified Expert (400), Microsoft MD-102, CompTIA Network+ and Security+, CISSP. If you don't have certs, you will be expected to obtain them in the first few months of employment.

You're the right fit for Alectrona if

You enjoy your work and enjoy helping the people around you without being asked. You seek out perspectives that are not your own. You are curious and resourceful; you dig into the parts nobody else wants, and you improve on your own work. New challenges excite you rather than worry you. You take calculated risks and share your mistakes with the team so we can all improve. You approach hard conversations with empathy. Like us, you enjoy solving the really hard problems as a team and hearing how we've significantly improved our clients' working environment. We're serious about building a great place to work where we all get to enjoy what we do together.

Pay and benefits

The approximate annual compensation range for this role is $95,000 to $165,000, including base salary and any related bonuses or commissions. In addition, Alectrona provides benefits, including 401(k) (6% non-elective company contribution), group medical, dental, vision insurance (99% paid by Alectrona), and an unlimited vacation policy.