IT Director

About the Role We are a high-performance creative agency operating at the intersection of digital innovation and physical experience. As our creative output scales into complex physical-digital hybrid experiences and AI‑driven territory, our foundational infrastructure must evolve to match it. We are seeking an IT Director to take ownership of the “Business of IT”, securing the network, optimizing the budget, and leading the team that keeps the agency running. Your mission is to migrate our services to local control and establish a Service‑First culture that empowers employees to work effortlessly without compromising security. The 90‑Day Mission Service Unification: Collaborate with the Software Engineering Team to implement a unified ticketing system and a standardized SLA framework for corporate service requests. Budget Audit: Complete a forensic audit of all hardware/software spending to identify immediate opportunities for optimizations. Local Control: Plan a roadmap to migrate critical services from legacy/external dependencies to fully managed local control. Key Responsibilities Operational Leadership & Strategy Manage the IT P&L. Audit vendor contracts, negotiate renewals, and aggressively optimize spend without degrading performance. Oversee on‑premise and cloud infrastructure for a 200‑person office, managing a hybrid environment (50% Mac / 50% Windows). Lead and develop IT Technicians to be proactive support specialists, ensuring seamless and efficient support for delivery teams. Create automated solutions for common manual workloads to boost productivity among internal teams. Oversee internal IT‑based projects for AV in conference rooms, air‑gapped internal networking, and related systems. Governance, Security & AI Policy Enforce the agency’s security and compliance policies for Generative AI and manage provisioning of approved Enterprise AI seats. Maintain 100% local endpoint compliance (patching, EDR, encryption). Implement security without breaking delivery workflows, finding “Yes, and…” solutions to security blockers. Streamline the purchasing lifecycle for workstations and high‑performance hardware (Render stations, VR rigs, Mac Studios). Serve as the primary point of contact for ISPs, software vendors, and IT‑related contractors, holding them accountable to SLAs. Required Qualifications & Skills 10+ years in IT Operations, with at least 3 years in a leadership role (Manager, Director, Head of IT). Deep technical expertise in managing macOS (Jamf/Kandji) and Windows (Intune/SCCM) environments at scale. Proven experience managing on‑premise server rooms, complex networking (VLANs, Firewalls, VPNs), and storage solutions (NAS/SAN) for creative workflows. Experience implementing security frameworks (SOC2 readiness, ISO 27001), enforcing software governance policies, and overseeing penetration testing. Must be able to work in‑office at the Plano, Texas location. Nice‑to‑Haves Agency Experience: Familiarity with fast‑paced agency work and support for multiple stakeholders. Migration Experience: Successfully led a project to repatriate services from an MSP or central corporate IT to local in‑house management. What You’ll Get Autonomy : You are not just following a corporate playbook; you are writing the operating manual for our region. Impact : You are the Shield that protects our IP. Your work directly enables our “Experience Engineering” teams to build world‑class projects safely. Culture : We are a fun group of passionate artisans. We work hard, we respect the craft, and we value smart solutions over bureaucratic hurdles. #J-18808-Ljbffr