IT & PLM Systems Administrator

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Who We Are

John Paul Mitchell Systems (“JPMS”) is recognized worldwide for developing and marketing innovative hair and skin care products since 1980. We’ve been serving the professional beauty industry with salon-quality hair care products, styling tools and professional hair color through our family of brands including Paul Mitchell, MITCH, Awapuhi Wild Ginger, Tea Tree, Paul Mitchell Tools, Neuro, The Demi, Paul Mitchell the Color, Blonde, and Color XG.

We were the first professional hair care company to take a stand against animal testing and continue our strong commitment to giving back, supporting a wide range of philanthropic causes both domestically and internationally. Sustainability has always been a priority, and we are committed to making our company operations climate neutral to preserve the beauty of the world around us.

Who You Are: 

You are a skilled and enthusiastic, high-performing professional who is passionate about hair care and wants to positively contribute to the growth of our iconic brand as well as to our people first culture.

About the Role 

The IT & PLM Systems Administrator is a dual-focused role that combines technical administration of the organization’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system, Infor Optiva, with hands-on support for the day-to-day operations of the broader IT team. On the PLM side, this role ensures the system operates as designed, supports the resolution of defects, and performs administrative corrections that fall outside the standard change-management workflow, partnering with stakeholders across Research & Development, Regulatory & Quality, Packaging, and Procurement & Supply Chain. On the IT side, this role provides project coordination and administrative support for IT initiatives and new system implementations—driving planning, scheduling, tracking, and stakeholder communication to keep work moving—while offering day-to-day support for the incoming IT work queue as a secondary responsibility.

This role requires hands-on system administration experience, strong organizational and project coordination skills, and the ability to balance ownership of the PLM platform with the coordination needed to keep IT initiatives on track. Success means both a stable, well-run PLM system and IT projects that are clearly planned, tracked, and progressing—while staying current on the Optiva product roadmap to ensure JPMS takes advantage of new opportunities as they become available.

This role is hybrid and work out of either our Santa Monica or Santa Clarita offices 3 times a week. 

What You will Do :

PLM System Administration (Infor Optiva):

• Ensure the PLM (Infor Optiva) system operates as designed, monitoring system health, performance, and availability across all supported functions.
• Support the identification, triage, and resolution of bugs and system defects, partnering with Infor, internal IT, and vendors as needed to drive issues to resolution.
• Correct administrative and data issues that can be adjusted without initiating the full change-management workflow, while maintaining data integrity and governance.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for PLM stakeholders across R&D/Product Development, Regulatory & Quality, Packaging, and Procurement & Supply Chain, translating their needs into system configurations and solutions.
• Partner with Product Development and the change board process to capture the elements required to launch workflows in PLM, guiding stakeholders through submitting their items or setup for their own portions and coordinating review.
• Perform Excel-based data uploads to initiate PLM workflows as needed.
• Administer system configuration, user access, roles, and security within Optiva in accordance with company policies.
• Maintain and support integrations between Optiva and connected systems (e.g., ERP/D365 F&SCM), ensuring reliable data flow across the product lifecycle.
• Stay educated on the Optiva product roadmap and upcoming developments, evaluating new features and recommending enhancements that create value for the business.
• Support testing, validation, and deployment of system updates, patches, and enhancements, and document configurations, procedures, and known issues.

IT Project Coordination & Administration:

• Provide project coordination and administrative support for IT initiatives and new system implementations, including planning, scheduling, tracking tasks and milestones, and maintaining project documentation.
• Coordinate across IT team members, business stakeholders, and vendors to keep project deliverables, dependencies, and timelines on track.
• Maintain project status reporting and communications, surfacing risks, blockers, and progress to leadership to support informed decision-making.
• Facilitate project meetings, capture action items and decisions, and follow up to drive timely completion.
• Help establish and maintain consistent project intake, prioritization, and documentation practices across the IT team.
• Support day-to-day IT operations by monitoring incoming work and helping route or escalate high-priority requests as needed—a secondary responsibility alongside project coordination.

Required Qualifications:

Skills: 

• Demonstrated experience administering and supporting the Infor Optiva project lifecycle management system in a complex, cross-functional environment.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, with the ability to diagnose and resolve system defects and data issues.
• Strong project coordination and organizational skills, with the ability to plan, track, and drive multiple IT initiatives and deliverables to completion.
• Experience coordinating projects and maintaining schedules, documentation, and status reporting across stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills with experience interpreting quantitative and qualitative data to inform decisions and recommendations.
• Strong understanding of ERP systems and end-to-end business process flows.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and effective at managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to partner effectively with stakeholders across multiple departments and with external vendors.

Education: 

• High school diploma or GED required

Experience: 

• 4+ years of experience administering or supporting enterprise business systems and/or coordinating IT support operations required with at least two (2) years supporting the Infor Optiva PLM system

Preferred Qualifications:

Skills: 

• Familiarity with project management tools or methodologies (e.g., Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Azure DevOps)
• Experience with NinjaOne, ServiceNow, or a comparable ITSM/ticketing platform
• Experience with D365 F&SCM or ERP–PLM integrations
• Experience providing administrative or project coordination support for system implementations
• Experience with ticketing software, for example Azure DevOps/Jira
• SQL and/or report-building experience

Education:  

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, or a related field preferred 

Experience: 

• Experience supporting PLM in a consumer-packaged goods (CPG), cosmetics, or manufacturing environment strongly preferred
• Knowledge of formula/recipe management and CPG/beauty regulatory requirements (e.g., INCI, SDS) strongly preferred

We are eager to meet people who believe in our mission and can contribute to our team in a variety of ways - not just candidates who check all the boxes. If you think you would be a good fit for the position and our company, we invite you to apply. 

Working Conditions

• Office and warehouse environments

Competitive Compensation:  

• The expected base salary range for this position is $100,000 to $110,000. The exact base salary is determined by various factors including geographic location, experience, skills, and education.
• Discretionary Bonus Plan: This position is also eligible for participation in the company discretionary bonus plan, based on personal performance and company results.
• Comprehensive Benefits Package: In addition to base salary, JPMS offers a competitive benefits package to eligible employees, including medical, dental, vision, life, accident, critical illness, and disability insurance, retirement savings plans and company match, paid family leave, education-related programs, paid holidays, discretionary vacation time, and more.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in a diverse environment.