System Specialist

System Specialist Denver, CO Simplesense builds, deploys, and sustains the Installation Resilience Platform that enables mission operators to rapidly adapt and respond. The Platform protects critical infrastructure from cyber attack while unlocking previously siloed information to monitor, diagnose, and improve response times to incidents. Our adversaries rapidly adopt the latest technology: we help defense users respond in kind. Simplesense is a non-traditional defense contractor and prime on the Air Force's Installation Resilience Operations Command and Control (IROC) program, which is now expanding to five additional Air Force, Space Force, and Army installations from the one prototype installation, Tyndall Air Force Base. Our team combines over 100 years of direct mission experience solving hard problems with 50 years technical expertise deploying DevSecOps, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure, giving us a deep appreciation for our customers' mission and end users' priorities. We build for scale, architecting and prioritizing technical work for long term sustainability. About the Role As a System Specialist, you are the diagnostic engine of our Network Operations Center (NOC), playing a vital role in ensuring our infrastructure remains resilient and mission-ready. You will be responsible for keeping our hybrid infrastructure, spanning AWS GovCloud, on-prem Cisco edge networks, and complex identity systems resilient and mission-ready. You will dig into logs, trace cross-domain faults, and resolve OS, cloud, and network anomalies. You will partner closely with the broader User Success team to protect our production environments, eliminate alert noise, and deliver high-quality technical support to our critical end-users. Work Model: We prioritize candidates who reside in the Denver, CO area (hybrid as needed) but we are open to exceptional remote talent. Locals: Onsite as needed for collaborative workspace time. Remote: Quarterly travel to hub locations for team syncs and alignment. Our Performance Culture We measure performance across two key dimensions: How you perform your role (Our Core Values) and What your role entails (Your Execution). How You'll Work — Our Core Values At Simplesense, we value high-trust autonomy. We look for builders who can comfortably navigate ambiguity and are deeply driven by our shared national security mission. People Always – Win as One Team: We foster a culture of psychological safety and mutual support. We operate as an integrated team where we assume noble intent as our default setting, ensuring that even the toughest feedback is rooted in trust. We trade our silos for a shared mission because collective impact always outweighs individual achievement. Empathize – Obsess Over the Customer: We don't just solve technical problems; we empathize and advocate for the operators using our products. We look beyond the surface to build what our customers—both internal and external—actually need to succeed, not just what they asked for. Focus – Ruthlessly Prioritize with Urgency: We focus on the highest-impact work and ruthlessly say no to distractions. We build resilient systems so that our solutions can repeat and scale under pressure. Let's Go – Catalyze the Change You Seek: We don't wait for the industry to change; we drive it. We seek to understand why things are the way they are, but we never use "the way it's always been" as an excuse. We aren't afraid to change course when the data or our mission demands it. What You'll Do Troubleshoot and Resolve: Resolve network, OS, and cloud application access issues across hybrid environments. Safely execute automated scripts and remediation playbooks to resolve known issues while demonstrating disciplined production execution with operational rigor in live production environments. Support Ticket Triage & Escalation: Triage Support Tickets by directly resolving issues or gathering the telemetry, logs, and failure domain context required to execute a clean, actionable handoff to Engineering teams. Collaborative Queue & Ticket Management: Actively manage ticket priorities alongside the team. Identify queue overflows early and share the load to resolve high-priority issues quickly. Maintain precise, real-time ticket logs to prevent duplicate work and ensure seamless handoffs. Customer Communications: Translate technical findings into clear, complete, and empathetic updates for non-technical users. Observability: Actively monitor network health using DataDog and Splunk. CLI Operations: Use Linux command line and Windows PowerShell to verify system configurations, check local network states, restart stalled services, and safely execute pre-written remediation scripts without needing a full UI. Identity Management: Provision, troubleshoot, and manage user access across Active Directory (AD) and Okta. Toil Reduction: Actively look for ways to eliminate manual work. When you solve a novel problem, immediately document the fix, write a basic script, or propose process improvements. Proactively update the documentation when a runbook is outdated or missing a step. High-Stakes Execution: Maintain composure during mission-critical outages, providing clear, concise diagnostic updates to stakeholders while systematically working the problem. What You Bring Required Qualifications: Experience: 5+ years of hands-on experience in a NOC, IT Operations, or hybrid Systems Support role, demonstrating a high degree of technical autonomy and operational discipline. Extreme Ownership & Detail Orientation: A habit of double-checking details (e.g., verifying identities and request specifics) before taking action. You take personal accountability for ticket resolution from intake to close—never shifting blame or leaving incomplete work for others. Cross-Domain Instincts: A "System of Systems" mindset with the ability to troubleshoot across multiple IT layers (Windows/Linux OS, Cisco switching, and Identity/Access). Observability Tools: Proven experience viewing, querying, and extracting actionable data from enterprise monitoring stacks like Splunk and DataDog. Networking & Linux: Practical experience navigating Cisco switch configurations via CLI, paired with comfort in a Linux command-line environment (SSH, grep, tailing logs, parsing daemons). Clear Communication: Proven ability to write clear, full-sentence updates for both internal engineering teams and external non-technical users. Must be able to obtain DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II certification (e.g., CompTIA Security+ CE) within 90 days of hire. Compliance: Must be a U.S. Citizen and capable of obtaining a DoD NIPR network account and Common Access Card (CAC). Security Clearance: Must have, or be able to obtain, a DoD Secret Clearance. Preferred Qualifications: Prior experience working within DoD, Air Force, Space Force, or fast-paced Federal contractor/dual-use startup environments. CompTIA Security+, CCNA, or intermediate Linux certifications. Experience supporting OT/ICS environments or working within DoD/Air Force spaces. Basic scripting abilities (Bash, PowerShell, Python) used specifically for automating operational tasks, and familiarity with version control workflows (e.g., using GitHub for pull requests) or IaC principles. What Success Looks Like (First 90 Days) 30 Days: Ramp up on existing support workflows, observability tooling (DataDog/Splunk), lab environments, and escalation protocols; build relationships across User Success (Tech Support and User Engagement) and adjacent Engineering teams. 60 Days: Integrate into the NOC workflows by independently triaging support tickets and alerts in the daily rotation; identify where diagnostic processes, runbook execution, and cross-team handoffs can be standardized and improved. 90 Days: Deliver a defined toil-reduction improvement used by the User Success team (e.g., a new diagnostic script or comprehensive runbook); improve repeatability or reduce manual effort for a high-volume support issue; participate effectively in Kanban ceremonies, root-cause troubleshooting, and cross-team escalations; and begin refining diagnostic workflows for complex, multi-layered faults. Compensation and Benefits SimpleSense