Head of IT

Head of Information Technology

District Partners is supporting a rapidly scaling, venture-backed AI and cybersecurity company as it makes its first dedicated in-house IT hire. The company has grown to approximately 150 employees, expects to reach roughly 200 by year-end, and now needs someone to build the internal IT function from the ground up. This is a rare opportunity to own the entire foundation today, stay deeply hands-on in the build, and potentially grow into a significantly larger leadership role as the company continues to scale.

Why You'll Actually Care

Very few IT leadership opportunities genuinely start with a blank sheet of paper. This one does. You will have the opportunity to determine how devices are managed, how employees access technology, how applications are governed, how the Palo Alto office operates, and how IT scales without creating unnecessary complexity. The role is hands-on today by design, but the function will need to evolve quickly alongside the company, creating meaningful career runway for the person who builds it well.

The Basics

This is a fast-growing, AI-native technology company operating in the cybersecurity space with approximately 150 employees today and plans to reach roughly 200 by year-end. You will be the first dedicated in-house IT hire, reporting directly to the COO and taking ownership of corporate IT end to end.

The environment is predominantly Mac-based and supports a deeply technical population that includes red teamers, security researchers, engineers and corporate users. The goal is to build an IT function that is automation-first, security-first and capable of delivering a white-glove experience where it matters.

What You'll Be Owning

• Build corporate IT from zero, establishing the technology stack, operating processes, standards and controls required to support a rapidly growing organization.
• Own the complete device lifecycle across a Mac-heavy fleet, including equipment procurement, inventory, MDM, provisioning, configuration, endpoint hardening, replacements and offboarding.
• Build and operate identity and access management, including SSO, MFA, scalable access controls and automated employee onboarding and offboarding.
• Own and rationalize the SaaS environment, including application administration, licensing, utilization, spend management, renewals and vendor negotiation.
• Own office IT and AV for the Palo Alto headquarters, including workplace technology, connectivity, conference rooms and relevant vendors as the company builds out its physical environment.
• Contribute to the company's security and compliance foundation through endpoint hardening, zero-trust access and corporate IT controls supporting SOC 2 requirements today and FedRAMP readiness for the company's growing federal pipeline.

The Environment

There is no established IT department waiting for you. Initially, you will be the person connecting the pieces, determining what should be built internally, identifying what should be automated, selecting the right vendors and deciding where outside resources make sense.

You will also be supporting an unusually technical user population with high expectations around security, performance and tooling. You need to be equally comfortable thinking about the future IT operating model and getting into the weeds to configure a system, solve an access issue, improve an onboarding workflow or troubleshoot an office technology problem yourself.

What You Bring To The Table

• Experience building or materially scaling corporate IT within a startup, high-growth technology company or similarly fast-moving environment.
• Strong hands-on experience across Mac endpoint management, MDM, hardware procurement, device provisioning and lifecycle management.
• Depth across identity and access management, including SSO, MFA, access controls and automated provisioning/deprovisioning.
• Experience owning a growing SaaS environment, including application administration, licensing, spend optimization and vendor management.
• Strong security instincts across endpoints, identity and corporate systems, ideally with experience supporting SOC 2 or other formal compliance requirements.
• Experience supporting highly technical employees while maintaining a strong service mindset and willingness to personally solve problems.
• A genuine builder mentality. You can determine what the function should become while still wanting to configure, implement, automate and execute yourself.

A Few Things Worth Knowing

• Compensation: $180,000-$220,000 base + equity, with some flexibility based on experience and overall fit.
• Location: Palo Alto, CA.
• Work Model: Onsite. This is an in-person environment, and the nature of the role requires someone who wants to be closely connected to the team and physical office.
• Engagement Type: Full-time, direct hire.
• Career Runway: This is the first in-house IT hire and a hands-on build today. As the company continues to scale, there is significant potential for the scope, team and leadership responsibility of the function to grow with it.