System Specialist

Location: Denver, CO (Hybrid), San Antonio, TX (Hybrid), Brooklyn, NY or Remote (US Based)

As a System Specialist, you will play a critical role in serving as the primary diagnostic engine for our Network Operations Center (NOC), ensuring our infrastructure remains resilient and mission-ready. You will leverage your technical depth to independently navigate complex faults across interconnected network, OS, and identity layers, and partner closely with your Technical Support teammates to proactively identify cross-domain anomalies and implement scalable, documented solutions.

Work Model: We prioritize candidates in the Denver, CO, San Antonio, TX, and Brooklyn, NY area, but are open to remote talent.

• Locals: 2 days/week onsite.
• Remote: Quarterly travel for team meetings.

• 30 Days: Fully integrate into the NOC workflow, demonstrating the ability to independently triage and resolve complex, cross-domain alerts without relying heavily on Senior escalations.
• 60 Days: Seamlessly navigate the DataDog/Splunk ecosystems to write custom queries, using raw log data to isolate root causes when standard dashboards don't tell the full story.
• 90 Days: Identify a high-volume, repetitive support issue and take the initiative to permanently reduce that toil (e.g., writing a diagnostic script, fixing a documentation gap, or submitting a detailed bug report to Engineering teams).

• Autonomous Troubleshooting: Serve as the independent, front-line diagnostic expert. Diagnose and resolve complex network connectivity and identity access issues where the symptom may appear in one domain, but the root cause lives in another.
• Environmental Triage & Escalation: Act as the diagnostic shield for Engineering. When an issue exceeds the frontline scope, gather the exact telemetry, logs, and failure domain context required to execute a clean, actionable handoff to the capability teams.
• Runbook Execution & Maintenance: Safely execute automated scripts and remediation playbooks to resolve known issues. If a runbook is outdated or missing a step, proactively update the documentation for the rest of the team.
• Advanced Observability: Actively monitor network health using DataDog and Splunk. Go beyond the dashboards by writing custom queries and correlating raw logs to track down undocumented anomalies.
• 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 issues across Active Directory (AD) and Okta, verifying sync statuses and group policy enforcement.
• 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.
• High-Stakes Execution: Maintain composure during mission-critical outages, providing clear, concise diagnostic updates to stakeholders while systematically working the problem.

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.
• Cross-Domain Instincts: A "System of Systems" mindset with the ability to troubleshoot across multiple IT layers (Windows/Linux OS, Cisco routing/switching, and Identity/Access).
• Observability Tools: Proven experience viewing, querying, and extracting actionable data from enterprise monitoring stacks like Splunk and DataDog.
• Networking & Linux: Strong practical experience navigating Cisco switch configurations via CLI, paired with comfort in a Linux command-line environment (e.g., SSH, grep, parsing daemons).
• Identity Systems: Demonstrated experience troubleshooting access and sync issues in Active Directory and Okta.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain a DoD NIPR network account and Common Access Card (CAC)
• Must have, or be able to obtain, a Secret Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 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.

At Simplesense, we value high-trust autonomy. We look for people who can navigate ambiguity and are driven by the mission.

• Safety & Innovation: You embed security and reliability practices into daily work to drive continuous improvement and mitigate risk.
• People & Communication: You invite vigorous debate and offer "kindly blunt" feedback, always maintaining empathy and assuming noble intent.
• Integrity & Ethics: You build trust by honoring commitments, acting ethically, and resolving conflict through direct, honest communication.
• Strategic Problem Solving: You focus on high-priority issues to create documented, and scalable solutions—avoiding shortcuts.
• Agility: You move quickly to fix small problems, learn from the past, and pivot transparently when the mission requires it.

• Pay Range: $85k-$115k per year Compensation is determined based on experience, skill level, and location.