Manager, IT Infrastructure (Storage, Compute, & Virtualization)

SpaceX • Hawthorne, CA

2d • $165,000 - $240,000 • Onsite

About The Position

SpaceX is looking for an experienced IT infrastructure manager with deep knowledge of enterprise compute, virtualization, and storage platforms. This person will manage a world-class team of IT engineers focused on the design, development, and operation of the server, hypervisor, and storage systems that support SpaceX engineering, production, and mission teams. The ideal candidate should be a self-starter with excellent motivation, leadership, and ingenuity, and should be interested in a hands-on management position. You will coach, motivate, and lead the team, while remaining capable of designing, troubleshooting, and executing on the platforms yourself.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline and 5+ years of hands-on experience in two or more of the following: enterprise-class server/compute infrastructure design, server virtualization platforms, and enterprise storage platforms (NAS, SAN, and/or object storage); OR 8+ years in enterprise-class server/compute infrastructure design, server virtualization platforms, and enterprise storage platforms (NAS, SAN, and/or object storage) in lieu of a degree.
• 5+ years of experience leading and managing technical IT teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience architecting and operating enterprise storage, including protocols and platforms such as NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, NVMe-oF, NetApp, Pure Storage, and object storage.
• Experience operating production virtualization platforms such as VMware vSphere/vCenter (clustering, HA, DRS, vMotion, datastore design) and/or Hyper-V or KVM.
• Deep expertise generating server and host design specifications (CPU, memory, NIC, HBA, local vs. shared storage) to meet defined performance, availability, and density requirements.
• Experience with array- and hypervisor-based snapshots, replication, and backup integration for VM and storage recovery.
• Proven ability to diagnose compute and storage performance issues (IOPS, latency, queue depth, CPU ready/co-stop, datastore contention, fabric/pathing).
• Experience writing instructional documentation and conveying highly technical ideas in terms non-technical staff can easily understand.
• A motivated, self-starting personality that is able to work independently while maintaining patience with constant interruptions and multiple requests.
• Experience engineering and operating in a modern data center environment driven by automation, holistic monitoring, and infrastructure as code.
• Fluent in a scripting language used to automate day-to-day tasks (e.g. Python, PowerShell); Ansible or equivalent configuration management is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture, lifecycle, and day-to-day operation of enterprise compute, virtualization, and storage platforms that support SpaceX engineering, production, and mission workloads.
• Manage and continuously develop a team of highly capable engineers and administrators who design, build, and operate hypervisor clusters, purpose-built servers, and high-performance storage systems (NAS, SAN, and object storage).
• Lead capacity planning, performance engineering, and standards for compute and storage so hardware and software platforms stay ahead of demand from SpaceX engineering teams.
• Design, implement, and report on high-availability, backup, replication, and disaster recovery strategies for virtual machines, datastores, and storage arrays.
• Mentor systems engineers in designing, configuring, and supporting purpose-built servers and virtualization hosts, with emphasis on performance-optimized, resilient designs.
• Establish hardware and platform standards for servers, hypervisors, and storage; submit and track orders; and work with server and storage vendors to negotiate pricing and ensure availability.
• Supervise installation, configuration, firmware/lifecycle management, and decommission of servers, hypervisor hosts, and storage systems.
• Drive automation of provisioning, patching, and operational tasks across compute and storage (templates, infrastructure as code, and scripting) so the team can scale without linear headcount growth.
• Partner with network, facilities, security, and application teams on connectivity, power/cooling constraints, access controls, and workload placement — without owning data center mechanical/electrical systems.
• Schedule and provide off-peak or weekend support when necessary to perform high-risk or planned downtime of SpaceX compute, virtualization, and storage systems for upgrades and maintenance.
• Interact with internal business units to provide solutions and resolve problems in a timely and proactive manner.

Benefits

• long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards
• potential discretionary bonuses
• ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
• access to a 401(k) retirement plan
• short and long-term disability insurance
• life insurance
• paid parental leave
• various other discounts and perks
• 3 weeks of paid vacation
• 10 or more paid holidays per year
• paid sick leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager