Head Of Design Jobs in Silver Spring, MD (NOW HIRING)

Job Summary:
Besxar Space Industries, Inc. is a high-growth technology company focused on pioneering space-based manufacturing. The Head of IT will be responsible for establishing secure and scalable IT systems and managing the IT roadmap to support the company's rapid growth.
Responsibilities:
• Own the IT roadmap and operating model for a fast-moving startup including standards, priorities, tradeoffs, and delivery.
• Partner with Engineering, Operations, and Finance to translate ambiguous needs into clear, pragmatic requirements and projects.
• Design and operate identity and access management (IAM): onboarding/offboarding (joiner-mover-leaver), SSO, MFA, least-privilege access, and periodic access reviews.
• Build and maintain a mixed-device environment across Windows, macOS, and Linux: provisioning, baseline configuration, patching, endpoint security, and device lifecycle management.
• Select, deploy, and administer device management and endpoint security tooling (e.g., MDM/UEM, EDR, disk encryption, password policies, certificate management).
• Own network and remote access architecture for office and lab environments: secure Wi-Fi, VPN/zero-trust access, segmentation, firewalling, and secure guest access.
• Implement IT controls that support export-control and ITAR compliance in partnership with Legal/Export Compliance, including access boundaries, controlled environments/enclaves, logging, and audit trails.
• Define and operationalize baseline security practices: vulnerability and patch management, endpoint compliance reporting, backups, incident response runbooks, and tabletop exercises.
• Own SaaS and vendor lifecycle management: evaluation, procurement, license management, renewals, and security reviews.
• Establish documentation and self-service resources: onboarding guides, acceptable use policies, secure data handling, and IT SOPs.
• Plan for scale. Define when to hire an internal IT Systems Administrator and which functions should remain with MSP vs. brought in-house.
Qualifications:
Required:
• 7+ years of progressive IT experience (systems administration, IT operations, or IT engineering), including ownership of core infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a self-starter in ambiguous environments, You can define requirements, drive decisions, and deliver without heavy oversight.
• Hands-on experience with Windows and macOS administration and lifecycle management; practical experience supporting Linux users and workflows.
• Experience implementing and administering identity systems (SSO, MFA) and access controls with a least-privilege mindset.
• Experience with device management (MDM/UEM) and endpoint security controls (disk encryption, EDR, patching, compliance reporting).
• Working knowledge of networking fundamentals (VLANs/segmentation, firewalls, VPN/secure remote access, Wi-Fi) in an office/lab setting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including documentation and stakeholder management.
Preferred:
• Experience supporting export-controlled environments and implementing ITAR-supporting technical controls in partnership with compliance/legal teams.
• Familiarity with common security/compliance frameworks (e.g., NIST 800-171) and how to translate control requirements into practical technical implementations.
• Prior experience managing vendors and MSPs, including defining SLAs and operating procedures.
• Scripting/automation skills (PowerShell, Bash, Python) and configuration management (e.g., Jamf/Intune automation, Ansible) to reduce manual work.
• Experience in early-stage or high-growth environments where speed, pragmatism, and strong judgment matter.
• Exposure to research computing or compute clusters. HPC is not required in the first 6-12 months, but the ability to plan for future needs is a plus.
Company:
Besxar is a space technology and semiconductor manufacturing company that produces electronic materials. Founded in 2023, the company is headquartered in Inglewood, USA, with a team of 11-50 employees. The company is currently Early Stage.