Head of IT at Besxar in Washington, DC

About Us

Besxar Space Industries, Inc. (Besxar) is a venture-backed, high-growth technology company pioneering a new class of space-based manufacturing to overcome the limits of terrestrial semiconductor fabrication. We are building complex products at the intersection of hardware, software, and regulated industries. Our teams move quickly, iterate in tight loops, and hold themselves to high standards for reliability, security, and operational excellence.

We operate in an environment where certain information may be export-controlled. We take compliance seriously, but strive for practical processes that keep the team moving fast while protecting sensitive data.

About the Team

IT is foundational to everything we do. This is a critical, hands-on leadership role responsible for establishing secure, scalable, and well-documented IT systems from early-stage through rapid growth.

In the near term, we will use a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to assist with routine IT requests and provide help desk support during busy periods. You will own the roadmap, define sensible requirements with stakeholders, execute the highest-impact work yourself, and manage vendors/MSP to deliver a reliable user experience.

Roles & 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.

Basic Qualifications

• 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 Skills and Experience

• 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.

Culture

We are building Besxar to be an American manufacturing company that happens to operate in space – disciplined, technical, and relentlessly focused on execution. We hold high standards. We value first-principles thinking. We believe autonomy and accountability go together.

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Washington DC Pay Range

$175,000—$210,000 USD