IT Infrastructure Manager
Location: Tyler, TX (Onsite, 5 days/week)
Recruiting on behalf of: A confidential manufacturing client, via Smartbridge
About the Role
Smartbridge is recruiting an Infrastructure Manager for a manufacturing client in Tyler, TX. This role owns the client's physical and virtual infrastructure, networking, identity, backup and disaster recovery, and endpoint security across multiple locations. It's roughly half strategy and half hands-on execution — setting standards, building repeatable processes, and personally resolving issues when needed.
The right candidate has 7+ years of IT infrastructure experience, including time in a lead or management role, hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform, and a track record of supervising helpdesk or service desk staff. Strong communication skills are a must, this person will report status and risk clearly to both technical teams and business leadership.
Key Responsibilities
- Infrastructure operations: Manage the on-premises server estate, including Dell PowerEdge hardware and Xen-based virtualization. Covers lifecycle management, firmware/BIOS standardization, and out-of-band management via iDRAC.
- Networking: Oversee a multi-site Cisco network on fiber-based infrastructure, including switching, wireless, and VLAN segmentation. Maintain accurate IP schema and documentation for every site.
- Identity and access: Own Active Directory, including naming standards, security best practices, and privileged access. Own internal PKI (AD Certificate Services) and lead SSO integration with Microsoft Entra ID.
- Backup and disaster recovery: Own the backup strategy and SOPs. Define and validate RTO/RPO targets across the application portfolio and close gaps between documented targets and actual capability.
- Database platform support: Work with DevOps to keep Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL (including HA configurations), and Azure Cosmos DB resilient, monitored, and recoverable.
- Endpoint security: Manage the EDR platform across the endpoint fleet, ensure full coverage, and investigate and triage detections.
- Governance and documentation: Build a consistent practice for change management, incident response, postmortems, and root cause analysis. Keep inventory and configuration records accurate.
- Leadership: Lead a team of 3–5 helpdesk/infrastructure staff, including hiring, coaching, scheduling, and performance management. Manage vendors and MSPs, own the infrastructure budget, and report status and risk to leadership in clear business terms.
Required Qualifications
- 7+ years in IT infrastructure, including 2+ years in a lead or management role
- Experience supervising a helpdesk or service desk team of 3–5 staff, including ticket queue management, escalation paths, and SLA tracking
- Strong background in Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS/DHCP, and Group Policy
- Hands-on experience administering Cisco enterprise networks, including IOS/IOS-XE configuration, VLANs, routing, switching, wireless, and firewalls
- Working knowledge of fiber-optic infrastructure, including single-mode/multimode cabling, SFP/SFP+ transceivers, and troubleshooting fiber links between buildings and sites
- Experience operating virtualized environments (XCP-ng/XenServer, VMware, or Hyper-V)
- Experience managing server hardware, including Dell iDRAC or equivalent, and fleet firmware lifecycle
- Proven experience designing and testing backup and DR, including RTO/RPO targets and restore testing
- Experience with Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, including SSO, conditional access, or hybrid identity
- Hands-on experience administering workloads in at least one major cloud platform: Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or OCI
- Working knowledge of PKI and certificate lifecycle management
- Experience running a formal change management and incident/RCA process
- Strong written communication, including runbooks, SOPs, and executive-level summaries
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Microsoft Azure specifically (Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Migrate, hybrid identity). Azure is the preferred cloud platform.
- Scripting ability in PowerShell or Bash for automating administrative and operational tasks
- Experience with infrastructure as code using Terraform
- Familiarity with Microsoft Fabric for analytics and data platform workloads
- Familiarity with Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI)
- Experience with Linux and Kubernetes environments, including OIDC authentication integration
- Familiarity with HA and recovery for Microsoft SQL Server (Always On), PostgreSQL (streaming replication, connection pooling/failover, split-brain prevention), and Azure Cosmos DB (backup modes, point-in-time restore, multi-region replication)
- Experience administering an enterprise EDR/XDR platform
- Experience with Xen Orchestra for Xen VM management and backup
- Experience supporting IT infrastructure in a manufacturing or industrial plant environment, including OT/IT network segmentation and production-floor uptime requirements
- Associate-level cloud certification (AZ-104, AWS Solutions Architect – Associate, Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer, or OCI Architect Associate). Other relevant certs: Cisco CCNA/CCNP, CompTIA Security+, ITIL 4 Foundation
What Success Looks Like
- Backups are tested on a regular schedule, and documented RTO/RPO targets match what the environment can actually deliver
- Server firmware, network configuration, and identity standards are consistent across all sites
- Changes follow a defined process, and incidents produce documented root causes and follow-up actions
- Inventory and network documentation are accurate and kept current
- The helpdesk team works from a well-managed queue with clear escalation paths and SLAs
- Leadership has a clear, current view of infrastructure risk and priorities