Manager, IT Service Desk

Why Castelion, Why Now Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we're building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability. This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage, where you'll have significant ownership, collaborate with exceptional teammates, and make a direct, measurable impact on our mission and the future of the company - regardless of your function. Manager, IT Service Desk We’re looking to hire an experienced IT Service Desk Manager who thrives in fast-paced, high-pressure environments and brings strong technical acumen paired with a people-first attitude. This role is ideal for individuals with experience supporting, engineering or aerospace firms, DoD contractors, or high-growth startups. If you're the kind of person who stays cool when things go down and can turn a stressful IT moment into a positive interaction, we want to meet you. As primary day-to-day support manager based out of our Torrance, CA office, you’ll be the face of IT frontline support for our local and remote teams. Leading a growing multi-state staff, you’ll coordinate troubleshooting and documenting incoming issues, respond to employee requests with urgency and empathy, and help drive improvements in our support processes. You’ll have every opportunity to flash your talent – we need top tier self-starters who love the energy and vibe of a focused, rapid-paced company that’s working hard to impact their world. Responsibilities • Serve as the primary support coordinator for all end-user IT issues (hardware, software, network, account access, etc.). • Own the accountability for your team to respond to, troubleshoot, and resolve service desk tickets in a timely and professional manner. • Ensure documentation of all support cases clearly, including resolution steps, and proactively contribute high quality articles to our internal knowledge base. • Support landscape includes issuance and maintenance of laptops, peripherals, and software in a 75% Windows / 25% Linux mixed environment. • Function as a critical part of incident response and communications. • Occasionally travel (5-10%) to other sites to provide onsite IT coordination, support, or assist with deployments. • Identify, recommend, and implement process improvements to improve end-user experience and operational efficiency. • Drive a culture of empathy and calm under pressure, improving team morale during high-stress moments. • Establish and enforce hypercare procedures for VIPs, important events, incident mitigations, workarounds, and after-problem follow ups. • Mentor and lead a fleet of world-class, quality IT technicians as the team continues to scale in multiple sites and time zones. Basic Qualifications • 3-5+ years in an IT support supervisor, lead, or managerial role. • Proven experience supporting engineering companies, DoD contractors, or fast-paced, startup-like environments. • Exceptional teaching and training skills. • Experience defining practical, useful SLA's and metrics, track them, and report upward in digestible formats. • Familiarity with device management (e.g., Microsoft Intune), asset inventory tracking, basic networking concepts, and user onboarding/offboarding workflows. • Demonstrated ability to foster team execution of troubleshooting hardware, OS (Windows/Linux), mobile, VPN, and enterprise software suites (e.g., Office 365). • Work tightly with a range of other IT and engineering departments to find efficiency gaps and push for solutions that will make a real impact & save people time. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills—you make IT support feel like a first-class positive experience. • Able to prioritize tasks effectively and work independently under pressure. • Comfortable managing multiple tasks or escalations in a dynamic setting. Preferred Skills and Experience • Experience working in environments with specific cybersecurity compliance requirements, such as CUI, ITAR, or NIST 800-171. • Eligibility for clearance. Castelion offers a generous benefits package. Please refer to the bottom of our Careers page for more details. Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Additional Eligibility Requirements This position may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as determined by the Company and/or applicable U.S. Government requirements. If the position is so designated, your employment in the role may be contingent upon your ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance or other government authorization, and to satisfy any citizenship or other eligibility requirements imposed by applicable law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requirements. You will be notified if and when such requirements apply. Affirmative Action/EEO Statement Castelion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Castelion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in the interview process, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact hr@castelion.com. Requests for accommodation will be considered on an individual basis and handled in accordance with applicable law. Castelion is committed to fostering a workplace where employment decisions are based on qualifications, business needs, and the ability to perform the essential functions of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation. EAR/ITAR Requirements This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.