Senior IT Systems Engineer

Company Overview

Zeno Power is the leading developer of nuclear batteries – compact power systems that provide reliable, clean energy in frontier environments. By harnessing the heat from radioisotopes, Zeno's batteries power critical missions on Earth, in space, and at sea. To bring this technology to market by 2027, Zeno is seeking out purpose-driven and innovative professionals who are comfortable working in a startup environment. Team members will have a direct impact in enabling commercial and national security missions from the depths of our oceans, to the surface of the moon, and in austere environments here on Earth. Zeno is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified, diverse, and dedicated work force. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Senior IT Systems Engineer

Zeno is seeking a highly motivated Senior IT Systems Engineer to support the mission-oriented efforts of developing and bringing to market Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) technologies. The Senior Systems Engineer (SSE) will be supporting the organization's enterprise systems, including responsibility for maintaining 24/7 operations of those systems, services, and solutions in service of Zeno Power's mission. This role will be especially critical in designing, administering, securing, and optimizing cloud environments in regulated government spaces, with a strong emphasis on AWS GovCloud and/or Azure Government, while also serving as a key technical owner of Zeno's on-premises infrastructure, including firewalls, switches, wireless networks, servers, storage, and other core enterprise systems.In addition, they are tasked with enabling the organizations' efforts by designing and implementing secure on-premises and cloud-based solutions for the transmission, storage, and processing of mission critical data, along with ensuring secure collaboration systems for various external partners.

This role reports to the IT Manager as a member of the IT Services Group, which is ultimately responsible for the management and secure operations of our technology infrastructure, SaaS services, and cybersecurity systems.

In this role you will be responsible for the following:

• Infrastructure Support
  • Manage all systems hardware and equipment including servers, storage, networking, virtualized systems and cloud-based services.
  • Lead the administration, support, and continuous improvement of cloud infrastructure and services, with particular focus on AWS GovCloud and Azure Government environments.
  • Maintain and optimize on-premises infrastructure, including network equipment, server environments, core office and lab connectivity, and related enterprise platforms.
    
  • Lead the administration of remote monitoring and management systems, along with the proactive monitoring and response to alerts.
  • Routinely monitor, manage, and validate systems/services for security and compliance issues for remediation.
  • Execute and continually refine various support processes, plans, and SOPs for established services.
  • Occasional support for enterprise services outside normal working hours may be required.
  • Contribute to the internal knowledge system to assist other team members in managing systems and services.
• Solutions Engineering & Data Management
  • Design, implement, and optimize secure hybrid cloud architectures that support regulated workloads across on-premises systems, AWS GovCloud, and Azure Government.
  • Develop strategies for complex systems implementations; architect and design the infrastructure required to support the organization's strategies.
  • Lead, coordinate, and participate in key process improvements as they relate to the IT infrastructure and cybersecurity environments.
  • Serve as project lead in the planning, execution, and review of systems, applications, and hardware; provide capacity planning and cost analysis to identify cloud and on-premises hosting opportunities.
• Security
  • Monitor, respond, and proactively address security alerts and issues.
  • Partner with the Information Security Officer to investigate, remediate, and respond to open Infosec incidents and request.
  • Possess SME level experience of the Microsoft Defender suite, Purview and Azure security tools to improve security and monitor baselines for the organizations infrastructure and critical data systems.
  • Ensure that an industry best practice security posture is implemented for all systems such as M365 GCC-H, Azure/AWS GovCloud's and other SaaS products. This includes the development and validation of security policies for on-premises, cloud-based and collaboration systems.

Key Qualifications and Skills

• Minimum of 6 years of experience working with infrastructure and cloud solutions.
• Equivalent combination of education, training or experience is required.
• Strong experience managing cloud services in regulated or government-focused environments, including hands-on administration of AWS GovCloud and/or Azure Government.
• Experience with regulatory compliance frameworks (ISO 9001, CMMC, STIG, NIST, DFARS).
• Industry recognized technical certifications are a plus. This includes Microsoft, Amazon, CompTIA, and Cisco.
• Working knowledge of Cloud infrastructure in a regulated public space (Azure Gov, AWS GovCloud).
• Knowledge of network infrastructure (Cisco, Palo Alto, etc.).
• Knowledge of enterprise server infrastructure (Cisco, HPE, Supermicro, etc.).
• Knowledge of network security best practices (segmentation, VLANs, NALs, Policy Based Routing).
• Knowledge of Microsoft Security solutions (Defender, Entra, Intune, Azure Sentinel).
• Knowledge of enterprise directory management and IAM systems (Entra, SAML, ADDS).
• Comfortable with UNIX/Linux and Windows Server administration.
• Experience with disaster recovery systems, RPO and RTO terminology and philosophies.
• Excellent documentation on issues, solutions, procedures and all customer incidents and requests.
• Experience in roles requiring confidentiality, collaboration, good judgment, dependability, flexibility, discretion, diplomacy, and tact.
• Ability to function at times with minimal supervision and demonstrate initiative in determining appropriate next steps.
• Must have a proven track record of working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, requiring a high level of attention to detail while maintaining focus on the big picture.
• Strong oral and written communication skills (technical and non-technical).
• Driven lifelong learner who enjoys problem solving and empowering those around them through sharing knowledge and experiences.
• Physical Demands Must be able to lift items up to 50 lbs.
  

Job Functions

• Position requires in-office presence in Seattle (South Lake Union) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
  • Monday/ Friday – While remote work is generally optional in our hybrid environment, occasional in-office work may be required on these days to support business needs.
• Travel: Travel is required, <10%
• Motor Abilities: Sitting and/or standing for extended periods, bending/stooping, grasping/gripping, fine motor control (hands)
• Physical exertion and/or requirements: Minimal, with ability to safely lift up to 15 pounds
• Repetitive work: Prolonged
• Special Senses: Visual and audio focused work
• Work Conditions: Stairs, typing/keyboard, standard and/or sitting working environment of >8 hrs./day

Compensation and Benefits

The anticipated salary band for this position is $130,000- $150,000. The final job level and compensation will be determined by various factors such as a candidate's relevant work experience, years of relevant experience, skills, qualifications, certifications, and other business considerations.

In addition to competitive compensation, we also offer a generous benefits package, which includes:

• Stock options
• Flexible paid time off
• 401k plan with employer match
• 16 weeks of paid family leave
• Employer HSA contributions
• Transit benefits to put toward commuting expenses
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Relocation assistance
• Dog friendly office

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Note

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship.

Export Control

Applicants for employment at Zeno Power must be a U.S. person. The term “U.S. Person” means (i) a U.S citizen or U.S. national; or (ii) any natural person who is a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (i.e., holds a Green Card), as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) or as a “protected individual” defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., admitted as a refugee or is granted asylum).