Technical Operations Support

Creative Strategist | Mission-Driven Leader | Civic EdTech Builder

Location : Hybrid, with preferred in-person presence in Des Moines, IA once a week (Central Time Zone hours)

Employment Type : Part-Time, Contract, Non-Exempt

Compensation : $30 / hr (Contract, 12-14 hours / week on average.

About Vote Smart

Founded in 1992, Vote Smart has a proud legacy of providing free, factual, and unbiased information about candidates and elected officials to all Americans. For over 30 years, weve been trusted as a nonpartisan resource, empowering voters with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.

Today, we are building on that legacy by transitioning into a civic edutech platform that combines our unmatched political data with engaging, interactive learning tools. Our mission remains the same to provide facts and clarity in politics while expanding the ways citizens and learners can access and use that information.

Position Overview

The Technical Operations Support will play a crucial role in keeping Vote Smarts IT systems reliable and secure. This role focuses on routine operational tasks : VPN access, login troubleshooting, AWS administration, Cloudflare management, and system maintenance. By handling these repeatable processes, youll enable our senior IT leadership (Head of IT and SRE / DevOps Engineer) to focus on advanced infrastructure, scaling, and innovation.

This is a hybrid, flexible contract role averaging 1214 hours per week, with slight surges (up to ~18 hours) during quarterly intern onboarding / offboarding cycles.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage VPN access and deprovisioning for staff, interns, and contractors.
• Troubleshoot login and authentication issues (password resets, 2FA, SSO, and access errors).
• Manage Cloudflare settings (DNS, caching, firewall rules, DDoS mitigation).
• Apply routine system patches, review logs, and monitor system health.
• Maintain documentation and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Provide basic API support for customers and partners, assisting with authentication keys, endpoint usage, and troubleshooting data access issues.
• Support application environments built in PHP, Node.js, and Next.js, including light configuration, deployment support, and integration troubleshooting.

Qualifications

Additional Information

This is an at-will contract position, meaning engagement may be terminated by either party at any time, with or without cause. Flexible scheduling, with coordination required for Central Time Zone collaboration. As a contract position, this role does not include health benefits or PTO accrual.

Vote Smart is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive workplace.

Apply Today! Join us in protecting Vote Smarts trusted legacy and supporting our mission to empower informed voters through unbiased facts and civic education.

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