Lead IT Engineer

• Candidates must be open to work within USA time zones EST/EDT and PST/PDT hours.

Key Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day IT infrastructure for the Panchkula (and Pune remotely) offices: end-user devices local network (LAN/Wi-Fi routers switches firewalls VPN) printers/peripherals and IT asset inventory.
• Monitor network and endpoint health; troubleshoot connectivity hardware and access issues; respond to and resolve incidents in a timely manner.
• Manage physical access and office security systems biometric/access control CCTV in coordination with facilities/admin.
• Maintain local backup processes for on-premise systems and devices (note: Amazon AWS backup and disaster recovery is owned by Engineering and out of scope for this role).
• Own onboarding/offboarding IT logistics for new hires (device provisioning account setup access grants) increasingly important given planned headcount growth.
• Manage relationships with local IT vendors (ISP hardware suppliers security systems AMC providers) negotiate procure and hold vendors accountable to SLAs.
• Maintain documentation for network architecture configurations and IT procedures.

• Provision and maintain high-performance workstations for the in-house creative/animation team (GPU-capable machines suited to 2D/3D creative software) in addition to standard office devices.
• Manage local shared storage (e.g. NAS) for creative project files and assets including capacity planning as creative output and headcount grow.
• Coordinate with the creative team on hardware/storage needs specific to their workflow; own the infrastructure and procurement side not the creative pipeline itself.

• Lead technical planning for the new office IT infrastructure from the ground up: network design structured cabling requirements ISP/carrier selection and lead-time coordination Wi-Fi coverage access control and CCTV installation.
• Build and own a move plan/timeline in coordination with facilities and leadership: vendor scheduling data/asset relocation and a lightweight continuity plan to minimize downtime during the transition.
• Right-size infrastructure decisions (network capacity device stock access points creative storage) against BigHappys expected headcount growth not just current headcount this is a build for the next 1218 months not just a like-for-like move.
• Coordinate with Engineering on any local network requirements relevant to their workflows (e.g. dev machine connectivity VPN access needs) without taking ownership of cloud/AWS infrastructure itself.

• Implement and maintain office-level security controls: firewall rules access policies endpoint security Wi-Fi segmentation.
• Support any client/partner security questionnaires or audits relevant to the India offices physical/network environment in partnership with other stakeholders

• Recommend and plan capacity upgrades (network devices office IT footprint creative storage) proactively as India headcount increases.
• Build repeatable documented processes now so IT support scales without becoming a bottleneck as the team grows this person will be the sole IT contributor in India for the foreseeable future.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

• 7 years in IT infrastructure/network administration/operations roles with genuine hands-on ownership (not just ticket support).
• Strong working knowledge of routers switches firewalls VPNs LAN/Wi-Fi design and troubleshooting.
• Experience with endpoint management and productivity suites (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 device/MDM tools).
• Direct experience setting up IT infrastructure for a new office/site or leading an office relocation from an IT standpoint this is a differentiator for this role not a nice-to-have.
• Experience managing physical office security systems (CCTV biometric/access control).
• Vendor management experience (ISPs hardware AMC/security vendors) comfortable negotiating and holding vendors to timelines.
• Strong ownership mindset comfortable being the sole IT person for the India offices without a team behind them.
• Comfortable provisioning and maintaining workstation-class hardware and local shared storage (NAS) for media/creative workloads even without a design/animation background.

• Exposure to a scaling startup or a company that has grown headcount materially in a short window.
• Familiarity with adtech/martech or software company environments (understanding of creative and engineering team needs even without owning cloud infra).
• Prior experience supporting a creative media or design teams hardware needs (GPU workstations render/asset storage).
• Familiarity with structured incident/change management practices.
• Relevant certifications helpful but not gating.

Benefits