Senior IT Systems Engineer (Managed Services)

We are seeking a Senior IT Systems Engineer to independently own client IT environments, lead technical projects, and resolve escalated issues. This is a hands-on, client-facing role for someone with broad infrastructure experience and the judgment to work effectively in unfamiliar environments.

You will work directly with clients to understand their needs, recommend solutions, and carry projects and support issues through to completion. You'll also serve as a technical resource for other engineers, helping them troubleshoot difficult problems and develop their skills.

Our client environments range from small offices and residential networks to businesses running servers, virtualization, cloud services, and security systems. You should be comfortable moving between infrastructure work and end-user support as the situation requires.

CITIG provides managed IT services and consulting on the Central Coast. Our team works primarily from our downtown Santa Barbara office and at client sites throughout Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties. We offer training and certifications, opportunities to contribute to technical decisions, and the benefits listed below.

Senior Role Expectations and Qualities

You should be able to assess an unfamiliar client environment, identify priorities, and move work forward with limited supervision. You don't need to know every platform, but you do need sound troubleshooting skills, clear communication, and the judgment to recognize risks and involve others when needed.

The right candidate will:

Remain calm during outages and competing client demands.
Explain technical issues, options, and risks in language clients can use to make decisions.
Take responsibility for follow-through, keeping clients and colleagues informed.
Plan changes carefully, including testing, rollback, and coordination with affected users.
Ask for help when needed and work constructively with peers and vendors.
Mentor other engineers through troubleshooting, project work, and knowledge sharing.
Accept feedback and treat clients and colleagues with patience and respect.

Responsibilities

Own assigned client IT environments, including technical planning, implementation, support, maintenance, and escalations.
Lead technical projects from assessment and solution design through planning, deployment, testing, documentation, and handoff.
Build client relationships, explain recommendations and tradeoffs, and identify technology or service needs.
Install, configure, and support servers, virtualization, cloud services, networks, security systems, and end-user equipment.
Troubleshoot difficult infrastructure and application problems, coordinating with colleagues and vendors as needed.
Maintain backups, apply updates, review security and event logs, and address problems found during routine maintenance.
Provide end-user support when needed, including desktops, applications, printers, accounts, and email.
Coordinate work with other engineers, delegate tasks where appropriate, and mentor colleagues through technical problems.
Keep client documentation, service tickets, time entries, and work status current.
Manage your schedule and priorities, keeping clients and colleagues informed of progress, risks, and delays.
Follow company technical and quality standards and continue developing your skills through training and certifications.

Skills and Core Competencies

Experience independently managing client IT environments and taking responsibility for technical decisions and follow-through.
Strong troubleshooting skills, including resolving escalated problems and working through unfamiliar systems.
Ability to explain technical issues and recommendations to business owners, set expectations, and maintain client trust.
Experience planning and completing technical projects, including coordinating work with clients, colleagues, and vendors.
Ability to mentor other engineers, share knowledge, and work constructively with peers.
Professionalism, patience, and respect when working with clients and colleagues.