Junior IT Engineer

Valar Atomics

Junior IT Engineer

Hawthorne, CA
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    About the role

    You'll be the second member of a small, high-impact IT team. This will be a fully on-site role and will require occasional travel as needed. The job splits between (1) day-to-day corporate IT support and (2) working on IT/OT at our test reactor site. You'll own well-scoped projects end-to-end, partner closely with our MSP, keep our users productive, and our infrastructure tight / well documented.

    This is a junior role and has tasks appropriate to that but in a very rapidly growing startup company growth opportunities are very likely if you can show your ability to fulfill requirements and deliver effective solutions efficiently.

    What you'll do

    • Handle Tier 1/2 help desk intake/triage/resolve; escalate smartly to MSP and track SLAs.
    • Documentation and SOP creation, this will be a critical part of the role: formalizing, improving, and documenting existing process
    • Assist with server rack buildouts: power budgeting, labeling, cabling standards, and clean documentation (rack elevations, diagrams).
    • Support security systems (badging/access control, cameras, NVRs) with basic install/maintenance and vendor coordination.
    • Setup, management, and maintenance of Windows, MacOS, and Linux (Debain/Ubuntu) endpoints (servers and workstations)
    • Maintain O365/Microsoft 365 and Active Directory (users, groups, policy, device join, basic MDM).
    • Stage and configure network switches (VLANs, trunk/access ports, PoE), document port maps, and validate with basic packet capture.
    • Implement and manage firewalls (rules, NAT, VPN, segmentation; change control and logging).

    What you bring

    • Hands-on experience with:

      • Help Desk and user interaction (retail and corporate preferred)
      • Windows, MacOS, and Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
      • Switch deployment/config
      • Firewall config/management
      • Rack/cabling + documentation
      • Customer/user support (retail or corporate)
      • Security systems (access control/cameras)
      • O365 / AD administration
    • Strong troubleshooting: methodical, data-driven, and comfortable with deep diving into OS settings and network traffic analysis.

    • Ability to plan, communicate, prioritize, and deliver scoped projects.

    • Excellent written documentation skills including but not limited to:

      • Standard operating procedures (SOP)
      • Change requests and logging
      • Visual diagrams (Cable maps / Network Topology)

    Who you are

    • Passionate about technology/servers/networking/digital infrastructure.
    • Constant learner, tell us about your homelab or side projects.
    • Self-starter who knows when to ask for help.
    • Level-headed, data-driven, solution-focused.
    • Have relevant work experience (certifications/college degrees are not a substitute)
    • Interest in nuclear power and the power grid is a big plus.

    Nice-to-haves

    • Basic scripting (PowerShell/Python/Bash) for automation.
    • MDM/Endpoint: Intune and macOS management.
    • Monitoring/observability: Syslog, SNMP, NMS, SIEM, etc.
    • OT awareness: Purdue model/segmentation basics, PLCs, Rockwell Automation software stack, etc
    • Compliance/controls familiarity (asset inventories, least privilege, backups, change control).

    Working with us

    • Small team, real ownership, direct impact on safety-critical operations.
    • Close collaboration with an experienced MSP; you'll learn fast and ship real systems.
    • Catered lunches
    • Competitive pay