IT Support Specialist

Job description

[https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/aa49b1e1-7c30-48a6-95a0-274e978c150a/cf9cd62e-f680-43f9-ac9c-ab8f7232a1cd/image.png] Job Title: IT Support Specialist Department: IT / Infrastructure Reports To: IT Administrator (Jason Graham) Employment Type: Full-Time Location: Houston – Required (on-site), with occasional travel to other sites WHO WE ARE Persona AI is building humanoid robots for the most demanding environments in heavy industry — shipyards, steel mills, fabrication facilities, and offshore platforms — performing welding, grinding, maintenance, inspection, and material-handling work that is dangerous, physically demanding, and increasingly difficult to staff. We are backed by leading strategic and financial investors and engaged with global industrial leaders across Korea, Japan, the United States, and Singapore. Korea is the center of gravity for our early commercial strategy, anchored by relationships with the world’s leading shipbuilders and steelmakers. Our work spans both the robot platform itself and the systems, partners, and playbooks required to deploy it at scale. WHY JOIN PERSONA AI? - Competitive compensation, performance-based bonus, 99% employer-covered medical benefits, early-stage equity, competitive PTO, and a company-wide paid winter break between December 24th and January 2nd - Real ownership: small team, no bureaucracy, your work is visible immediately - Modern stack: every layer is current, cloud-native tooling, no legacy sprawl to manage - Growth path: direct on-ramp into MDM engineering, identity/security, and infrastructure with hands-on mentorship - Mission: support the people building real humanoid robots ABOUT THE ROLE We are hiring our first dedicated IT Support Specialist to own day-to-day end-user support across our Windows and Mac fleet. Persona AI is a ~80-person robotics company whose people are a mix of robotics engineers, ML researchers, hardware/mechanical teams, and operations — which means the IT environment is more demanding than a typical company our size: GPU workloads, lab and bench hardware, a high-trust security posture, and a fleet that has to “just work” so engineers can stay heads-down. Today a single IT admin runs the entire stack — identity, devices, networking, and security. You will take point on tickets, onboarding/offboarding, device provisioning, and hands-on support so that senior IT can focus on infrastructure and security engineering. This is a growth role: if you are strong on fundamentals and hungry to learn MDM, identity, and security tooling, you will get mentorship and real projects in all of it. Our environment includes: Okta (SSO/MFA, FastPass, device trust) and Google Workspace for identity; NinjaOne (RMM — Mac + Windows), Microsoft Intune (Windows MDM), Apple Business Manager, and Autopilot for device management; CrowdStrike Falcon, security baselines, and FileVault/BitLocker for endpoint security; Tailscale (mesh VPN, device posture), Wi-Fi, and switching for networking; a mixed macOS and Windows fleet with GPU workstations and lab/bench hardware; and Google Cloud and AWS in supporting, engineering-owned roles. You do not need to know all of these on day one — comfort with several, and eagerness to learn the rest, is what we are after. WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING: - Tier 1/2 support: Act as the first responder for end-user issues across hardware, OS, apps, accounts, and connectivity. Triage, resolve, and escalate issues cleanly. - Onboarding & offboarding: Provision and ship devices, manage identity lifecycle in Okta and Google Workspace, perform new-hire setup, and handle secure offboarding including account deprovisioning and device recovery/wipe. - Device provisioning & MDM: Enroll and manage Macs and Windows machines using NinjaOne (RMM, all devices) and Microsoft Intune (Windows MDM), including zero-touch flows through Apple Business Manager or Autopilot. - Endpoint hardening & security hygiene: Assist with applying and verifying security baselines, ensure CrowdStrike is healthy on every endpoint, and support the device-trust posture (Okta Verify, Tailscale). - Asset & inventory management: Maintain accurate device inventory throughout the lifecycle, and track warranties, spares, and accessories. - Network & A/V support: Provide support for conference rooms, in-office networking (Tailscale, Wi-Fi, switching basics), and remote-site connectivity when required. - Documentation: Write and maintain runbooks, troubleshooting guides, and end-user how-tos, ensuring thorough documentation. - Project hands: Execute on-site tasks for infrastructure projects such as rack buildouts, site setups, and fleet rollouts. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: - 2+ years in helpdesk, desktop support, or IT support. - Hands-on troubleshooting across both macOS and Windows — OS, hardware, peripherals, and common apps. - Solid grasp of identity and account fundamentals: SSO, MFA, password/credential hygiene, user lifecycle. - Experience administering users in Google Workspace (or M365) and at least one MDM/RMM platform. - Strong written communication — able to write a clear runbook and provide calm ticket updates. - Customer-service mindset; patient and clear with non-technical and highly technical users alike. - Ability to lift/move hardware and work on-site. BONUS SKILLS: - Exposure to Okta, NinjaOne, Intune, CrowdStrike, or Tailscale. - Familiarity with security baselines/compliance (CIS, NIST CSF) and endpoint hardening. - Basic scripting (PowerShell, bash, or Python) for automation. - Experience with Ubuntu or other Linux derivatives. - Networking fundamentals (DNS, DHCP, VLANs, VPN). - Experience in a startup, lab, or hardware/robotics environment. Persona AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.