What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr. Manager IT Infrastructure position at nLIGHT?
Who We Are
At nLIGHT, we are constantly on the cutting-edge of laser technology in a massively growing market. We are a leading provider of high-power semiconductors and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace & defense applications, to name a few. Our lasers are changing not only the way things are made, but also changing the things that can be made.
Headquartered in Camas, Washington, nLIGHT is a publicly listed company (NASDAQ: LASR).
Position Summary
The Sr. Manager, IT Infrastructure (Operations) leads global enterprise infrastructure operations, ensuring reliable, secure, and scalable IT systems that support business and manufacturing needs. This role oversees infrastructure service delivery, technical operations, team leadership, and continuous improvement initiatives while partnering across IT and the business to align technology capabilities with organizational priorities. The position also supports operational maturity through modernization, process improvement, and resilient infrastructure practices, including disaster recovery and business continuity. This role is primarily based onsite in Camas, Washington, potential for hybrid work arrangement as determined with the Head of IT.
Key Responsibilities
Infrastructure Operations & Reliability
- Owns day-to-day operations of enterprise infrastructure environments, ensuring system availability, performance, and scalability
- Serves as primary escalation point for critical infrastructure issues and leads resolution of high-severity incidents, including root cause analysis
- Drives proactive monitoring, patching, upgrades, and lifecycle management of infrastructure platforms
- Develops and maintains disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities, including testing and validation
Infrastructure Engineering & Technical Leadership
- Oversees the design, deployment, and optimization of infrastructure solutions aligned to enterprise architecture standards
- Provides technical leadership and guidance to IT teams, including support for complex troubleshooting
- Evaluates emerging technologies and contributes to infrastructure roadmap development
- Maintains accurate documentation for system architecture, configurations, and standards
Team Leadership & Development
- Leads, coaches, and develops a team of infrastructure engineers and technical staff
- Sets team priorities and aligns resources to business objectives and operational needs
- Builds a culture of accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement
- Identifies skill gaps and implements development and training plans
Vendor & Financial Management
- Manages relationships with vendors and external partners
- Supports budgeting, forecasting, and cost management for infrastructure services and platforms
- Participates in vendor selection, contract evaluation, and procurement processes
Security, Risk & Compliance
- Partners with cybersecurity teams to ensure infrastructure aligns with security standards and policies
- Supports audit and compliance activities, including access reviews and control validation
- Participates in incident response activities
- Ensures adherence to regulatory and compliance frameworks where applicable
Process & Continuous Improvement
- Drives improvements in infrastructure operations, processes, and tooling
- Establishes and enhances operational processes including incident, change, and problem management
- Identifies and eliminates inefficiencies and reduces operational risk
- Promotes automation and standardization to improve service quality and scalability
Qualifications
- 10 years of Infrastructure, networking, and broad IT experience
- 2 years of direct people supervision experience, including coaching, performance management, and employee development
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
- Proven experience leading IT infrastructure operations in a complex, multi-site environment
- Demonstrated experience managing technical teams and delivering operational outcomes
- Strong hands-on experience across the IT and technical spectrum
- Experience supporting highly available enterprise infrastructure environments
- Strong problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills
- Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across all levels of the organization
- Demonstrated ability to protect confidential and proprietary information, exercise discretion, and set professional boundaries.
Preferred Qualifications
- Certifications such as CISSP, CISA, ITIL, PMP, or other security-related credentials
- Experience in regulated environments (e.g., DFARS, CMMC, SOX, NIST frameworks)
- Experience working in a global or multi-national organization
- Experience leading Cybersecurity teams along with infrastructure
- Experience with IT in manufacturing – especially A&D
- Senior Manager: $120,000 - $150,000
- Target Cash Bonus of 12% of earned wages
- Eligible for Restricted Stock Unit grants
- 4 weeks of Paid Time Off per year
- 10 paid Holidays
- Eligible for health benefits on the 1st day of the month after your start date
- Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits, including prescription and orthodontia with employee-paid premiums as low as $40.00 per pay period
- Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- 401(k) with company match and immediate vesting
- Company paid Short-Term and Long-Term Disability, and Life & AD&D Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- Aflac Supplemental Insurance
- Paid Bereavement Leave and Jury Duty
- Tuition Assistance Program
- Pet Insurance
nLIGHT participates in the E-Verify program. This employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.
- E-Verify Participation Poster
- Right to Work Poster