Head of IT

As we enter our next phase of growth and scale the Chaparral aircraft from flight testing into full-rate production, Elroy Air needs one person to own IT and security from the ground up. This is a true builder role: you'll be a team of one for the foreseeable future, operating as both the strategist setting direction and the hands-on operator keeping systems running day to day. You'll design and defend our network against real threats, and you'll build and maintain the CMMC compliance framework that lets us operate in export-controlled, government-adjacent environments, essentially standing up the function solo before it grows.

You'll work directly with engineering, security, legal, and leadership, with full ownership of decisions that in a larger company would be split across a team.

The Head of IT will build, lead, secure, scale, and create high-performing IT systems across the company. This role is responsible for architecting and operating our internal IT infrastructure, including corporate IT, identity and access management (physical and digital), endpoint systems, networking, and compliance frameworks required for export-controlled environments.

You will shape and build the systems that allow the company to mature and operate efficiently as we scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Security & network defense: architect and actively defend physical and cloud network infrastructure against intrusion; own logging, detection, and incident response.
• CMMC / compliance framework — build and maintain CMMC (and related NIST 800-171/800-53) compliance from the ground up, and serve as the key stakeholder in audits and regulatory inspections
• Identity & access management — own IdP systems on least-privilege and just-in-time principles
• Endpoint management — MDM/EDR deployment, fleet lifecycle, device-trust and conditional-access workflows
• Day-to-day IT operations — corporate IT, SaaS management, employee onboarding/offboarding automation, web hosting/DNS support
• Own end-to-end management of corporate IT infrastructure: physical networks, endpoint management, and SaaS management, maintaining successful compliance with strict security frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53
• Develop and enforce IT policies and access control aligned with defense sector norms and requirements.
• Architect and maintain secure physical network infrastructure across office, lab, and production environments
• Partner with Engineering to support high-performance cloud computing, lab systems, and specialized environments.
• Own and streamline IT elements of employee lifecycle, including automating critical aspects of onboarding / offboarding

You Will Be Successful in This Role If You

• You're equally comfortable setting long-term security strategy and personally racking a switch or troubleshooting a laptop.
• You take full ownership with no team to delegate to, make sound judgment calls in ambiguity, and treat security as a first principle and not a checkbox, while still enabling the business to move fast.
• You're building something that doesn't exist yet, not maintaining something that does.
• Have a security-first approach while still enabling rapid execution
• Use strong judgment balancing speed, cost, and risk
• Are a clear communicator with both technical and non-technical teams
• Have a builder mentality: you aren’t afraid to roll up your sleeves and create new systems or integrations when legacy ones aren’t working

Requirements

• 8+ years in IT infrastructure, operations, or systems engineering, including solo or small-team ownership
• Strong cloud experience (GCP and AWS)
• Hands-on MDM and EDR implementation
• Identity system automation (Okta, Azure AD) in regulated environments
• Deep network security expertise — VPNs, firewalls, routing, segmentation, threat defense
• Direct experience building or maintaining CMMC and/or NIST 800-171 compliance frameworks
• Eligible to work in the US and to hold ITAR/EAR access
• Comfortable being on-site regularly to support a small, fast-moving team
• Proven track record of automation and user lifecycle improvements in enterprise IT systems in a fast-paced environment
• This role is hybrid on-site and requires close collaboration with engineering and lab environments

Nice to Have

• Prior ITAR/EAR or export-controlled environment experience
• Aerospace, defense, energy, or deep-tech background
• Experience supporting hardware labs or secure manufacturing facilities
• History being the first IT hire at an early-stage company and scaling the function over time

What We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced aerospace company
• Comprehensive medical benefits
• 401(k) with company contribution + Roth IRA
• Free daily lunch provided onsite
• Flexible time-off policy
• 3 months of paid parental leave
• Employee assistance program with 24/7 support
• High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
• Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
• You’ll work with a motivated, kind, and highly skilled team
• You'll help shape and define our company culture and values
• You'll help build and scale a new category of aerospace / logistics technology