Contractor: IT Operations Specialist

Newsela is seeking an IT Operations Specialist to empower our team by delivering seamless tech support, optimizing internal platforms, and driving operational efficiency for a distributed team of 500+ employees. In this role, you will be the face of IT for Newsela staff – handling day-to-day access, security, and hardware requests, while orchestrating an exceptional onboarding and offboarding experience for all employees. Reporting to the Manager of IT Engineering, this role works alongside Legal, Procurement, and People Operations to maintain corporate security and operational efficiency. Because Newsela is a 97% macOS-based company, this role requires a deep, hands-on experience with Apple hardware and macOS administration.

Responsibilities

Support Newsela staff by resolving IT requests (e.g. access, security, and equipment requests; internal platforms administration and support such as Apple hardware and macOS, Google Workspace, Iru/Kandji, Slack, Atlassian, 1Password, etc.); handle engineering challenges related to operational efficiency and compliance; establish relationships across the organization to understand specific department-level support needs; manage staff onboarding and offboarding, collaborating with People Operations and hiring managers, following/creating/updating documentation, partnering with domestic and international hardware vendors, and orchestrating new hires’ preboarding and day one experience; implement support models and security guidelines established by the Senior System Administrator; collaborate with teams who manage other aspects of the overall company technology stack; join operations teams including Legal, Procurement, and IT

Requirements

2+ years of experience in an IT Support role; demonstrated success in supporting global IT Operations internal stakeholders; deep working knowledge of Apple hardware and macOS, Google Workspace, Iru/Kandji, Slack; exceptional communication (written and verbal in English); customer-first mindset; strong troubleshooting skills with a methodical approach to resolving technical issues; ability to translate technical concepts to non-technical audiences; ability to resolve colleagues’ support issues in a timely and accurate manner

Nice to have

experience with scripting and/or automation, especially the GAM command-line utility

Benefits

Being part of a team building the next generation of Newsela by making support seamless, strengthening company culture and enhancing productivity; exposure to leading edge tools & technologies including AI platforms; opportunity to work in a collaborative environment using modern IT tools and products; direct impact on enabling all team members to work in a fully integrated technology environment