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Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. As Head of IT, you will report directly to the CEO and own the complete technology infrastructure behind Freeform's operations: the data centers and cloud platforms that run factories, the networks and security that protect them, and the corporate IT that keeps employees productive.
Your immediate priority is architecting and commissioning the infrastructure and dedicated data center for the new manufacturing facility in Hawthorne, which will serve as the blueprint for factory deployments worldwide. You will set IT strategy and be accountable to the executive team for uptime, security, and compliance. The company generates petabytes of data from its factories—a core competitive advantage—and the systems that capture, store, and protect this data are integral to the product.
All leadership roles at Freeform are technical in nature. You will spend significant time hands-on: making architecture calls, reviewing designs, and building alongside the team while managing the function.
Key Responsibilities:
- Set IT and infrastructure strategy tied to factory expansion; present roadmap to executive team
- Architect, build, and commission infrastructure for new facility including power, cooling, compute, storage, network, and edge-compute on factory floor as a repeatable blueprint
- Own storage and compute for petabyte-scale physics and process data with high-bandwidth interconnects
- Own Kubernetes and virtualization platforms across on-premises and cloud environments
- Design network architecture across all sites with segmentation between corporate, server, OT, and guest zones
- Build and run security program: controls, monitoring, incident response, audits, vulnerability management
- Own compliance with NIST 800-171, CMMC, and ITAR; serve as point of accountability for IT-related audits and customer security reviews
- Ensure high availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity for production systems
- Run corporate IT alongside engineering infrastructure including identity, access, endpoints, and collaboration tools
- Own IT budget and make build-vs-buy and on-prem-vs-cloud decisions for cost efficiency at scale
- Select and manage vendors, hardware suppliers, and cloud providers; set IT policies, standards, and change management
- Report on availability, risk, and security posture to executive leadership
- Stay hands-on reviewing designs, making architecture calls, and building/troubleshooting with the team
- Lead and mentor IT team; plan, hire, and build organization as Freeform scales
The role requires full-time onsite presence in Hawthorne (five days per week) with very limited exceptions, as the fast-paced cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Required:
- 12+ years of enterprise IT and infrastructure experience, including 2+ years leading IT or infrastructure teams, with current hands-on technical skills
- Data center infrastructure experience across compute, storage, and networking
- Strong knowledge of both on-premises and cloud infrastructure
- Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, on-premises and in the cloud
- Deep expertise in Linux-based infrastructure
- Track record of owning an IT budget, setting strategy, and managing vendors, with experience reporting to senior executives
Nice to Have:
- Experience as first IT leader at a startup or high-growth company, building the function from a small team
- Experience building or commissioning a data center, including edge compute for hardware-centric or manufacturing operations
- Experience with OT/ICS environments and securing factory networks
- Experience with high-speed data and high-bandwidth interconnects such as InfiniBand
- Experience leading an organization through NIST 800-171, CMMC, or ITAR compliance
- Knowledge of both corporate and engineering IT, including Microsoft and Linux-based technologies
- Degree in computer science or computer engineering
