ABOUT SLATE
At Slate, we’re building safe, reliable vehicles that people can afford, personalize and love—and doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate, because people should have control over how their trucks look, feel, and represent them.
POSITION SUMMARY
We are seeking an experienced Manager, Plant IT Services to lead end-user technology support across our Warsaw, Indiana manufacturing facility and adjoining office operations. This is a manager-level role accountable for the performance, reliability, and continuous improvement of site IT support services. The Manager will lead and develop the support team, establish service standards and performance expectations, manage escalations, oversee technology assets and vendors, and ensure employees have the technology, access, and support required to remain productive.
The manufacturing environment adds responsibilities beyond a traditional corporate service desk. Downtime on a production line can have immediate operational and financial impact, so this role partners closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Automation, and OT stakeholders to support plant-floor technology, production systems, industrial devices, and the IT infrastructure that connects them while maintaining corporate security and technology standards.
The successful candidate will be technically credible and willing to engage in critical escalations when needed while maintaining primary accountability for team leadership, service delivery, operational performance, planning, and continuous improvement.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of IT support technicians supporting both plant and office users; set clear performance expectations and conduct regular one-on-ones and reviews.
- Build and manage support coverage schedules that align to production shifts, including an on-call rotation for after-hours and weekend manufacturing operations.
- Lead critical escalations and site-level IT incidents while maintaining primary accountability for team leadership, service delivery, and operational performance.
- Recruit, onboard, and train new team members; identify skill gaps and build development plans that grow the team’s capability.
Service Delivery & Operations
- Own the site’s IT service desk: ticket intake, triage, prioritization, escalation, and resolution against defined service level targets.
- Define and enforce prioritization rules that correctly weight production-impacting incidents above routine office requests.
- Track and report on support metrics — ticket volume, first-contact resolution, time to resolve, backlog, recurring issue themes — and use them to drive improvement.
- Lead incident response for site-level IT outages: coordinate communication, drive resolution, and complete root cause analysis and corrective actions.
- Develop and maintain documentation, runbooks, and a knowledge base that enable both the team and end users to self-serve.
Manufacturing / Plant Floor Technology
- Support shop-floor computing: industrial PCs and HMIs, ruggedized tablets, handheld and fixed barcode scanners, label printers, time clocks, kiosks, and production display boards.
- Partner with controls, automation, and manufacturing engineering teams at the IT/OT boundary — supporting network segmentation, device connectivity, and safe patching practices for plant systems.
- Partner with teams to support IT readiness for new production lines, equipment installs, and device provisioning.
Office & End-User Technology
- Manage the endpoint lifecycle for laptops, desktops, mobile devices, and peripherals: imaging, deployment, refresh, asset tracking, and secure disposal.
- Administer end-user identity and access — accounts, groups, permissions, MFA — and execute onboarding and offboarding in coordination with HR.
- Ensure conference rooms and collaboration spaces are properly equipped, standardized, maintained, and supported, including A/V, conferencing, displays, and related technologies.
- Maintain accurate hardware and software asset inventory and license compliance for the site.
Security, Vendors & Continuous Improvement
- Enforce corporate security policy at the site: endpoint protection, patch and vulnerability remediation, encryption, and access reviews.
- Manage local IT vendors and service providers, including hardware suppliers, break-fix contractors, telecom and ISP providers; monitor service quality, costs, and escalations.
- Identify and implement automation and process improvements that reduce repetitive support work and prevent recurring incidents.
User Training & Technology Adoption
- Develop and coordinate end-user training for new technologies, applications, IT processes, security requirements, and company technology policies.
- Partner with business teams during technology rollouts to support user readiness and adoption, and reduce recurring issues through training, documentation, and self-service resources.
Asset, Procurement & Vendor Management
- Manage IT hardware and equipment procurement for the site, including planning, ordering, deployment coordination, lifecycle replacement, and inventory requirements.
- Partner with IT leadership and Procurement to forecast technology needs for hiring, growth, production changes, and lifecycle refreshes.
- Support budgeting, forecasting, and expense tracking for site IT support, equipment, services, and lifecycle requirements.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field — or equivalent combination of education and hands-on IT experience.
- Five (5) to eight (8) years of progressive IT support experience, including at least five (5) years in a team lead, supervisory, or management capacity.
- Strong technical understanding of Windows desktop and server environments, Active Directory / Entra ID, Microsoft 365, endpoint management, identity and access management, and end-user computing.
- Working knowledge of networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, wireless, switching, and structured cabling.
- Experience supporting users in an industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, or other 24/7 operational environment.
- Proven experience operating a ticketing / ITSM system and managing work against service level targets.
- Strong troubleshooting discipline — able to work a problem methodically under production pressure and communicate status clearly while doing it.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate technical issues for plant operators, engineers, and executives alike.
- Ability to work on-site in Warsaw, Indiana and to respond to after-hours or weekend issues as production requires.
- Demonstrated experience managing IT support personnel and service delivery, including performance management, coaching, workload management, and employee development.
- Experience managing IT assets, hardware procurement, vendors, and technology lifecycle requirements.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in automotive, industrial, or high-volume discrete manufacturing.
- Familiarity with IT/OT convergence concepts and frameworks such as the Purdue model, ISA-95, or IEC 62443.
- Hands-on experience with MES, WMS, or ERP platforms from an end-user support perspective.
- Experience standing up IT support for a new facility, line launch, or plant expansion.
- Scripting or automation experience (PowerShell, Python) applied to support operations.
- Certifications such as CompTIA A+/Network+/Security+, Microsoft (MD-102, AZ-104), ITIL Foundation, or CCNA.
- Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies.
COMPETENCIES
- Bias for action — moves toward problems rather than routing around them.
- Customer-service orientation, with genuine credibility on the plant floor as well as in the office.
- Sound judgment on prioritization when multiple issues compete for limited time.
- Calm and organized under outage pressure.
- Coaching mindset; takes real satisfaction in developing technicians.
- Ownership — closes the loop and follows through without being chased.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Split time between a climate-controlled office setting and an active manufacturing floor.
- Plant floor exposure to noise, vibration, dust, moving equipment and powered industrial vehicles, and variable temperatures.
- Required personal protective equipment on the production floor, including safety glasses, hearing protection, and safety-toed footwear.
- Standard business hours with flexibility required to support multiple production shifts, planned maintenance windows, and an after-hours on-call rotation.
- Occasional travel (up to 10%) to other company sites, vendor locations, or training.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.
- Frequently required to stand, walk, and move throughout a large manufacturing facility for extended periods, including walking several miles over the course of a shift.
- Regularly required to sit and to use hands and fingers for keyboard, mouse, hand tools, and small hardware components.
- Frequently required to reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and climb ladders or step stools to access network equipment, cable trays, mounted devices, and overhead infrastructure.
- Must be able to lift, carry, push, or pull up to 50 pounds occasionally (e.g., workstations, printers, network hardware, UPS units) and up to 25 pounds frequently; assistance or equipment is available for heavier loads.
- Must have vision adequate for close work on hardware, cabling, and screens, including the ability to distinguish colors for cable and wiring identification.
- Must be able to hear and communicate clearly in a high-noise production environment.
- Must be able to work in confined or restricted spaces such as network closets, under desks, and inside equipment enclosures.
WHY JOIN TEAM SLATE?
At Slate, we’re fueled by grit, determination, and attention to detail. The start-up spirit of ingenuity and resourcefulness move our business forward. Team Slate fosters a culture of excellence, innovation, and mutual respect, and is motivated by shared principles.
WE WANT TO WORK WITH PEOPLE THAT REFLECT THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE OPERATE.
Slate is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, parental status, cultural background, organizational level, work styles, tenure and life experiences. Or for any other reason.
Slate is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at
slate-talent_acquisition@slate.auto.
