Director of IT & Systems Architecture
Synchron
IT
Brooklyn, NY, USA
About Synchron
Synchron’s vision is to build non-surgical brain–computer interfaces at global scale that protect the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and autonomy. Our first mission is to develop motor decoders that restore the ability of 15 million people with paralysis to interact with the digital world. Our second mission is to develop whole-brain cognitive decoders that enable hundreds of millions of people with cognitive decline to preserve and expand their agency as cognition changes over time. In pursuing these goals, we aim not only to help humans flourish, but also to drive fundamental discoveries in human intelligence. Our team operates at the intersection of healthcare and technology, translating breakthrough research into real-world, safety-critical systems.
Director of IT & Systems Architecture
Department: Software
Location: On-Site – Brooklyn, New York (4 Days in office)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Experience Required: 8+ years
About the Role
Synchron is at an inflection point — transitioning from a well-funded clinical-stage company to a commercial-stage neurotechnology leader. To get there, our teams need infrastructure that matches our ambition.
As IT Director & Systems Architect, you’ll be the founding architect of Synchron’s internal technology environment. You’re not inheriting a mature IT org — you’re building one. You’ll own everything from identity and Zero Trust security to endpoint lifecycle, SaaS operations, and vendor management, supporting engineers, neuroscientists, clinicians, and corporate staff across the U.S. and Australia. We think of this role less as a people manager of a large IT operations team and more as a systems architect: someone who designs elegant, automated, AI-assisted infrastructure that scales without headcount. At our current stage, that means being genuinely hands-on — writing scripts, building workflows, and getting your hands dirty alongside the tools rather than directing others to do it. This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role where what you build will directly enable the company to reach commercial launch.
Key Responsibilities
What You'll Own
Cloud-First Infrastructure
- Architect and scale a cloud-first IT environment that supports a globally distributed team spanning New York, San Diego, and Australia
- Ensure reliability, uptime, and performance of core internal systems as the company scales from ~100 to commercial launch headcount
- Manage identity and access management systems (Okta, Azure AD/Entra ID) and enforce least-privilege principles across the org
Security-First Architecture
- Implement and own Synchron's Zero Trust security architecture — SSO, MFA, endpoint protection, network segmentation, and continuous monitoring
- Lead vulnerability management, incident response planning, and security documentation
- Support the security and regulatory requirements of a medical device company operating in FDA-regulated clinical and commercial environments (SOC 2, HIPAA, and related frameworks)
Endpoint Lifecycle & Workforce Productivity
- Own the full device lifecycle: procurement, provisioning, security hardening, asset tracking, and retirement — across macOS, Windows, and mobile
- Design and automate scalable onboarding and offboarding workflows that give every new hire a frictionless day-one experience
- Be the trusted IT partner for engineers, neuroscientists, and clinical staff with very different working environments and needs
SaaS Ecosystem, Automation & AI-Driven Operations
- Administer and optimize Synchron's core SaaS stack: Microsoft 365, Slack, identity providers, and endpoint management tools
- Build integrations and agentic workflows that automate repeatable processes end-to-end — reducing manual effort, eliminating toil, and enabling a lean team to operate at outsized scale
- Evaluate, negotiate, and onboard new tools as the company scales; rationalize and sunset redundant vendors — including actively identifying opportunities where custom AI-powered workflows can replace or augment traditional off-the-shelf software
IT Operations, Vendor & Budget Management
- Build and document IT service management processes from the ground up, establishing SLAs that grow with the company
- Manage software and hardware vendors, MSPs, and contracts — optimizing spend while maintaining quality and coverage
- Maintain an accurate asset and contract management system; report on IT spend and ROI to leadership
Technology Environment
The stack you'll inherit, optimize, and grow:
Identity | Okta, Azure AD / Entra ID |
Endpoint Mgmt | JAMF, Intune, MDM platforms |
Cloud | AWS, Azure |
Collaboration | Microsoft 365, Slack |
Security | CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, Zscaler |
ITSM | ServiceNow, FreshService, Jira Service Management |
Required Qualifications
- 8–10+ years of experience building and scaling IT infrastructure in growing organizations
- Demonstrated success in startup or high-growth environments supporting 100+ employees
- Hands-on experience architecting cloud-first environments and managing identity/access management systems
- Strong command of endpoint management across macOS, Windows, and mobile (JAMF, Intune, or equivalent)
- Clear communicator who can translate technical decisions into business language for cross-functional stakeholders
- Demonstrated experience applying AI and automation tools — LLM-powered workflows, agentic systems, or scripting — to streamline IT operations or replace manual processes
- Comfortable being a hands-on individual contributor at our current scale — you’re energized by building things yourself, not just managing others who do
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience at venture-backed startups or high-growth technology or medtech companies
- Prior work supporting engineering, research, or clinical teams — you understand their workflows and pain points
- Hands-on experience with SOC 2, HIPAA, or other regulated technology environments
- Experience designing and implementing Zero Trust architectures end-to-end
Why Synchron - Mission that matters: You'll be building infrastructure for a company that is clinically restoring independence to people with paralysis — patients who could not type, browse the internet, or communicate digitally before Stentrode. Your uptime SLAs directly support that work.
- Ground-floor IT ownership: Synchron doesn’t have a 10-person IT department with layers of bureaucracy. You’ll have genuine ownership, make real architectural decisions, and see the impact of your work immediately. You’ll function more as a systems architect and hands-on builder than a traditional IT manager — designing infrastructure, automating workflows with AI, and replacing legacy tooling with leaner custom solutions.
- World-class colleagues: Work alongside neuroscientists, interventional radiologists, embedded engineers, AI researchers, and clinical operations leaders. It's an unusual and genuinely stimulating environment.
- Momentum behind you: With $345M raised, integrations with Apple, NVIDIA, and OpenAI, and a clear commercialization path, Synchron isn't early-stage speculation — it's a company at the cusp of category creation.
- Competitive comp & equity: We offer competitive salary, meaningful equity participation, and comprehensive benefits befitting a Series D company.
Compensation
The base salary range for this role is $180,000 – $240,000 depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.
In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or equity grants, subject to board approval and company policy.
Visa Sponsorship
We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position at this time.
Benefits (for W-2, full-time, exempt employees in the US only) ***Intern positions not eligible
- Subsidized medical and dental insurance coverage for you and your dependent(s)
- Life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability
- 401k
- Discretionary unlimited PTO
- Flexible Spending Account for you and your dependent(s), with eligible plan elections
- Commuter benefits for NY employees
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
Synchron is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants and provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please let us know.
Join Us
At Synchron, you will be part of a transformative mission and you will work alongside driven people who believe in the power of collaboration and innovation to make a lasting impact. If you are excited to stretch your skills and contribute to something meaningful, apply and now and build the future with us.