IT Support Engineer

Job Title: Lab IT Support Engineer

Location: West Lafayette, Indiana  

Duration: Long term

We are seeking a hands-on Lab IT Support Engineer to maintain secure, reliable, and scalable technology environments supporting advanced research, fabrication, design, and interactive workloads. This role combines systems administration, endpoint and identity management, network security, specialized laboratory technology support, and user enablement. The successful candidate will partner with technical users, facilities teams, security stakeholders, and equipment vendors to protect uptime, data integrity, and operational continuity.

Key Responsibilities

·        Perform routine system health checks, backups, restore testing, performance tuning, and capacity planning.

·        Retrieve archived files and media from secure storage and implement automated cleanup, retention, and asset-archiving workflows.

·        Design and maintain scalable infrastructure for advanced research, extended-reality, visualization, and other data-intensive workloads.

·        Manage user provisioning, permissions, shared-device access, identity controls, and IT onboarding and offboarding activities.

·        Audit device access and update configurations and policies in alignment with enterprise security requirements.

·        Support endpoint imaging, patching, software deployment, inventory, and lifecycle management.

·        Troubleshoot specialized design and engineering workflows, including authentication, large-file transfer, rendering, and application integration issues.

·        Serve as the primary IT contact for specialized laboratory and fabrication equipment and associated control systems.

·        Segment and secure laboratory networks using appropriate controls, including VLANs, access control lists, firewalls, and audited third-party remote access.

·        Harden and maintain instrument workstations; coordinate operating system, antivirus, software, and firmware changes with equipment vendors.

·        Implement monitoring and alerting equipment, systems, and facility telemetry to improve availability and incident response.

·        Specify, procure, and maintain suitable low-particulate, ESD-safe, and ergonomically appropriate computing hardware for controlled environments.

·        Plan and execute controlled technology changes using documented testing, compatibility validation, approvals, and rollback procedures.

·        Administer logical and physical access controls, maintain standard operating procedures, and retain accurate audit records.

·        Maintain backup and disaster recovery processes for control systems, configurations, recipes, and operational data, including offline copies and remote diagnostic capabilities.

·        Partner with users, security teams, facilities personnel, and vendors to triage incidents, resolve root causes, and schedule maintenance with minimal disruption.

Required Qualifications

·        Experience supporting Windows-based servers, workstations, user accounts, enterprise applications, and networked devices in a production or laboratory environment.

·        Working knowledge of systems administration, endpoint management, identity and access management, network security, backup and recovery, and operational monitoring.

·        Ability to troubleshoot complex hardware, software, authentication, connectivity, and data-transfer issues methodically.

·        Experience documenting procedures, changes, configurations, incidents, and recovery plans with accuracy and discipline.

·        Ability to coordinate with users, security and facilities teams, and external vendors while balancing service, security, and operational requirements.

·        Strong written and verbal communication skills, sound judgment, accountability, and a commitment to safe and reliable operations.

·        Ability to work on site during standard business hours and provide planned after-hours support when operationally necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

·        Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

·        Experience supporting research laboratories, advanced manufacturing, fabrication, cleanroom, media production, or other specialized technical environments.

·        Knowledge of virtualization, automation or scripting, centralized endpoint management, observability platforms, and secure remote-support technologies.

·        Familiarity with ESD-sensitive equipment, low-particulate hardware, instrument control systems, telemetry, and vendor-managed technology.

·        Technical excellence and a growth mindset, with curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning.

·        Customer-focused approach that anticipates user needs and translates technical complexity into practical, reliable solutions.

·        Strong collaboration and communication skills, including the ability to build trust across diverse disciplines and perspectives.

·        Strategic and innovative thinking, with the ability to connect immediate technical decisions to scalability, security, maintainability, and long-term business impact.

·        Adaptability, resilience, ownership, and effective problem-solving in dynamic environments with competing priorities.

·        High standards of integrity, accountability, inclusivity, and respect, with a commitment to teamwork and diversity of thought.

Benefits of the Opportunity

·        Work at the intersection of enterprise IT, advanced research, specialized equipment, and emerging technology.

·        Own meaningful systems and processes that directly influence security, continuity, user productivity, and operational scale.

·        Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and external technology partners on complex, high-impact challenges.

·        Expand expertise across infrastructure, cybersecurity, automation, laboratory systems, and service delivery.

·        Contribute to an inclusive, learning-oriented environment that values innovation, thoughtful experimentation, and measurable impac