IT Systems & Network Support Specialist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Saelens Corporation

IT Systems & Network Support Specialist

Location: Milwaukee, WI

Employment Type: Full time on-site

Authorization: Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S without sponsorship.

About the role

We are hiring an IT Systems & Network Support Specialist to serve as our full-time, on-site IT presence at the Milwaukee facility. This is a broad generalist role with a networking emphasis — you will own network and infrastructure across both sites while also handling day-to-day end-user support help desk.

If you enjoy wearing multiple hats, working close to the production floor, and having real ownership over the systems you support, this role will give you that.

What you will do

Network & Infrastructure

• Manage the WAN between our Johnson Creek and Milwaukee locations, including firewalls, site-to-site VPN, and ISP relationships.

• Administer switches, wireless, and VLANs across both sites, with a focus on segmentation between our business network and our OT / shop-floor network supporting 113 networked CNC machines.

• Support the factory monitoring software and its connectivity to the CNC equipment.

• Maintain physical infrastructure at the Milwaukee site — server room, UPS, structured cabling, and telephony.

• Partner with the IT team on any work that crosses networking and security boundaries (identity, endpoint management, patching).

End-user Support

• Serve as the primary IT contact for Milwaukee employees, handling desktop, laptop, printer, mobile device, and shop-floor PC support.

• Manage new-hire onboarding, hardware imaging, and equipment lifecycle at the Milwaukee site.

• Provide hands-and-eyes support for anything the Johnson Creek team needs done physically on site.

• Share the company wide ticket queue with the Johnson Creek team, picking up cross-site tickets that can be handled remotely.

Cross-training & backup

• Serve as backup to the Systems Administrator on identity, Microsoft 365, and security tooling.

• Participate in occasional site rotation to stay familiar with the Johnson Creek environment.

• Contribute to IT documentation, runbooks, and standard operating procedures.

What we are looking for

Required

• Hands-on IT experience in a generalist or systems/network administrator role.

• Practical experience with business networking: firewalls, managed switches, VLANs, Wi-Fi, and VPN.

• Solid working knowledge of Windows desktop and server administration, Active Directory, and Microsoft 365.

• Comfortable providing direct end-user support and working alongside non-technical employees on the shop floor.

• Strong troubleshooting instincts and the ability to work independently — you will often be the only IT person on site in Milwaukee.

• Reliable, on-site availability at our Milwaukee facility during business hours, with occasional after-hours or weekend work for maintenance windows.

• Ability to run wiring/terminations to new endpoints.

• Willingness to work

Nice to have

• Prior experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or production environment.

• Familiarity with OT networks, CNC equipment connectivity, or factory monitoring / MES software.

• Experience with Fortinet, Cisco Meraki, or similar business firewall and switching platforms.

• Exposure to cybersecurity fundamentals — MFA, endpoint protection, patching, phishing awareness, cyber insurance requirements.

• Relevant certifications such as CompTIA Network+, Security+, Cisco CCNA, or Microsoft role-based certs.

What we offer

• A lean, capable IT team where your work has visible impact and you are trusted to own your domain.

• Exposure to both traditional IT and operational technology in a real industrial setting.

• Direct involvement in the implementation and ongoing modernization of our infrastructure.

• Competitive salary, health benefits, 401(k), and PTO.

• A stable, profitable company with long-tenured employees and a genuine commitment to growing the team.