IT Manager in Port Melbourne, Victoria at Arkeus

Who we are

Arkeus builds AI-powered sensing systems that help autonomous platforms see, understand and act in the most complex and contested environments. Our technology is deployed across defence and national security applications — already protecting lives and strengthening security across the U.S. and allied markets.

Backed by QIC, Main Sequence, R+VC, Salus Ventures, Folklore Ventures, DYNE Ventures and Beaten Zone Venture Partners, Arkeus is entering a major growth phase. We are a small, fast-moving company with the energy and ambition of a start-up and the technical credibility of a world-class defence technology provider.

We work at the intersection of optics, autonomy, robotics and real-time AI — and we deploy what we build. If you want to ship technology that matters, not a company that ships PowerPoint decks, this is where you belong.

About the role

As IT Manager, you will own the technology backbone that keeps Arkeus running.

You will be the first IT person in the company, working in close collaboration with our external IT service supplier. Your objective is to progressively bring that capability in house. AI is central to how you do this: you will use AI to multiply what you and your team can deliver, and you will be an active advocate for AI across every operation and IT system at Arkeus.

About you

You are comfortable being the whole IT function — configuring a laptop in the morning, reviewing access rights and network alerts in the afternoon, and managing a supplier relationship in between.

You have experience building or transforming IT functions, ideally including standing up operations in a new country, and you understand the compliance rigour required in regulated industries such as defence. Importantly, you treat cybersecurity as a first-class part of the job, not an afterthought.

Key responsibilities

• Networks & Infrastructure: Keep our networks running reliably and actively monitored, with visibility over performance, uptime and incidents across both sites.
• Access & Identity: Make sure access rights are in place, correctly scoped and regularly reviewed — clean onboarding, clean offboarding, least privilege by default.
• Cybersecurity: Implement and enforce our cybersecurity rules and controls, and keep Arkeus compliant with the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP) in Australia and NIST standards in the US.
• US IT Setup: Design and stand up IT infrastructure and support for our growing US presence, matching the standards and reliability of our Australian operations.
• AI Enablement & Advocacy: Use AI to enhance your own output and that of your team, and champion AI adoption across every function and IT system at Arkeus — bringing teams along with change rather than mandating it from above.
• Supplier Management & Insourcing: Work in close collaboration with our IT service supplier while building the internal capability to replace them, growing the team to two (you plus one) rather than outsourcing. Own the selection, implementation and ongoing management of core IT and AI tools and platforms.

Your experience and skills

• Hands-On IT Management: Experience running IT end-to-end for 70+ users.

• Experience supporting Linux and highly technical software engineers.

• MS Office 365 — Endpoint configuration and management, networks and monitoring, identity and access management, and end-user support.

• Insourcing & Supplier Management: Experience managing a managed-service provider and bringing that work in house, and/or standing up IT in a new country or region.

• Cybersecurity & Compliance: Working knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks and standards, ideally DISP (Australia) and/or NIST (US), or a strong ability to get up to speed quickly.

Why join Arkeus

• You will own how a deep-tech company at the frontier of AI, optics and autonomy runs its own IT and you will build the internal team that replaces our outsourced support

• You will collaborate with exceptional leaders who have decades of combined experience in AI, optics and defence.

• You will become part of a close-knit, ego-free team where ideas compete on merit, not seniority. Low politics, high trust. The kind of team you will still be talking about in ten years.

• You will work hard and be expected to bring your best, and in return you will grow faster than you ever would at a large organisation.

• You will receive a competitive, market-benchmarked salary, structured career pathways built to grow with you, and the opportunity to participate in our Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP).

We strongly encourage applications from candidates who don't check every box. If this role excites you, please apply.