Senior IT Systems Administrator

The role:

Newsela is looking for a Senior IT Systems Administrator to join our Information Technology team. Reporting to the IT Engineering Lead, you will help manage, scale, and automate our infrastructure. You will administer and support identity and access controls for corporate applications; automate administrative processes; partner with business stakeholders to translate real-world processes into structured, repeatable workflows; and back up our support and systems staff with engineering leadership. On-call requirements are occasional but typically can be resolved from a mobile device as our infrastructure is 100% cloud.

Why you’ll love this role:

System Administration

• Maintain and configure core SaaS systems and internal tools, ensuring stability, security, and scalability across applications like Atlassian Suite, Netsuite, Google Workspace, Kandji, and Slack.

Asset & Configuration Management

• Maintain accurate records of employees, devices, vendors, and applications using Jira Assets. Ensure these systems stay in sync with authoritative data sources like the HRIS and device management platforms.

Integration Platform Management

• Operate and improve data flows and business logic using Celigo, ensuring systems talk to each other reliably and in real-time.

Compliance Support & Observability

• Support compliance efforts (e.g., SOC 2) by configuring tools like Vanta, ensuring key IT workflows (onboarding, offboarding, access audits) meet SLA and documentation requirements. Build alerts and reports to monitor critical workflows.

Why you’re a great fit:

• You’ve spent at least 3-5 years in an IT, systems, or infrastructure-focused role—titles may vary (System Administrator, IT Engineer, Business Systems Analyst, etc.).
• You’re comfortable managing SaaS systems, automating workflows, and solving messy access or integration problems. You have a bias for automation and care about clean documentation.
• You have hands-on experience and the ability to understand, communicate, and improve technical workflows.
• Experience in tech, startups, or SaaS environments is helpful, but not required. If you’ve worked closely with cross-functional teams and business stakeholders, that’s a big plus.
• Must have a background with Google Workspace, Slack, Kandji, Atlassian, Jira Service Management, Jira Assets, Celigo, or another integration platform (Workato, Zapier, etc.), SAML/SSO concepts, Okta, Vanta or other compliance platforms, light scripting (e.g., Bash, Python, API calls)

Compensation: 

• Base salary: $100,000 - $112,000 per year. 
• Total compensation for this role also includes incentive stock options and benefits. 

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Why you’ll love working at Newsela:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical benefits with employer contribution to premiums and to HSA accounts. Additional benefits such as pet insurance, free access to the Calm app, and more to help you stay healthy: mind, body, and soul. 
• Work From Home: We are a fully remote company. We provide a monthly tech stipend to support your WFH needs!
• Supporting ALL Families: Inclusive benefits to support you and your family, including parental leave, fertility support, adoption, and more! 
• Financial Wellbeing: Invest in your future with our 401(k) plan, which includes a employer match to help you build long-term financial security.
• Time Off: Flexible PTO plus 10 company holidays plus winter break (Dec 24th - Jan 1st), and Sabbatical Leave offered at tenure.
• Professional Development: Newsela offers an annual learning and development allowance to employees to attend external training sessions, classes, workshops, conferences, and educational materials to foster professional growth within their current role and career aspirations at Newsela.
• Make A Difference: No matter your role or department, the work you do each day helps share the future of education and improves the lives of students and teachers.

Newsela takes authentic, real world content from trusted sources and makes it instruction ready for K-12 classrooms. Each text is published at five reading levels, so content is accessible to every learner. Today, over 3.3 million teachers and 40 million students have registered with Newsela for content that's personalized to student interests, accessible to everyone, aligned to instructional standards, and attached to activities and reporting that hold teachers accountable for instruction and students accountable for their work. With over 15,000 texts on our platform and multiple new texts published every day across 20+ genres, Newsela enables educators to go deep on any subject they choose.

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