Support Desk Manager

ai2io

$120K — $144K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years managing or leading a technical support or Service Desk team
  • Strong grasp of IT service management concepts and process maturity
  • Experience with Microsoft 365 and Azure environments
  • Familiarity with automation tools and basic scripting languages
  • Excellent communication and conflict-resolution capabilities
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a remote setting
  • Bachelor's degree in IT or related field, plus 10+ years of IT experience

Responsibilities

  • Lead and manage the Service Desk team to deliver high-quality support
  • Develop team members through mentorship and structured learning paths
  • Forecast staffing needs and manage the hiring pipeline
  • Establish and report on Service Desk KPIs and SLAs
  • Drive continuous improvement in Service Desk processes and workflows
  • Oversee escalation governance and ensure smooth incident resolution
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams for seamless service delivery

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans
  • 401(k) with company match and self-directed brokerage options
  • Paid time off, including extra time during the last week of the year
  • Company-paid life insurance and disability coverage
  • Professional development and tuition reimbursement opportunities
  • Paid parental leave after one year of service
Full Job Description
Position Title

Support Desk Manager

Position Location

Remote - work virtually from anywhere in the United States

Salary

AI2IO recognizes salary ranges from job boards do not necessarily reflect our pay ranges. In many instances we out-compete those ranges for well-qualified candidates.

Job Summary

The Support Desk Manager leads the Service Desk function and is accountable for the performance, growth, and development of the support team that keeps the Company's family of affiliated organizations productive. This role owns the day-to-day direction of the Service Desk, manages the support technicians, and is personally accountable for service quality, responsiveness, and the consistency of the end-user support experience.

As the organization grows, the Support Desk Manager owns the support hiring and candidate pipeline, forecasts staffing needs against demand, and identifies and defines new support roles as the team scales. The Manager establishes the structure, processes, escalation paths, and career paths that allow the Service Desk to grow without degrading service quality.

Key areas of responsibility include team leadership and development, hiring and workforce planning, Service Desk KPI and SLA ownership, process and IT service management maturity, escalation governance, and partnership across the Application, DevOps, Security, and Infrastructure teams. This person will communicate and operate in line with organizational goals and values, as well as departmental objectives.

The Support Desk Manager operates with a high degree of autonomy, setting operational direction for the Service Desk, prioritizing work, and ensuring effective collaboration across functions.

Essential Functions

People Leadership & Team Management

  • Manage the Support Team: Serve as the direct manager for the Service Desk technicians, setting clear expectations, managing schedules and coverage, and ensuring consistent, high-quality support
  • Develop the Team: Provide direct mentorship, coaching, and career development; establish learning paths, shadowing, and growth opportunities that build technical and customer-service capability across the team
  • Manage Performance: Conduct regular 1:1s and performance reviews, deliver constructive feedback, address performance issues, and build a culture of accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement

Hiring & Workforce Planning

  • Own the Hiring Pipeline: Own the support hiring and candidate pipeline, partnering with leadership and HR to source, screen, interview, and select candidates and keep staffing aligned with company growth
  • Forecast & Plan Capacity: Forecast headcount needs against ticket volume, growth, and service demand, maintaining a healthy bench so the team can scale without degrading service quality
  • Define New Roles: Identify and define new support roles as the organization evolves, writing and refining job descriptions and onboarding plans, and leading the ramp-up of new hires

Service Desk Performance, KPIs & Service Management

  • Own KPIs & SLAs: Own and report on Service Desk KPIs and SLAs, including first-response time, resolution time, first-contact resolution, ticket aging, backlog, and customer satisfaction (CSAT)
  • Report on Performance: Establish dashboards and a regular reporting cadence that give leadership clear visibility into Service Desk health, risks, and resource needs, and use data to inform staffing and prioritization decisions
  • Drive Process & ITSM Maturity: Define, document, and continuously improve Service Desk processes, workflows, ticket-handling standards, and escalation paths, advancing maturity in IT service management (incident, problem, change, and request management)
  • Own Knowledge Management: Ensure the knowledge base is maintained with clear, current articles, diagrams, and walk-throughs, holding the team accountable for contributing and reducing recurring issues through documentation and automation

Escalation Oversight & Cross-Team Collaboration

  • Govern Escalations: Maintain a working knowledge of the Microsoft 365 and Azure environment sufficient to triage and prioritize escalations, ensuring they flow correctly and resolve within SLA
  • Coordinate Major Incidents: Step in to coordinate response on high-severity or high-visibility incidents, ensuring clear communication to stakeholders through to resolution
  • Partner Across Teams: Represent the Service Desk in change-management, project-handoff, and planning meetings, and partner with Application, DevOps, Security, and Infrastructure teams to ensure seamless delivery of new services and timely resolution of interdisciplinary issues


Position Requirements

  • Demonstrated experience managing or leading a technical support or Service Desk team, including direct people-management responsibility (hiring, coaching, and performance management)
  • Proven ability to own and improve Service Desk KPIs and SLAs, with comfort using metrics and reporting to drive operational decisions
  • Experience owning hiring, interviewing, and onboarding for technical support roles, and planning staffing against organizational growth
  • Solid working knowledge of Windows 11, Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive, Purview), Entra ID / Azure AD, Intune, and basic Azure resource administration - sufficient to lead the team credibly and direct escalations
  • Familiarity with PowerShell / Graph API and support automation concepts (does not need to be the hands-on author, but should recognize and prioritize automation opportunities)
  • Working grasp of core networking concepts (DNS, DHCP, VPN, conditional access, Zero Trust)
  • Experience advancing IT service management process maturity (incident, problem, change, and request management) is a strong plus
  • Familiarity with iOS (iPhone/iPad) deployment and support
  • Strong communication, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills, with a clear commitment to user satisfaction and responsive communication
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities, hold a team to deadlines and SLAs, and lead effectively in a remote team setting
  • Ability to leverage AI and emerging technologies to streamline support workflows and optimize operational processes
  • Self-motivated, organized, and able to lead under limited supervision


Travel / Relocation Requirements

  • Up to 5%, this may include travel to any or all 50 US states
  • Travel is defined as physically leaving home on behalf of business activities including but not limited to client sites, meetings with other employees, meeting for business development purposes, running errands on behalf of the business, attending industry conferences, etc.


Education / Experience Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in IT, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related discipline

PLUS

  • 10+ years of experience in Information Technology, including 3+ years leading or managing a technical support / Service Desk team


Benefits

AI2IO offers a very competitive benefits package; highlights include

  • Choice of comprehensive medical plans (including two PPO-style plans and a HDHP w/ HSA option)
  • Flex spending accounts (FSA)
  • Dental and vision plans
  • Comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits extended to spouse / domestic partner and dependent children up to age 26
  • 401k with company match and self-directed brokerage account option
  • PTO including additional paid time off during the last week of the year
  • Company paid life insurance coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
  • Short and long-term disability, AD&D coverage
  • Professional development opportunities, tuition reimbursement and professional licensing assistance
  • Paid parental leave after one year of employment


CO, CA, IL, NY, WA, and Washington DC residents only: In accordance with CO, CA, IL, NY, WA, and Washington DC law, the range provided is AI2IO's reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount may differ based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and location.

The pay range for this role is:

120,750 - 144,637.50 USD per year (Remote (United States))

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