Director of IT

About Backstory

Backstory (formerly People.ai) is the leading AI answers platform for sales teams. With more than a decade of training AI models on billions of sales interactions, Backstory enables modern sales teams to ask questions and get the right answer in the moment directly within their existing AI workflows. Sales leaders from companies like Red Hat, Five9, Palo Alto Networks, Iron Mountain, TransUnion, Randstad and others rely on Backstory to get trusted answers wrapped in real business context helping them orchestrate deals more effectively and drive revenue. 

By connecting every signal to the right accounts and opportunities, Backstory shows teams exactly what is happening and what to do next. Customers across industries including enterprise, cybersecurity, data and analytics, and defense use Backstory to drive trillions in pipeline and revenue.

Recognized by Gartner and Forrester, the Inc. 5000, Y Combinator Top Companies, and the Forbes AI 50, Backstory is based in San Francisco and backed by ICONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Akkadian Ventures and Mubadala Capital.

The Role

The IT Director is responsible for the strategic planning, management, and execution of the company’s corporate technology infrastructure. This role oversees IT operations, leads a team of technical professionals, and ensures systems are secure, scalable, and aligned with long-term business objectives.

The ideal candidate is a strong technical leader with a business-first mindset and a track record of building and scaling IT functions.

Responsibilities

Recruit, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of IT Engineers, Automation Engineers, Business Intelligence Developers, and Web Developers

Develop and execute an IT roadmap aligned with company growth and financial goals

Oversee IT support operations to ensure timely issue resolution and a high standard of service

Establish and track KPIs across IT disciplines to drive improvements in uptime, ticket resolution, employee satisfaction, and infrastructure performance

Manage the annual IT budget with a focus on efficiency and return on investment

Own vendor relationships, including contract negotiations, service level agreements, and security requirements, while ensuring the company has the right tools to support current needs and future growth

Partner cross-functionally with Security, Legal, People, and Finance to meet compliance, privacy, and regulatory requirements

Act as an escalation point and executive sponsor for major incidents, infrastructure migrations, and large-scale IT initiatives

Requirements

10+ years of progressive IT experience with expertise in MacOS endpoint management, SaaS and identity platform administration, and systems engineering

5+ years of experience leading and building IT teams

Hands-on technical leadership experience, including automation, internal tooling, and identity architecture design

Demonstrated success scaling IT Engineering and Operations within a fast-paced technology company

Nice to Have

Experience at a product-led SaaS company with a distributed, remote-first workforce

Experience in IT security or compliance frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, or GDPR/CCPA, along with the ability to partner effectively with Security teams on audits and controls