IT Operations Manager

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At Smart Stop® Self Storage, we believe in embracing change, driving innovation, and elevating every team member’s journey.

Smart Stop® Self Storage (NYSE: SMA) is one of the largest self-storage operators in North America and a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Headquartered in sunny Ladera Ranch, California, Smart Stop owns or manages more than 460 self-storage properties across 35 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Canada
, comprising over 270,000 units and more than 35 million rentable square feet.

Our fully integrated team of more than 1,000 self-storage professionals is dedicated to delivering an exceptional customer experience and driving long-term value for our customers, investors, and communities.

Smart Stop’s commitment to service excellence and workplace culture has been recognized with multiple industry honors, including being named to Newsweek’s Best Customer Service Award (2021, 2023 and 2024), earning the Reputation 800 Award ), and being recognized as a Top Workplace in Orange County ), an award based entirely on employee feedback regarding our culture, leadership, and values.

We’re growing fast — and we want you to grow with us.

Salary: between $115,000 - $125,000 depending on experience + annual discretionary bonus

Location: 100% on-site at our Ladera Ranch, CA headquarters.

Reporting to the IT Director, the IT Operations Manager will lead the day-to-day management of the Company’s technology infrastructure, systems, and support functions. This role will own the reliability, security, and performance of the Company’s IT environment, as well as the SOX compliance for the Company including ITGC policies, periodic access reviews and annual compliance activities.

• Oversees daily operations of IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, cloud environments, and end-user systems.
• Owns the design and continuous monitoring of IT General Controls (ITGC) and automated business controls.
• Develops and enforces IT policies, procedures, and best practices around security, user access, rose-based permissions, data protection, and system availability.
• Monitors system performance, troubleshoots issues, and root-cause analysis.
• Analyzes the comprehensive network environment providing recommendations to improve cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.
• Ensures business continuity and disaster recovery plans are current and tested.
• Maintains compliance with relevant regulatory and security standards (PCI compliance, etc.).
• Tracks and reports on IT operational metrics (uptime, ticket resolution times, etc.).
• Directs the end-to-end annual IT SOX compliance.
• Partners with internal teams and external audit firms to facilitate walkthroughs and evidence collection.
• Identifies control deficiencies and guides stakeholders through practical issue resolution.
• Performs as system administrator of managed systems including provisioning /deprovisioning users, assigning approved permissions, and other necessary/required duties.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems/Technology, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 5+ years of experience in IT operations, systems administration, or infrastructure management.
• Strong knowledge of networking, server administration, cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP), and security best practices
• Familiarity with SSAE 18 (SOC 1/SOC
  2) report evaluations and segregation of duties (SoD) concepts.
• Experience with Governance, Risk and Compliance platforms.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical risks to non-technical financial stakeholders.
• Excellent active listening skills and inquisitiveness.
• Well-developed professional skepticism, with the ability to review provided evidence and systems logs with a healthy, objective curiosity to verify that controls work in practice and not just on paper.
• Ability to influence internal and external teams to prioritize control remediations and fix compliance gaps without alienating teams.
• Ability to pivot smoothly and quickly with business changes, keeping cool under pressure.
• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Exceptional analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Effective time management skills; ability to juggle multiple testing cycles, audit request, and project management without dropping key milestones.
• Background in a fast-paced or scaling company environment.
• Health insurance including medical, dental and vision