IT Support Services Lead

This is an on-site position in Santa Monica, California.

For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Part I and Part II are now available for the first time on PC. Currently, we’re busy at the kennel working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we'd love to find talented individuals to join us!

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

Naughty Dog is seeking an experienced IT Support Services Lead to oversee end-user support services and support operations across the studio. This role leads the support team, drives service excellence, and partners with studio leadership to deliver reliable, high-quality technology services that support both local and remote users.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise with exceptional leadership and customer service skills. They are passionate about supporting creative and development teams, improving operational processes, and delivering an exceptional support experience.

What you will do:

• Lead, mentor, and manage the performance of the IT Support team, including contract support personnel, ensuring consistent service quality and operational excellence.
• Ensure timely, effective, and customer-focused support for local and remote users.
• Partner with IT and Studio Leadership to define and execute roadmaps for support services, end-user technologies, and future initiatives.
• Develop and improve service management practices, including KPIs, SLAs, workflows, automation, dashboards, reporting, and process optimization.
• Manage and improve enterprise applications and collaboration platforms, including Microsoft 365, Slack, Zoom, Teams, Jira, and related services.
• Oversee endpoint lifecycle management, including deployment, maintenance, patching, and hardware refresh programs.
• Partner with Engineering, Art, Production, and QA teams to improve support services, developer experience, and technology workflows.
• Evaluate and recommend improvements to endpoint technologies, user productivity tools, and support processes.
• Support the deployment and maintenance of desktop and development hardware as needed.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across the studio to troubleshoot issues, identify root causes, and improve development and support workflows.
• Partner with PlayStation Studios and other SIE teams to support shared initiatives and ongoing collaboration.
• Provide advanced technical escalation support and maintain technical documentation, procedures, and support standards.
• Assist with budgeting, cost analysis, vendor evaluations, and technology planning.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

What skills you will use:

• 10+ years of IT experience, including 3+ years in a Support Lead, Manager, or similar leadership role.
• Experience supporting distributed Windows and Linux environments within a production, development, or studio setting.
• Experience leading teams, managing contractor resources, setting performance goals, conducting reviews, and mentoring technical staff.
• Strong written and verbal communication, customer service, organizational, and documentation skills.
• Experience administering and optimizing service management platforms such as Jira Service Management or ServiceNow, including workflow design, automation, dashboard creation, reporting, and process improvement.
• Experience administering Atlassian products, including Jira Service Management and Confluence.
• Experience developing, managing, and reporting on KPIs and SLAs.
• Experience managing endpoint technologies and desktop lifecycle programs, including support for development workstations, operating systems, performance troubleshooting, and user productivity tools in Windows and Linux environments.
• Strong understanding of endpoint imaging, software deployment, patch management, and desktop administration.
• Familiarity with virtualization technologies and virtual desktop environments.
• Familiarity with automation and endpoint management technologies.
• Experience with vulnerability management and endpoint security solutions such as Qualys, Tanium, or CrowdStrike.
• Experience with identity and access management platforms such as Okta or similar solutions.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders at all levels to improve workflows, processes, and user experience.
• Ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to both end users and leadership.
• Ability to participate in on-call support rotations and respond to after-hours studio emergencies as needed.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Bonus skills:

• Experience supporting game development, content creation, or software engineering workflows.
• Familiarity with workstation performance tuning, hardware evaluation, and developer productivity tools.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) and Microsoft cloud technologies.
• Familiarity with Linux (Ubuntu).
• Experience supporting Perforce environments and development pipelines.
• Familiarity with outsourcing pipelines and external development partnerships.
• Passion for games and game development.

The estimated USA base pay range for this zone (Los Angeles area) is listed below. This role may be eligible for additional compensation packages that includes annual bonus and other incentive plans.

$133,300—$166,600 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

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Lead, mentor, and manage the performance of the IT Support team. Ensure timely, effective, and customer-focused support for local and remote users. Partner with IT and Studio Leadership to define and execute roadmaps for support services. Develop and improve service management practices, including KPIs, SLAs, workflows, automation, dashboards, reporting, and process optimization. Manage and improve enterprise applications and collaboration platforms, including Microsoft 365, Slack, Zoom, Teams, Jira. Oversee endpoint lifecycle management, including deployment, maintenance, patching, and hardware refresh programs. Partner with Engineering, Art, Production, and QA teams to improve support services, developer experience, and technology workflows. Evaluate and recommend improvements to endpoint technologies, user productivity tools, and support processes. Support the deployment and maintenance of desktop and development hardware as needed. Collaborate with stakeholders across the studio to troubleshoot issues, identify root causes, and improve development and support workflows. Partner with PlayStation Studios and other SIE teams to support shared initiatives and ongoing collaboration. Provide advanced technical escalation support and maintain technical documentation, procedures, and support standards. Assist with budgeting, cost analysis, vendor evaluations, and technology planning. Perform additional duties as assigned.