---
title: 'Senior IT Systems Engineer at Freeform'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-it-systems-engineer-freeform-los-angeles-x85nd4e3z9r1'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-24'
---

# Senior IT Systems Engineer at Freeform

- **Company:** Freeform
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-24
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/freeformfuturecorp/jobs/8040918003

## Job description

## SENIOR IT SYSTEMS ENGINEER

Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits.

As a Senior IT Systems Engineer, you will build the systems that connect our people, our factory, and our data: identity and endpoints, servers and storage, cloud and Kubernetes, the network, and the security layer over all of it. IT here is part of the technology we build, so it gets the same appetite for custom solutions to problems nobody has solved yet. Freeform is scaling rapidly across headcount, locations, and new technology coming online, so we’re looking for someone who’s excited to move fast and build the plane as we fly it. We want someone with broad skills, a “no job too big or small” mentality, and a taste for building.

Responsibilities:

- Run Microsoft 365, Entra ID, and Azure in a hybrid setup with on-prem Active Directory, including Entra Connect, conditional access, RBAC, and licensing
- Manage the device fleet in Intune: enrollment, compliance, app deployment, Autopilot, and patching
- Build and maintain Windows Server (AD DS, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, RADIUS/NPS) and hardened Ubuntu and Red Hat servers
- Run virtualization and SAN storage (Pure Storage, HPE 3PAR over iSCSI and NFS), from provisioning and replication to capacity planning
- Run and manage AWS infrastructure, including EKS, S3, IAM and VPC networking, with ownership of access control, monitoring and cost.
- Administer Kubernetes both on-prem and in EKS: cluster builds and upgrades, networking and ingress, storage, RBAC, and troubleshooting workloads.
- Design and maintain the Layer 2/3 network and own segmentation across user, server, management, OT, and guest zones
- Operate Defender XDR, Sentinel, and pfSense firewalls: tune detections, investigate incidents, and drive vulnerability remediation and least-privilege access
- Design and build custom solutions where off-the-shelf tools fall short, and automate repetitive work
- Act as the senior escalation point for infrastructure incidents and lead root-cause analysis
- Document what you build in runbooks and diagrams, and mentor junior IT staff
- Join the on-call rotation and planned after-hours maintenance windows

Basic Qualifications:

- 7+ years in systems administration or infrastructure engineering, 3+ in a senior or lead role, owning a mixed Windows, Linux, cloud, and network environment
- Experience with the below technologies including administering and troubleshooting
- Hybrid Microsoft 365, Intune, and Azure: on-prem AD synced to Entra ID, hybrid join, co-existence, and migration
- Windows Server DNS, DHCP, and RADIUS/NPS in production
- Ubuntu and Red Hat: systemd, storage, networking, hardening, and command-line troubleshooting
- vSphere, Hyper-V, or OpenShift, plus SAN storage over iSCSI and NFS (hands-on with Pure Storage and HPE 3PAR)
- AWS (EKS, S3, IAM) / Azure / GCP
- Kubernetes (on-prem and in the cloud)
- Layer 2/3 networking: VLANs, ACLs, segmentation, MLAG, and LACP
- Defender XDR, Sentinel, and pfSense administration
- PowerShell and Bash scripting experience
- Clear written communication with technical and non-technical audiences

Nice to Have:

- Experience with HashiCorp Vault and Argo CD
- Experience with Ansible
- Python scripting experience
- Experience administering Siemens Teamcenter
- Experience with Microsoft SQL Server administration
- Hands-on experience deploying physical security systems (DVR/NVR, CCTV, access control)
- AI fluency: practical use of AI tools for scripting, troubleshooting, and documentation, with sound judgment on data handling
- Degree in computer information systems, computer science, or computer engineering

Location:

- Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA's deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country.
- Our fast-paced, cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration, and as such, this role requires full-time onsite presence (five days a week), with very limited exceptions.

Why Freeform?

- We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions
- We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology
- Benefits
- Significant stock option packages
- 100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options)
- Life insurance
- Traditional and Roth 401(k)
- Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays
- Generous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent
- Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette
- Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events
- Compensation
- As a growing company, the salary range is intentionally wide as we determine the most appropriate package for each individual taking into consideration years of experience, educational background, and unique skills and abilities as demonstrated throughout the interview process. Our intent is to offer a salary that is commensurate for the company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role.
- In addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $160,000 - $215,000 per year. The upper end of the range is reserved for individuals who demonstrate exceptional experience, deep domain mastery, and a proven history of high performance and impact.
- Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability sttus, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

## About Freeform

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Freeform builds the world’s first AI-native manufacturing system – autonomous factories that use advanced sensing, compute, and machine learning to 3D-print industrial-grade metal parts at unprecedented speed and scale.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, raised $67M in Feb 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Erik Palitsch (CEO), Thomas J. Ronacher (President & Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Industrial Automation, Additive Manufacturing (Metal 3D Printing), Physical AI
- **Target customers**: B2B, primarily serving mission-critical industries: Aerospace & Defense, Aviation, Automotive, Advanced Energy, Consumer Electronics, Robotics, and Motor Sports.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “To radically change the way things are made” and “unlock advanced manufacturing for every industry” by treating manufacturing as a single, integrated AI-native system.

## Products & Services
For each major offering:
- **AI-Native Manufacturing System**: A fully integrated, software-defined network of autonomous factories. This system uses proprietary compute, sensors, controls, and ML to sense, learn, predict, and control metal formation in real-time. It unifies hardware and software to produce industrial-scale parts from prototype to full production, all under one roof.
- **Physical AI Stack**: The company built its own technology stack (compute, sensors, controls, software) to enable a new method of metal 3D printing that is faster, more predictable, and cost-effective than traditional methods.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue: $4.5M (LinkedIn estimate); Total Funding: $126M
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: NVIDIA (NVentures), AE Industrial Ventures (AE Ventures), Two Sigma Ventures, Founders Fund, Threshold Ventures, 8VC, Linse Capital, Valor.
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Raised $67M Series B in February 2026 to scale up laser AI manufacturing.
    - Named to Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026.”
    - 48 active job postings as of mid-2026, with year-over-year hiring growth of +81.5%.
    - Headcount growth of 9.4% year-over-year (approximately 50 employees).
    - Key hires from SpaceX, Tesla, Apple, Google, Velo3D.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-principles technology**: The company built all technology from scratch (compute, sensors, controls, ML stack) because the necessary tech didn't exist. This creates a deep technical moat.
- **AI-native, not AI-applied**: Their system is designed from the ground up to be autonomous, learning, and predictive, unlike traditional manufacturing methods that apply AI as an afterthought.
- **Proven leadership**: Founded and led by ex-SpaceX engineers (Erik Palitsch was Principal Architect of the Starship Vehicle and led the Merlin & Raptor engine programs) and a Chief Scientific Officer with deep experience in additive manufacturing (Tasso Lappas, former CTO at Velo3D).
- **Speed and scale**: Promises the ability to go from prototype to full-scale production faster than any competitor, enabling a "death of slow speeds and unpredictable systems."

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale up operations**: The primary focus of the $67M Series B is to scale the technology and expand production capacity.
- **Industry expansion**: Targeting a wide range of industries including aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and consumer electronics.
- **Talent acquisition**: Aggressively hiring top-tier cross-disciplinary talent (MechE, Electrical, Software, ML/AI, Process, and Engineering leadership) to build out the team.
- **Product innovation**: Continuing to push the boundaries of speed, quality, and scale in metal additive manufacturing.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a team of "first-principles thinkers" with "low ego" and a "healthy sense of humor." The company emphasizes working on "hard problems" and is driven by a mission to fundamentally change manufacturing.
- **Working policy**: Fully on-site in Los Angeles, CA (Hawthorne). This is a shop-floor and lab-heavy environment, ideal for those who want to be hands-on with hardware.
- **Compensation & Equity**: Offers competitive compensation and pre-IPO shares, meaning all employees are shareholders in the company’s success.
- **Notable Perks & Engineering Culture**: Opportunity to work with some of the most advanced manufacturing technology in the world (lasers, robotics, ML). The environment is described as high-trust, high-impact, and cross-disciplinary. The company encourages applications even if there is no exact role listed, signaling a flexible and growth-oriented culture.
- **Talent density**: The team includes top talent from SpaceX, Apple, Google, Tesla, Velo3D, and other leading tech and manufacturing companies.

## Sources
1. [freeform.co](https://freeform.co/)
2. [Freeform Careers](https://freeform.co/careers)
3. [Freeform Company Page](https://freeform.co/company)
4. [Freeform Greenhouse Job Board](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/freeformfuturecorp)
5. [LinkedIn - Freeform](https://www.linkedin.com/company/freeformfuture)
6. [TechCrunch - $67M Series B](https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/19/freeform-raises-67m-series-b-to-scale-up-laser-ai-manufacturing/)
7. [TechCrunch - $14M Venture Round](https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/22/ex-spacex-engineers-land-14m-to-scale-new-method-for-3d-printing-metal/)

## Other roles at Freeform

- [Head of IT](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-it-freeform-los-angeles-hh3k0jwkn35p) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Head of Turbomachinery Technology](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-turbomachinery-technology-freeform-los-angeles-653e2cds2gwa) — Los Angeles, CA
- [FPGA Engineer (New Grad Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/fpga-engineer-new-grad-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-50qdjgef58je) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Additive Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/additive-engineering-intern-spring-2027-freeform-los-angeles-qhg5v84pg57p) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Manufacturing Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineering-intern-spring-2027-freeform-los-angeles-r43mfa3jsbq7) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Process Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/process-engineering-intern-spring-2027-freeform-los-angeles-sc6esmgan641) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Manufacturing Engineering Intern, CNC Machining (Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineering-intern-cnc-machining-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-pzthb7edgjb2) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Materials Lab, General Helper (1st Shift)](https://feeny.ai/job/materials-lab-general-helper-1st-shift-freeform-los-angeles-faga6tyj404t) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Manufacturing Engineer, CNC Machining (New Grad Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineer-cnc-machining-new-grad-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-8psr93z57c32) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Manufacturing Engineer, CNC Machining (New Grad December 2026)](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineer-cnc-machining-new-grad-december-2026-freeform-los-angeles-h7mgdj17njag) — Los Angeles, CA