---
title: 'Senior Systems Administrator at Swarm Aero'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-systems-administrator-swarm-aero-oxnard-cr36skre5jqh'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Senior Systems Administrator at Swarm Aero

- **Company:** Swarm Aero
- **Location:** Oxnard, CA
- **Compensation:** $70k–$120k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/swarmaero/f6362109-d107-46e7-aa57-04d0da26c3c5

## Job description

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results. The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

Role Overview: The Sr. Systems Administrator will be the primary point of contact for maintaining IT infrastructure, providing helpdesk support, and ensuring staff have the tools and technology they need to achieve maximum efficiency. This role requires a proactive, hands-on approach to day-to-day operations, focusing on end-user support, infrastructure management, and optimizing cloud and on-premises environments. This is a unique opportunity for an ambitious individual to grow with Swarm Aero. The role offers significant career advancement potential, exposure to cutting-edge cloud technologies, and the chance to take ownership of IT operations. You will have the opportunity to shape the IT environment and eventually become the primary IT leader for an expanding office of 50+ people. Mentorship, continuous learning, and skill development will be a core part of your experience here.

## Key Responsibilities

What You’ll Do:

- Administer and improve Entra ID / Azure AD, including user lifecycle management, group membership, access assignments, device identity, and directory hygiene
- Manage Microsoft 365 administration across Exchange Online, licensing, user configuration, shared resources, distribution groups, and related end-user services
- Own Intune administration for Windows endpoint management, including enrollment, configuration profiles, compliance policies, update rings, application deployment, device standards, and troubleshooting
- Partner on or support Jamf administration for Apple device management and lifecycle operations
- Own onboarding and offboarding workflows across identity, email, endpoint management, SaaS access, device preparation, and user readiness
- Provision and maintain laptops, desktops, mobile devices, peripherals, and standard user equipment
- Troubleshoot issues not only at the endpoint level, but also at the platform level across identity, policy, device management, and application access
- Manage software deployment, patching coordination, licensing, and baseline configuration standards
- Maintain and improve asset inventory, device assignment tracking, and operational accuracy across hardware and accounts
- Support access and administration for core business systems and SaaS applications
- Handle escalated user issues involving device compliance, account access, conditional access behavior, enrollment failures, authentication problems, and productivity platform issues
- Support physical office IT operations including printers, conference rooms, shared devices, and other user-facing site technology
- Create and maintain clean operational documentation for provisioning, administration, troubleshooting, and recurring workflows
- Identify gaps in current processes and improve the scalability, consistency, and security of end-user IT operations

Required Qualifications

What We’re Looking For:

- 5 to 7 years of experience in systems administration, endpoint administration, internal IT, or MSP environments
- Strong hands-on experience with Entra ID / Azure AD
- Strong hands-on experience with Microsoft Intune in a production environment
- Strong experience administering Microsoft 365 for end users, including licensing, Exchange Online basics, shared resources, and identity-linked services
- Strong understanding of Windows endpoint management, device compliance, policy enforcement, software deployment, and troubleshooting
- Experience supporting macOS environments and working with Jamf or equivalent Apple device management platforms
- Experience owning onboarding and offboarding workflows from both the systems side and the operational execution side
- Strong knowledge of modern identity and endpoint concepts, including device enrollment, compliance, conditional access interactions, MFA, access assignments, and policy troubleshooting
- Experience with hardware lifecycle management, procurement coordination, asset tracking, and device deployment standards
- Ability to troubleshoot across multiple layers, from user symptoms to backend platform configuration
- Strong communication skills and ability to work directly with employees across technical and non-technical teams

Technical Skills:

- Identity and Access Management (IAM): Experience with Entra ID (Azure AD) and Office 365 administration (Required)
- Deep hands-on administration of Entra ID / Azure AD, including user lifecycle management, group-based access, MFA, and authentication troubleshooting
- Initiative & Adaptability: Strong willingness to learn new technologies and adapt to evolving requirements
- Problem-Solving: Demonstrated analytical and troubleshooting abilities

Soft Skills:

- Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks efficiently in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences
- Documentation-first mindset with a focus on process improvement
- Strong collaboration skills and team-oriented approach
- Self-motivated with ability to work independently

Preferred Qualifications:

- Familiarity with Docker containerization and AWS-based applications
- Scripting experience with PowerShell, Bash, or Python for automation
- Background managing and maintaining enterprise productivity tools
- Experience troubleshooting and optimizing cloud-based services
- Previous experience in defense, aerospace, or regulated industries

ITAR requirement To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Swarm Aero is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse backgrounds and experiences and make employment decisions without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability.

## What We Offer

- Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company
- Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
- Medical, dental, vision, and 401k
- PTO and paid sick leave
- Monthly wellness stipend
- Daily catered lunch (office)
- Paid parental leave
- Direct impact on a critical national security mission
- A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems

## About Swarm Aero

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Swarm Aero builds large, swarming uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for defense, logistics, disaster response, and sensing missions, controlled by a proprietary mission-level autonomy platform.
- **Entity Type**: Private startup (Series A, $35M raised in March 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Oxnard, California, USA (with a manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, Arkansas)
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Danny Goodman (CEO), Oliver Palmer (COO), Peter Kalogiannis (Co-Founder & Chief Engineer, departed April 2026)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Defense & aerospace, UAV swarm systems, advanced manufacturing
- **Target customers**: Government/military (B2G) – specifically U.S. Department of Defense and allied forces; also logistics, disaster response, and environmental monitoring agencies
- **Mission statement**: “Building the largest UAV swarm on the planet.” (LinkedIn tagline)

## Products & Services
- **Swarm-Scale Command & Control (C2) Platform**: Browser-based, platform-agnostic UI that enables small teams to coordinate thousands of uncrewed vehicles in communications-limited, contested environments.
- **Universal Swarm Node (UAV)**: A Group 5 drone designed from the ground up for swarming – not expendable (like a Switchblade) nor exquisite (like an F-35), but recoverable and mass-producible.
- **Mission-Level Autonomy Software**: Translates user intent into vehicle-level behaviors that update in real-time as the swarm detects changing conditions; includes collaborative autonomy for superhuman agility.
- **Manufacturing as a Feature**: High-rate composite manufacturing processes adapted from other industries to achieve unprecedented airframe throughput (targeting 1,000+ units per year).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Total Funding**: $35M (Series A closed March 2026; prior $2M pre-seed in 2022 and $22M seed in 2023)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Two Sigma Ventures, Silent Ventures (co-leads Series A), Construct Capital, Alumni Ventures, Founders Fund
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount: 50 employees as of mid-2026 (+94.6% YoY)
  - Opened a manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, Arkansas in early 2026
  - Plans to more than double headcount by end of 2026 (per Axios)
  - First flight of the Group 5 drone expected within two years

## Competitive Advantages
- **Team expertise**: Leadership collectively has 100+ years of uniformed U.S. military service, built 30+ novel aircraft, and contributed to the highest production rate composite aircraft and rocket engines ever.
- **Manufacturing moat**: Concurrent design of factory and aircraft enables rapid scaling from prototype to 1,000+ units; “two-thirds of the cost of building a new aircraft is generally headcount” – Swarm designs for low-cost, high-rate production.
- **Software-defined swarm**: Browser-based C2 and edge-compute sensor mesh bring cloud-like agility to contested environments, allowing small teams to control massive swarms.
- **Differentiation**: Neither expendable (like loitering munitions) nor exquisite (like stealth bombers) – a recoverable, affordable mass that overmatches adversaries through numbers.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale manufacturing**: The new Arkansas facility is central to achieving high-rate composite production and reducing unit cost.
- **Headcount growth**: Aggressive hiring across engineering, manufacturing, and operations; 20 active job postings as of mid-2026.
- **First flight milestone**: Complete design, build, and test of the Group 5 drone within the next two years to enter operational service.
- **Multi-domain expansion**: Plans to deploy a combination of air, sea, and ground assets tailored to diverse missions (cargo, fire suppression, adaptive sensing, resilient communications).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Move Fast and Make Things” – a startup ethos focused on rapid design-build-test cycles and real-world impact in defense tech.
- **Work environment**: Likely on-site given manufacturing and hardware focus; offices in Oxnard, CA (HQ) and Fayetteville, AR (factory).
- **Team**: Work alongside veterans of Scaled Composites, Anduril, Northrop Grumman, and leaders who have built five billion-dollar startups and software with 4.6B combined active users.
- **Perks**: Not publicly detailed, but typical for well-funded defense startups (competitive compensation, equity, mission-driven work). The company uses modern tools (Kubernetes, Docker, Python, MATLAB, etc.) and offers roles from engineering to program management.
- **Growth opportunity**: Early-stage company with strong funding and a clear path to scale – employees can have outsized impact on product and manufacturing processes.

## Sources
1. [Swarm Aero Website](https://www.swarm.aero/)
2. [Swarm Aero LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/swarm-aero)
3. [Craft.co Company Profile](https://craft.co/swarm-aero)
4. [Axios – Exclusive: Big-drone builder Swarm Aero raises $35 million](https://www.axios.com/2026/03/11/swarm-aero-seriesa-drone-factory)
5. [Swarm Aero Team Page](https://www.swarm.aero/team-2)

## Other roles at Swarm Aero

- [Embedded Software Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-software-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-p9rcq7x1wkfa) — Oxnard, CA
- [Avionics Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-engineer-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-psg9w8x5t20w) — Oxnard, CA
- [Software Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-intern-swarm-aero-remote-k3ez3df35cwp)
- [Composite Engineering (M&P) Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/composite-engineering-m-p-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-rqgtdwckgmb1) — Oxnard, CA
- [Aircraft Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/aircraft-engineering-intern-swarm-aero-oxnard-3ks66gt8q67p) — Oxnard, CA
- [Tracking and Fusion Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/tracking-and-fusion-engineer-swarm-aero-remote-qhq68f6cpdfw)
- [Software Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-robotics-swarm-aero-remote-8v5z0g7hxr1b)
- [Principal Engineer, Real-Time Visualization](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-engineer-real-time-visualization-swarm-aero-remote-ff9b30e812kb)
- [Staff Software Engineer, Real-Time Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-real-time-systems-swarm-aero-remote-qaa3zbaht54y)
- [Software Engineer, Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-autonomy-swarm-aero-remote-8tmzhrrhz25b)