MSP4, LLC | Full-Time | Remote (United States) | Up to 25% Travel | 7+ years experience
MSP4 operates as the embedded IT department for a portfolio of clients spanning professional services, legal, manufacturing, distribution, and government sectors. Environments carry real compliance weight: CMMC L2, NIST 800-171, and SOC 2 are active requirements across this client base, and project records serve as audit evidence.
You own project delivery for the infrastructure work in that portfolio: server and platform migrations, network segmentation builds, Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant projects, and compliance remediation ahead of assessment windows. A project that lands with you leaves with a schedule, a budget, named owners, and a closeout record that passes audit. You run intake through closeout and answer for the outcome. You also lead the engineers who do the work, and project authority here runs matrix-style across every tier. Two boundaries define the role. Solution design authority sits with the Principal Solutions Architect and Senior Engineering; you enforce the approved design but do not redesign. And you are never a committed engineering resource on a project you manage; you unblock and review, you do not assign yourself the task. The role is remote with travel up to 25% for kickoffs, cutover windows, and client-site milestones.
-
Own client infrastructure projects end to end: intake, scoping, work breakdown, scheduling, budget tracking, risk management, change management, and closeout.
-
Build project plans that map work to the right tier: L2 for endpoint and site work, L3 for server and platform execution, Senior Engineering for complex implementation, and the Principal Solutions Architect for design.
-
Manage the L2 Field Support Technicians and L3 Systems Administrators assigned to your projects: assign and sequence tasks, run check-ins, triage escalations, clear blockers, and feed performance observations to each person's manager.
-
Coordinate platform administrators and Senior (L4) Engineers in a matrix model: own their project task sequencing, deliverable dates, and cross-project dependency conflicts, and hold them to the same change-record and closeout-documentation standards as the rest of the team. Their technical authority and line management stay with Senior Engineering leadership.
-
Coach engineers on delivery discipline: change records, runbooks, closeout documentation, and client communication that holds up in front of a CMMC or SOC 2 assessor.
-
Challenge estimates and plans with technical specifics, then commit to the number the accountable engineer owns.
-
Participate in design reviews, enforce the approved design during execution, and route proposed deviations back to the Principal Solutions Architect rather than approving them in the field.
-
Run client communication for project work: kickoffs, status reporting, change windows, delay conversations, and the case where a client dependency is the thing slipping the date.
-
Integrate compliance into delivery: change control on CUI-relevant systems, evidence capture as the project runs rather than reconstructed afterward, US-person access constraints, and assessor-ready closeout packages aligned to NIST 800-171.
-
Coordinate vendors and carriers inside project scope: circuit orders, hardware logistics, and vendor remote-access requests evaluated against security policy.
-
Manage capacity conflicts between project work and the service desk in partnership with dispatch, and escalate to leadership when the math does not work.
-
Track schedule and budget in a PSA/ITSM platform and a scheduling tool (Jira Service Management, Microsoft Project, or Smartsheet), and report project health to leadership with numbers: percent complete against baseline, budget burn, and risk register movement.
Candidates are scored against these. Categories: Technical, Functional, Consulting, Credentials.
#
Qualification
Category
Description
1
End-to-end delivery ownership
Functional
Intake, work breakdown, baselined schedule, budget tracking, risk register, change control, and documented closeout on infrastructure projects.
2
Infrastructure project domains
Functional
Server and platform migrations, network segmentation builds, Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant projects, and compliance remediation projects.
3
Technical depth to direct engineers
Technical
Reads a switch configuration or a virtualization cutover plan and spots the step that will fail; depth in networking or systems administration sufficient to challenge engineer work at the plan level.
4
People management
Functional
Direct management of L2 and L3 technical staff: task assignment, coaching, hiring input, and performance feedback; judgment to separate a skill gap from a will gap.
5
Matrix delivery authority
Functional
Has held the dates and dependencies of senior technical staff who took project direction without reporting in; can describe holding delivery without holding the performance review.
6
Compliance-aware delivery
Functional
Working knowledge of CMMC L2, NIST 800-171, and SOC 2 as they constrain project execution: change control on CUI systems, evidence capture during the project, and US-person access limits.
7
PSA and scheduling tooling
Technical
Project and ticket discipline in a PSA or ITSM platform (Jira Service Management preferred; HaloPSA, ConnectWise, Autotask, or ServiceNow transferable) and fluency with a scheduling tool (Microsoft Project or Smartsheet).
8
ITIL service-management practice
Functional
Change, incident, and problem management as practiced in a live environment, not as vocabulary.
9
Client and stakeholder communication
Consulting
Runs kickoffs, status reporting, change windows, and delay conversations with client executives and non-technical stakeholders; holds a date when a client dependency is the cause of slippage.
10
Three-way communication across tiers
Consulting
Works effectively with client stakeholders, with the engineers under management, and with Senior Engineering and the Principal Solutions Architect above the role's tier.
11
Enforces design without redesigning
Consulting
Participates in design reviews, enforces the approved design in execution, and routes deviations back to the Principal Solutions Architect rather than approving them in the field.
12
Holds the delivery boundary
Consulting
Unblocks and reviews without becoming a committed task resource; keeps the schedule honest by not making the project manager the bottleneck.
13
Documentation and audit discipline
Consulting
Change records, runbooks, and closeout packages another reviewer or assessor can follow without asking questions.
14
Vendor and carrier coordination
Functional
Circuit orders, hardware logistics, and vendor remote-access requests evaluated against security policy inside project scope.
15
Delivery experience
Credentials
7+ years in IT delivery combining hands-on infrastructure work and project management, with at least 3 years managing or supervising technical staff.
16
Multi-client service delivery
Credentials
Prior experience in a multi-client delivery environment: MSP, MSSP, or consulting delivery.
17
US-person status
Credentials
US citizen, US national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual (refugee or asylee) under US law. Required for CUI and export-controlled system access under CMMC L2. Authorization to work in the US is not sufficient: a work visa (H-1B, L-1, TN), OPT/CPT, or an Employment Authorization Document does not satisfy this requirement.
18
US-based work location
Credentials
Based in the United States and performing the role from within the United States.
19
Project management certification
Credentials
PMP, or a delivery history demonstrating the same discipline: baselined schedules, change control, risk registers, and documented closeouts.
20
Network or systems credentials
Credentials
CCNP, CCNA, or equivalent network or systems credentials; a positive signal, not a requirement. Verifiable hands-on history is treated as equivalent.
Required. Absence screens the candidate out.
-
7+ years in IT delivery combining hands-on infrastructure work and project management, including at least 3 years managing or supervising technical staff (matrix #15).
-
US-based work location and US-person status (matrix #17, #18). You must be based in the United States and qualify as a US person: US citizen, US national, lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual (refugee or asylee) under US law. Authorization to work in the United States is not sufficient on its own. A non-immigrant work visa (H-1B, L-1, TN, and similar), F-1 OPT/CPT, or an Employment Authorization Document does not meet this requirement. This role's access to Controlled Unclassified Information and export-controlled systems is restricted to US persons under CMMC L2 and US export control regulations (ITAR / EAR).
-
End-to-end delivery ownership: baselined schedules, change control, risk registers, and documented closeouts (matrix #1).
-
Technical depth to direct engineers in networking or systems administration (matrix #3).
-
Direct people management of L2 and L3 technical staff (matrix #4).
-
Matrix delivery authority over senior staff who do not report in (matrix #5).
-
Working knowledge of CMMC L2, NIST 800-171, and SOC 2 as they constrain delivery (matrix #6).
-
Project and ticket discipline in a PSA or ITSM platform plus fluency with a scheduling tool (matrix #7).
Preferred. Strengthens a candidate, never screens one out.
-
PMP certification (matrix #19).
-
CCNP, CCNA, or equivalent network or systems credentials (matrix #20).
-
ITIL service-management practice at a working level (matrix #8).
-
Jira Service Management experience specifically, and Microsoft Project or Smartsheet fluency (matrix #7).
-
Prior multi-client service delivery experience: MSP, MSSP, or consulting delivery (matrix #16).
-
Vendor and carrier coordination inside project scope (matrix #14).
Competency
Behavioral indicator
Technically credible direction
Reads a firewall change plan and catches the missing rollback step; challenges an estimate with specifics rather than deferring to seniority.
Holds the delivery boundary
Unblocks and pairs to get an engineer moving, then steps back; does not absorb the task and become the schedule's bottleneck.
Matrix leadership without line authority
Holds the dates of staff who outrank the role technically, and goes on record about how they delivered, without owning their reporting line.
Audit-grade delivery discipline
Captures evidence and closeout records as the project runs so an assessor sees a complete trail, not a reconstruction.
Enforces design, does not redesign
Holds execution to the approved design and routes proposed deviations back to the Principal Solutions Architect instead of deciding in the field.
Three-way communication
Moves between client executives, the engineers under management, and Senior Engineering above the tier without losing clarity in any direction.
MSP4 does not operate like a traditional IT department or a ticket-centric help desk. We function as embedded IT leadership for our clients, accountable to their outcomes.
Our Principal Solutions Architect owns the design framework. Engineers at every level, including senior, execute within that framework. The tier structure keeps a multi-client portfolio consistent and audit-ready. Candidates who need design authority to feel effective should pass on this role. Candidates who find satisfaction in high-quality execution and in earning client trust through reliability will do well here.
We are building the operating model in real time. Some processes are documented; others are being written as we go. People here help shape what does not yet exist while executing reliably within what does.
MSP4, LLC provides infrastructure, security, and IT advisory services to mid-market professional services, manufacturing, distribution, legal, and government clients across the United States. Our commercial practice and regulated practice serve organizations with serious compliance requirements including SOC 2 Type II and CMMC Level 2.
We are a small team. Every person on it has direct impact on client outcomes. The ladder is tiered for scope and audit; access is not. Everyone here has direct access to everyone else, up to and including the CEO.
-
Remote within the United States. Day-to-day work is executed remotely.
-
Travel up to 25% for project kickoffs, cutover windows, and client-site milestones.
-
US-based work location and US-person status required. Work authorization alone (work visa, OPT, or EAD) does not qualify; see Required for the full definition.
-
Extended periods at a computer performing planning, coordination, and documentation work; occasional on-site work at client locations during project milestones.
MSP4, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Alongside your resume, submit a one-page cover page in PDF. Name the file CoverPage_LastName_FirstName_TechnicalProjectManager.pdf. Include a header line with your name, the date, and the JD version string shown at the bottom of this posting.
On the cover page, answer the following in order:
-
Describe a project in the last 24 months that was slipping and that you brought back. What was slipping, what did you change in the plan, and what did you change about how the people on it were working?
-
Describe a time you disagreed with an engineer's estimate or with the quality of their delivered work. How did you handle it, what was the outcome, and what is your working relationship with that person now?
Close with the following statement exactly: "I understand that solution design authority sits with the Principal Solutions Architect and Senior Engineering, and that my role is delivery ownership and team leadership, not committed engineering task work on projects I manage."
One page. PDF only.
Other open positions are listed alongside this one.
JD v2.0. Retain this version string on your cover page.
