Full-time · On-site · Rural central Kansas
WHY THIS JOB IS DIFFERENT
Most "IT Technician" jobs are a ticket queue and a help desk. This isn't that.
Wilson Communications runs a real carrier network across 8 service areas in central Kansas — a Telco and ISP with our own fiber transport, GPON access, and traditional and SIP-based voice service. Right now the biggest work on the board is finishing our Ciena transport buildout and cutting carrier Ethernet services and customer access over to it — the kind of project most people in this field only read about. We own the whole stack, top to bottom, and we run it like engineers: monitoring and documentation as first-class artifacts, blameless postmortems when things break, and a standing goal of automating the manual toil away.
That platform is already real. Zabbix monitors the network with alerting in place and coverage expanding. NetBox is our source of truth, loaded with device and network data and growing. Documentation lives in a wiki; configs and code live in Git. Everything runs on Proxmox, Linux-first where we have the choice, Windows where the business needs it. None of it is finished — it never is, and that's the point. We build, we ship, we improve, and there's a clear roadmap for what comes next. If you've worked anywhere near DevOps culture, you know the rhythm.
And it's a 24/7 network. When the fiber goes down, a whole community notices — the homes, businesses, and neighbors who count on the gigabit service we bring to places the big carriers skipped. We'd rather catch trouble early than scramble through an outage: the real work here is building the instrumentation that means a 2 a.m. problem doesn't catch you blind — the alert beats the phone call, and you pick it up already knowing what broke.
THE ROLE, PLAINLY
We're a three-person team, and this role is one of the three. That means breadth isn't a nice-to-have — it's the job. The same person here might touch a transport config in the morning, an Active Directory task after lunch, and a SIP trunk problem at 4:30. Transport, voice, servers, firewalls, fiber access, monitoring — everyone touches everything, because that's the shape of a small team running a real network.
If reading that made you tired, this isn't your job. If it made you curious, keep reading — because the flip side of a team this size is that your work is visible, your ownership is real, and the person you report to is a hands-on engineer who built the platform you'd be joining, not a manager who reads about it in status meetings.
Depth comes with time. As you find the areas that fit you, you'll get room to go deep — toward senior engineering and reliability work, the SRE/NRE side of the field, where the goal is a network so well-instrumented it mostly takes care of itself. But breadth comes first. That's the honest order of operations.
WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON
- Carrier & enterprise networking — Ciena and Cisco platforms: transport rings, routing, VLAN/L2-L3 design, and circuit provisioning.
- Access & fiber — GPON/FTTH access, ONT provisioning, and outside-plant coordination.
- Hands-on physical work — Terminating, labeling, and testing Cat6 in our central office and at client sites, racking gear, and keeping closets clean. We'll train the specifics — the requirement is being willing.
- Voice / telecom — Traditional landline and SIP-based voice services, on-prem VoIP/PBX, SIP trunking, PBX troubleshooting, and e911/PCI compliance.
- Servers & virtualization — Proxmox, enterprise storage, Windows Server/AD (including a fleet-wide Windows Server upgrade you could help own), Linux services, backups, and patching.
- Security — Enterprise firewalls, endpoint protection, log review, and incident response.
- Observability & automation — Zabbix, NetBox, SNMP-based monitoring, vendor APIs, and Git-based documentation and config management. This is a real focus area for us — building the monitoring and automation that turns reactive firefighting into preventative engineering is exactly where the right person makes the biggest mark.
- Business services — Supporting network, server, voice, and PC services for business clients, with a managed-services practice we plan to rebuild as the platform matures.
You won't master all of these on day one. Nobody does. But you'll have a team that documents and shares knowledge instead of hoarding it.
WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR
More than a specific résumé, we want a way of working:
- You figure things out. When you hit something unfamiliar, you read the docs, test a theory, and work the problem — you don't wait to be handed the answer.
- You think in systems. You can hold "how does this whole thing fit together" in your head, not just the one box in front of you. Keeping a mixed Windows/Linux, carrier/enterprise estate coherent is systems thinking.
- You follow through. You finish what you start, you document it, and the next person can pick it up without calling you.
- You like building, not just maintaining. Monitoring, automation, clean documentation — that stuff energizes you instead of annoying you.
Helpful experience (not all required):
- An associate's or bachelor's degree in IT, networking, or a related field, vocational/technical training, or equivalent hands-on experience
- Networking fundamentals — routing, switching, VLANs, IP addressing (CCNA-level knowledge or equivalent hands-on is a strong plus)
- Linux and/or Windows server administration
- Any exposure to carrier/ISP gear, fiber/GPON, VoIP/SIP, virtualization, or network monitoring
- Comfort with the command line and a willingness to script/automate
- Bonus: SNMP, REST APIs, scripting (Python/Bash), or hands-on time with any monitoring or automation platform
- Relevant certs (Network+, Security+, CCNA, Linux+, etc.) are a plus but not a substitute for aptitude and drive
If you've got 80% of the mindset and 50% of the experience, apply anyway. We'd rather train a sharp, motivated person than hire a checked-out expert.
THE HONEST PARTS
- Location: This is an on-site role in Wilson, KS — small-town rural Kansas. Short commutes, no traffic, and real work that matters to the community you serve. If you're looking to get out of the metro grind, that's a feature.
Why you'll love living here: Enjoy an affordable cost of living, friendly communities, and Wilson Lake just minutes away — known for its clear water, world-class fishing, sailing, hiking and biking trails, and beautiful limestone bluffs.
- On-call: We run an on-call rotation for after-hours network and critical-system issues. You'd be part of it — a shared rotation, not the whole thing on your shoulders. We're straight about this up front because it's part of the job.
- The platform isn't finished. There's real build and modernization work ahead — scoped, prioritized, and waiting for someone to own pieces of it. We'll walk you through exactly what's on the list when we talk. If inheriting well-defined problems with room to own the fix sounds good, that's what's here.
- Growth: We're investing in our infrastructure and monitoring practice, and the right person grows with it — toward senior engineering and reliability work, with real ownership.
BENEFITS
- Competitive salary
- 100% employer-paid health coverage — yes, all of it. That's nearly unheard of anywhere.
- 8% 401(k) contribution — well above what most employers offer at any size.
- Company-funded pension plan
- Strong PTO / vacation
- Long-term stability with an established, locally-rooted company
HOW TO APPLY
Please send a cover letter and resume to Wilson Communications, Attn Human Resources, PO Box 190, Wilson KS 67490-0190; or email to [email protected]. Wilson Communications is an equal opportunity employer.
Application Question(s):
- This position is on-site in Wilson, Kansas, five days per week. It is not remote or hybrid. Are you able to work on-site in Wilson, KS?
- This role includes hands-on physical work such as terminating and testing Cat6 and racking equipment. Briefly describe your hands-on experience, or confirm you are willing to learn.
Work Location: In person
