Head of IT

Apex.AI is an international software company specializing in the development of safety-certified, developer-friendly, and scalable software for mobility systems, aiming to accelerate the transition to software-defined vehicles and mobility.    We are seeking an experienced hands-on Head of IT (Senior IT Engineer) to lead our IT and information security functions. This is a unique position that combines strategic leadership and tactical day-to-day IT operations. You will be able to define the roadmaps, IT infrastructure implementation solutions and collaborate with our engineering and product management functions to ensure resilient and scalable IT environment and processes in compliance with international standards such as ISO27001 and TISAX.    This role will initially be an individual contributor position, taking ownership of our existing IT environment and Information Security Management System (ISMS). As the company grows, you'll have the opportunity to build, mentor, and lead an IT team, making this an ideal role for someone who enjoys creating structure today while helping shape the future of the department.    This role is located in our Munich office. Authorization to work in Germany is required. Apex.AI is an international software company specializing in the development of safety-certified, developer-friendly, and scalable software for mobility systems, aiming to accelerate the transition to software-defined vehicles and mobility.    We are seeking an experienced hands-on Head of IT (Senior IT Engineer) to lead our IT and information security functions. This is a unique position that combines strategic leadership and tactical day-to-day IT operations. You will be able to define the roadmaps, IT infrastructure implementation solutions and collaborate with our engineering and product management functions to ensure resilient and scalable IT environment and processes in compliance with international standards such as ISO27001 and TISAX.    This role will initially be an individual contributor position, taking ownership of our existing IT environment and Information Security Management System (ISMS). As the company grows, you'll have the opportunity to build, mentor, and lead an IT team, making this an ideal role for someone who enjoys creating structure today while helping shape the future of the department.    This role is located in our Munich office. Authorization to work in Germany is required.

What You’ll Do

IT infrastructure 

• Own and manage our cloud and on-prem IT systems 

• MDM, IAM, SSO/MFA 

• EDR/Antivirus solutions, threat detection and response 

• Cloud-based email and collaboration 

• Cloud file storage services, permissions management, access provision 

• On-prem and cloud network setup and configuration (wired/wireless) 

• On-prem and cloud server management 

• VPN solution management (micro-segmentation, policies and rules) 

• Integrations between various IT systems 

• Linux and macOS endpoint management  

IT services delivery 

• Manage IT services delivery, ticketing system, IT support requests, act as a point of contact for on-site/remote end-user support in our offices in Germany and remote support in US (California) and APAC region 

• Execute IT onboarding/offboarding of full-time employees and contractors 

 Information security and compliance 

• Own and maintain controls and formal ISMS (information security management system) compliant with ISO27001 and TISAX standards 

• Act as a main point of contact for information security audits with third parties and auditors 

• Provide necessary information for customer information security questioners 

• Information security incidents management and readiness 

• Disaster recovery and business continuity 

Strategy and collaboration 

• Define and execute IT and infosec roadmap and strategy 

• Manage IT suppliers and vendor relations, act as a point of contact with various suppliers, manage renewals, cancellations, pricing negotiations 

• Collaborate with engineering and DevOps on various projects 

• Collaborate and oversee AI-related controls and secure AI solutions implementation 

• Support of business applications for various business functions (sales, HR, legal, etc.) 

• Document formal IT processes and policies, create new policies and update the existing ones 

What you bring

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, engineering, or a related field — or equivalent work experience 

• Fluent in English (working proficiency in German is a plus) 

• At least 7 years of experience in IT with a combination of hands-on, IT support and managing IT function, establishing policies and processes, and implementing IT solutions end-to-end 

• Ability to coordinate work across different time zones and regions 

• Experience in administration of various systems such as Google Workspace (Gmail, GDrive, Chat), JumpCloud (or similar MDM/IAM), Microsoft 365 (Azure/Entra, SharePoint/OneDrive/Teams) 

• Experience in end-user devices management (centralized updates/patching, policies, encryption), deep understanding of Linux and MacOS management 

• Experience with SSO/MFA implementations 

• Experience in network management (Aruba, Fortinet, Cisco, Zscaler), solid understanding of network protocols, TCP/IP and OSI models, routing, DHCP, DNS, etc. 

• Experience in setting up and managing servers on-prem: virtualization, IPMI, RAID array management, specifically Linux servers 

• Solid understanding of AWS fundamentals (EC2, EBS, RDS, IAM) 

• Basic scripting skills is Bash, PowerShell, (Python knowledge is a plus) 

• Backup and restore best practices 

• Experience with monitoring and logging solutions  

Nice to have

• IT and/or information security certifications such as CompTIA, ITIL, CCNA, etc. 

• First-hand experience participating in IT and information security audits 

• ISO27001 and/or TISAX controls knowledge and experience implementing them in fast-paced environment 

• Understanding of CI/CD infrastructure, version control 

• Experience in implementing of AI/LLM solutions 

• Experience establishing ISMS from scratch and maintaining existing ISMS 

Why Apex.AI

• Play a key role in shaping the IT and Information Security foundation of a company developing cutting-edge software for autonomous and software-defined mobility systems.
• Take ownership of a global IT environment with the opportunity to define strategy, drive technical decisions, and build the function as the company grows.
• Partner closely with world-class engineers, DevOps teams, and business leaders to deliver secure, scalable, and developer-friendly infrastructure.
• Work with modern cloud technologies, enterprise security frameworks, and AI-enabled solutions while helping maintain compliance with industry standards such as ISO 27001 and TISAX.
• Enjoy competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and strong opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.
• Be part of an international, engineering-driven culture that values ownership, collaboration, continuous learning, and technical excellence.

About Apex.AI

Apex.AI is an international software company specializing in the development of safety-certified, developer-friendly, and scalable software for mobility systems, aiming to accelerate the transition to software-defined vehicles and mobility. Founded in 2017 by Jan Becker and Dejan Pangercic, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with additional offices in Munich, Stuttgart, Gothenburg, Tokyo, and Pangyo. To date, Apex.AI has raised over $75 million USD from world-class venture, financial and strategic investors including AGCO, Airbus Ventures, Canaan, Continental AG, Daimler Truck, HELLA Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, LG Electronics, Lightspeed, Orillion, Toyota Ventures, Volvo Group Venture Capital and ZF.

The company’s flagship product, Apex.OS, consists of two core components: Apex.Grace and Apex.Ida.

• Apex.Grace is an application runtime framework in the form of a software development kit (SDK). It provides a robust framework for developing real-time, reliable, and safe applications. Core APIs are based on ROS 2 APIs with numerous extensions enabling real-time execution, reliable performance, deployment into large fleets, system state management, safety, security, and much more. It is safety-certified to ISO 26262 ASIL D.
• Apex.Ida is a communication middleware delivering optimal high-performance data transport across use cases. These use cases range from fully autonomous vehicles with dozens of high-resolution cameras to small signals with ultra-high frequencies in safety-critical domains. Its core is based on a shared memory data transport with connectors into DDS, SOME/IP, MQTT, CAN, and many more protocols, all abstracted into a single application-facing API.

Additionally, Apex.AI offers:

• Apex.Alan provides customers with a highly optimized and efficient software integration, development environment, build, test, and delivery process.
• Apex.OS for V&V enables record and playback of very large and diverse data streams, both time- and data-deterministically, which is crucial for replay, analysis, and performance evaluation of complex autonomous systems.

Apex.AI’s software solutions are utilized across a diverse range of industries, including automotive, agriculture, medical, and defense sectors. The products enable developers to efficiently create and deploy safe, reliable, and high-performance applications, thereby accelerating the adoption of software-defined mobility systems. Through its innovative software solutions and strategic partnerships, Apex.AI is at the forefront of transforming the mobility industry, facilitating the development of next-generation vehicles and systems.