Interim IT Director — Norco, CA

Interim IT Director

Location: Norco, CA

Employment Type: Interim Contract, W-2 through KORE1

Duration: Initial 3-month contract with potential for extension or conversion to full-time employment

Schedule: Full-Time | Primarily Onsite Monday–Thursday, with remote work typically available Friday

Pay: 60-75/hr. DOE

Overview

KORE1, a nationwide provider of staffing and recruiting solutions, is seeking an experienced Interim IT Director to provide technology leadership for an established consumer products and manufacturing organization in Norco, CA.

This is an initial 3-month interim engagement with a strong possibility of conversion to a full-time position if there is a mutual long-term fit. The organization is looking for someone who can step in quickly, oversee day-to-day IT operations, manage a network of technology vendors, and keep several important infrastructure and business systems projects moving forward.

This is a small internal IT environment with significant third-party support. The IT Director will oversee one internal Help Desk employee while managing external partners responsible for infrastructure, security, applications, and other technical services. The ideal candidate is technically knowledgeable across systems, infrastructure, networking, cloud, security, and business applications but does not need to personally perform every technical task. The key is knowing how to assess an issue, determine the right path forward, and hold internal and external resources accountable for resolution.

Key Responsibilities

Serve as the primary IT leader and point of escalation for technology issues across the organization.

Oversee day-to-day IT operations, infrastructure, business applications, integrations, security, vendors, and technology projects.

Provide leadership and support to the internal Help Desk employee, including escalated user and technical issues.

Assess technical issues and determine whether they should be resolved internally or escalated to the appropriate third-party provider.

Manage external technology vendors and ensure issues, projects, deliverables, and service commitments are completed appropriately and on schedule.

Maintain oversight of networking, servers, cloud infrastructure, security, business applications, and end-user technology.

Coordinate infrastructure and security partners to ensure systems are appropriately maintained, updated, secured, and supported.

Drive current infrastructure initiatives, including an ongoing server upgrade/refresh project.

Manage multiple IT projects simultaneously, tracking timelines, dependencies, vendors, and deliverables through completion.

Improve and organize IT documentation, including vendor information, backup schedules, procedures, and other operational documentation.

Support a predominantly Windows environment with some Mac users.

Oversee and coordinate integrations between key business platforms, including ERP, WMS, CRM, quoting, e-commerce, and other systems.

Support the organization's transition from legacy integration tools toward Celigo as its broader integration platform.

Coordinate with the separate e-commerce team on integrations between the e-commerce platform and ERP/WMS environment; deep Magento administration is not required.

Oversee third-party EDI support and troubleshoot or coordinate occasional EDI issues and implementations.

Manage technology vendors and partners supporting AWS and other cloud or infrastructure services.

Partner with business leaders and users across departments to understand technology needs, resolve issues, and support operational priorities.

Help evaluate and plan future technology investments and system improvements.

ERP & WMS Modernization

A significant upcoming initiative will be the modernization of the organization's legacy ERP and Warehouse Management System (WMS) environment.

The company currently utilizes Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 for ERP and Solochain for warehouse management. Both platforms are targeted for future replacement, potentially through a more consolidated ERP/WMS solution.

The Interim IT Director will serve as an important technical and operational resource during this process, helping stakeholders and outside consultants understand the current environment, integrations, business requirements, dependencies, and technical considerations associated with a future system selection and implementation.

Required Qualifications

Previous experience as an IT Director, IT Manager, Infrastructure/Systems Manager, or senior IT leader within a small to mid-sized organization.

Strong experience managing an IT environment that relies heavily on third-party vendors and outsourced technology services.

Broad technical understanding of networking, servers, cloud infrastructure, security, business applications, integrations, and end-user support.

Ability to evaluate escalated technical issues and determine the appropriate internal or external resources needed for resolution.

Strong vendor-management skills with the ability to establish accountability, track deliverables, and drive issues through resolution.

Strong IT project management experience, including coordinating multiple vendors, timelines, dependencies, and internal stakeholders.

Experience supporting integrated business systems such as ERP, WMS, CRM, e-commerce, quoting/CPQ, EDI, and integration platforms.

Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical users at all levels of an organization.

Comfortable interacting directly with executives, busines