Open to IT Director & Head of IT roles — remote or Utah

Sheldon Tanis

IT Director · Infrastructure, Identity & Operations

I build the systems, teams, and data that let a company grow without its IT breaking underneath it. Twelve years turning reactive help desks into measured, automated operations — from a 22,000-device fleet at Wayfair to a ground-up identity and analytics stack at Pompa Program.

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Sheldon Tanis
STIT DirectorWest Point, Utah

Impact

Numbers I've been accountable for

22,000+Endpoints monitored & patched
97%First-contact resolution, up from 73%
12+Years leading IT & infrastructure
  • 500+SaaS apps audited
  • 25+Apps brought under SSO
  • 4,000+Endpoints moved in site transitions

Run in production

  • ServiceNow
  • Okta
  • Intune
  • Jamf
  • Azure
  • Active Directory
  • BigQuery
  • Looker Studio
  • Jira
  • n8n
  • SCCM
  • Rippling

Approach

How I run technology

Good IT leadership isn't buying the most sophisticated tool available. It's making responsible investments that produce the best outcome for the business — and then proving it with data.

I've spent my career on the operational side of technology, where the work is judged by whether people can do their jobs. That's shaped how I lead: start from the actual business problem, weigh real options against reliability, security, user experience, and cost, then commit and measure. I care as much about the ticket that never got filed as the one that got resolved fast.

The other half of the job is people. I've led global and remote teams from five to ten engineers, built performance scorecards that connect individual work to company KPIs, and grown Tier 1 technicians into engineers. My strongest signal as a manager is that the systems keep running after I hand them off.

  1. Find the blind spots early

    Infrastructure, security, and process gaps that aren't a problem yet — but will be at 2× headcount.

  2. Automate the repeatable

    Identity lifecycle, patching, ticket routing, reporting. If it happens weekly, it shouldn't happen manually.

  3. Measure, then decide

    Dashboards and KPI reviews so priorities come from evidence, not from whoever escalated loudest.

  4. Spend like it's mine

    License audits, vendor consolidation, and right-sizing — cost discipline as a permanent practice.

  5. Know what drives each person

    Learn what someone is genuinely good at and what they actually want, then aim the work there. Wins get shared out loud, and some of the alignment comes from lunches and team games rather than meetings.

Selected work

Programs I've owned end to end

A business problem, a system built to solve it, and a number that moved.

Identity & access

Identity as a platform, not a checkbox

Ran procurement and full deployment of Okta — SSO, SAML, SCIM — then wired it to Rippling so joiner/mover/leaver events drive provisioning automatically. Role-based access replaced ad-hoc grants, and offboarding stopped being a manual scramble.

  • 25+ SaaS apps under SSO
  • Automated JML lifecycle
  • HRIS-driven governance

Data & automation

One source of truth for IT

Architected a centralized data lake in Google BigQuery, pulling SaaS platforms together through API integrations and n8n automation. Layered Jira and Looker Studio dashboards on top so leadership could see KPIs, team performance, and operational health without asking for a report.

  • Unified cross-platform reporting
  • Executive KPI dashboards
  • No-code pipeline automation

Service management

Rebuilding a service desk under pressure

Ticket volume up 32.7%, headcount down 6.1%. I re-architected ServiceNow's advanced workgroup assignment so work routed to the right queue the first time, and rebuilt the process and culture around it.

  • 43 → 105.9 tickets per tech / week
  • FCR 73% → 97%
  • Resolution time −11%

Cost & efficiency

Doing more with a smaller team

Realigned the Identity & Access Management function through documentation, targeted training, and SailPoint fulfillment automation — moving routine work down to Tier 1 instead of burning senior engineers on it.

  • 40% of tickets shifted to Tier 1
  • Team of 4 → 2, output held
  • 294 KB articles · 45 templates · 30+ KEDB

Endpoint & infrastructure

A 22,000-device fleet, kept current

Owned monitoring, maintenance, and patching across Windows and Mac estates using SCCM, Intune, and Jamf. Delivered the Windows 7 → 10 migration, and wrote a scheduled reboot script that removed a whole category of tickets.

  • 22,000+ devices under management
  • Ticket impact −43% from one script
  • 4,000+ endpoints through site moves

SaaS governance

Auditing 500+ applications

Inventoried the full SaaS estate, mapped ownership and actual usage, and consolidated overlapping tools. Turned license renewal from an invoice that arrives into a decision that gets made.

  • 500+ applications reviewed
  • Software sprawl reduced
  • Recurring spend recovered

Experience

Twelve years, one direction

  1. May 2024 — Aug 2026Remote · Utah

    IT Director

    Pompa Program

    • Led a global IT team of 5, establishing scalable frameworks for support operations, documentation, and automated ticketing workflows.
    • Designed and implemented project management and sprint methodologies enabling structured delivery across IT and business initiatives.
    • Led procurement and full deployment of Okta (SSO, SAML, SCIM), automating provisioning, deprovisioning, and role-based access control.
    • Architected a centralized data lake in Google BigQuery with API integrations and n8n automation for unified cross-platform reporting.
    • Introduced AI-assisted workflows into IT operations, building Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectors that let Claude read from the BigQuery data lake and SaaS APIs — turning reporting that previously had to be hand-built into a conversational query.
    • Built executive dashboards in Jira and Looker Studio tracking KPIs, team performance, and operational health.
    • Conducted a SaaS audit and license optimization across 500+ applications, cutting cost and software sprawl.
    • Developed the company intranet and knowledge base, and implemented performance scorecards for Engineers I–III.
    • Established Google Workspace security controls — phishing protection, spam filtering, and custom policy enforcement.
    • Managed HRIS integration between Rippling and Okta for accurate identity governance and streamlined on/offboarding.
  2. Sep 2013 — Mar 2024Utah

    Wayfair

    Engineer II → Global Senior Engineering Manager · five promotions in eleven years

    Engineering Senior Manager, Level 4 Mar 2021 — Mar 2024

    • Streamlined the Identity & Access Management team through realignment, documentation, and training — shifting 40% of tickets to more cost-effective Tier 1 groups and reducing team size from 4 to 2 while increasing SailPoint fulfillment automation.
    • Generated 294+ knowledge base articles, 45 ServiceNow templates, and 30+ known-error database entries to enable self-service and Tier 1 support.
    • Implemented ServiceNow data analytics with weekly KPI reviews to sharpen decision-making and surface training gaps.
    • Led a 10-member diverse remote team using Jira for sprint planning, with measurable gains in team dynamics and performance.
    • Monitored, maintained, and patched 22,000+ devices via SCCM, Intune, and Jamf.

    Tech Support West Regional IT Manager, Tier 1 · Level 4 Dec 2018 — Apr 2021

    • Key architect of ServiceNow advanced workgroup assignment, lifting throughput from 43 to 100+ tickets per tech per week.
    • Raised first-contact resolution from 73% to 97% and cut resolution time 11% through process redesign.
    • Absorbed a 32.7% ticket volume increase against a 6.1% headcount reduction, raising average tickets resolved per engineer from 21.5 to 105.9 weekly.
    • Managed the opening and decommissioning of facilities in Utah and Oregon, covering 4,000+ endpoints.

    Tech Support IT Manager, Tier 1 · Level 3 May 2017 — Dec 2018

    • Managed database changes, server upgrades, network administration, and VOIP/peripheral maintenance.
    • Rolled out customer-facing technology — walk-up iPad ticketing, Paymetric pin pads, and a video wall — improving transaction efficiency and compliance.
    • Orchestrated the Windows 7 → Windows 10 migration across the site.
    • Built a weekly automated reboot script that cut ticket impacts by 43%.

    Warehouse IT Manager, Tier 1 · Level 2 Apr 2016 — May 2017

    • Led on-site technical support for a warehouse facility — database modifications, server upgrades, network administration, and RF gun deployment.

    Tech Support Engineer II, Level 2 Sep 2013 — Apr 2016

    • Trained ITS engineers on remote support best practices and built the knowledge base that scaled Wayfair's work-at-home program to 450+ Utah employees.
    • Tested Meraki and VOIP solutions supporting the global remote workforce.
  3. 2014Salt Lake City, UT

    BS, Computer Science & Networking

    Stevens Henager College

Capabilities

What I work with

Identity & Security
Okta (SSO / SAML / SCIM)Active DirectorySailPointRole-based access controlGoogle Workspace securityPhishing & spam controlsVPN
Endpoint & Infrastructure
IntuneSCCMJamfAzureWindows & Group PolicyCitrix / VDI / IGELNexThinkCisco · Ubiquiti · MerakiTCP/IP · DNS · DHCPVOIP · NAS
Service Management
ServiceNowJiraITSM process designKnowledge & KEDB managementSprint & roadmap planningKPI & scorecard designChange management
Data & Cloud
Google Cloud PlatformData lake architectureGoogle BigQueryLooker StudioAPI integrationsScripted remediation
AI & Automation
Claude (Anthropic)MCP connector buildsAI-assisted workflowsn8nZapier
Business Systems
Rippling (HRIS)ToriiMicrosoft 365Google WorkspaceHubSpotDocuSignShopify · ShipStationSimplero · OnceHubAloware · KixieAdobe
Leadership
IT strategy & roadmappingGlobal & remote team leadershipCulture & team buildingVendor management & procurementBudget & cost optimizationMentorship & career developmentCross-functional delivery

Endorsements

What the people I reported to say

One of Sheldon's greatest strengths is his ability to combine strong technical expertise with practical business judgment. He does not simply manage the technology environment in front of him; he is constantly thinking about where the organization is going, what risks may be emerging, and what capabilities we will need in the future.

David SeppiVice President of Technology, Pompa Program

Sheldon has consistently exhibited an exceptional ability to deliver results well beyond our expectations. His strategic approach to managing IT services, exemplified by his adept implementation of roadmaps and metrics-driven processes, has significantly enhanced operational efficiency.

Asad RahmanFormer manager, Wayfair

Full letters of recommendation available on request.

Contact

Let's talk about what your IT org needs next.

Open to IT Director, Head of IT, and senior IT leadership roles — remote, or on-site along the Wasatch Front. Happy to talk through a specific problem before there's a job title attached to it.

sheldontanis@gmail.comConnect on LinkedIn