Manager - IT Service Desk

As the leading transit bus manufacturer in the United States, GILLIG buses play a critical role in the environmental and social initiatives in communities across our nation. GILLIG is on the forefront in the transition to zero-emission vehicles and has an unmatched reputation in the industry for quality, reliability, durability, service, and support. From initial design through final assembly, each GILLIG bus is designed and built in Livermore, CA.

WHY GILLIG

• Leader in environmentally friendly mobility solutions including battery electric, hybrid electric, near-zero CNG and clean diesel transit buses

• Renowned for its inclusive team/family-oriented culture

• Stable, successful, and growing organization – a Bay Area business for over 132 years!

• Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)

• Excellent compensation including company paid medical premiums, generous retirement plan and other comprehensive benefits

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

Information Technology (IT) enables GILLIG’s business by delivering secure, reliable, and scalable technology services across our manufacturing operations, engineering environment, and corporate functions. The team partners with stakeholders to keep employees productive and connected through end-user support, collaboration and productivity tools, endpoint and asset lifecycle management, network and infrastructure operations, business application support, cybersecurity, and technology governance. IT focuses on service excellence, operational resiliency, and continuous improvement—ensuring systems and data are protected, outages are minimized, and technology investments align to business priorities.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for a Service Desk Manager who will provide strategic and operational leadership for GILLIG’s enterprise IT Service Desk function. This role is responsible for ensuring consistent, high‑quality IT support delivery across all GILLIG locations; establishing and enforcing IT service management processes; maintaining SLA performance; developing team capabilities; and driving a customer‑centric culture. The Manager oversees Service Desk technicians, supervises daily operations, manages escalations, and partners closely with Infrastructure, Applications, Security, and business leaders to ensure a stable, efficient, and predictable IT support experience.

This is an on-site position at our Livermore, CA Headquarters and will report to the Head of IT.

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL

• Lead, develop, and mentor Service Desk Technicians and Senior Technicians, including hiring, performance management, coaching, and career progression planning

• Establish a high-performance culture built on accountability, service quality, and continuous improvement

• Create shift schedules, staffing plans, and site coverage models to support 1,000+ end users across manufacturing, engineering, corporate, and remote teams

• Own daily Service Desk operations including ticket management, queue monitoring, SLA adherence, escalations, and KPI performance

• Ensure the team follows ITIL-aligned processes for incidents, requests, knowledge management, and major incident response

• Serve as the final escalation point for complex or high-impact issues, coordinating cross-functionally with Infrastructure, Security, and Applications teams

• Drive a customer-focused mindset to ensure fast, consistent, and high-quality support

• Communicate service status, disruptions, and major incident updates to business stakeholders and executives

• Monitor customer satisfaction and service quality metrics, and implement improvements to enhance the end-user experience

• Define and enforce Service Desk SOPs, intake criteria, escalation paths, and ticket documentation standards to support auditability and continuity

• Lead Service Desk maturity initiatives including automation, self-service enablement, knowledge improvements, and workflow/tooling enhancements

• Own SLA/OLA performance tracking, reporting, and remediation planning, including dashboards and backlog/workload trend analysis for IT leadership

• Identify patterns in support issues and partner with engineering, applications, and manufacturing teams to drive root-cause remediation

• Administer Service Desk and ITSM tools to optimize workflows and ensure compliance with security and support standards (e.g., MFA, onboarding/offboarding, access controls), including asset lifecycle tracking and inventory accuracy

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor degree in Information Technology or similar, or equivalent work experience

• ITIL Foundation or higher certification preferred

• Minimum 7 years of experience in IT Service Desk or End‑User Support, including 5 years leading teams in a supervisory or managerial capacity

• Strong understanding of ITIL concepts, service operations, and incident management best practices

• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing technical support teams

• Experience owning Service Desk performance metrics including SLAs, KPIs, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement initiatives

• Demonstrated ability to lead and grow a high‑performing technical support team

• Hands-on experience managing enterprise ticketing systems and driving process optimization and optimization

• Excellent communication skills with proven ability to support executives and non‑technical stakeholders

• Experience supporting manufacturing or multi‑site operations

• Working knowledge of cybersecurity practices, access controls, and IT governance

• Demonstrated experience leading Service Desk transformations, scaling operations, or maturing service models

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Ability to lift 25 lbs.

• Prolonged periods of sitting/standing at a desk and working on a computer

• Regularly required to sit, stand, and walk and occasionally kneel or squat

• The ideal candidate must be able to complete all physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.

• Must be able to navigate manufacturing environment, comfortable around heavy machinery, tools, etc.

• Must be able to wear Personal Protective Equipment, (i.e. safety glasses, bump caps, hearing protection, etc.)

• 10% Travel required

• Standard start time: 6:30 am (negotiable)

EXPECTED COMPENSATION

$75,000 - $158,000/annual salary + premium benefits

Pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job classification, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if a candidate receives an offer of employment.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

GILLIG is committed to providing equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace that values and respects the unique talents, experiences, and perspectives of our employees and the people we serve. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law.

GILLIG is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer.