Sr. Manager, Service Desk & IT Automation (Hybrid, Bangalore)

Smartsheet is looking for a highly technical Sr. Manager to lead our India-based Service Desk and IT Automation operations. This is a hands-on, working manager role — you will be personally executing technical work (scripting, automation builds, escalated ticket resolution) and leading a team, not just overseeing one. If you're looking for a purely strategic or delegation-only leadership role, this isn't it.

You will manage a team spanning Service Desk, Tier 1 SOC support, and IT Automation Engineering — driving the technical maturity of our global support infrastructure through automation, scripting, deep systems integration, and increasingly, AI-augmented workflows (e.g. intelligent ticket triage, SOC alert summarisation, AI-assisted knowledge base drafting).

This role reports directly to the Director of End User Systems, with close, cooperative partnership with US-based Desktop Support managers.

You Will

IT Automation & Architecture

Support the IT automation function, driving initiatives that reduce repetitive work and scale operations efficiently

Identify repetitive Tier 1 tasks and drive end-to-end automation from identification through build, testing, and measurement

Evaluate and build AI-augmented automation where it reduces toil — e.g. intelligent ticket triage, SOC alert summarisation, AI-assisted knowledge base drafting

Mentor team on automation best practices and review technical designs before deployment

Team Leadership & Execution

Manage India-based Service Desk team with daily coordination with US managers

Ensure clear direction, track progress, remove blockers, and escalate capacity constraints to the Director

Monitor team performance against SLAs, quality standards, and service desk metrics

Lead new employee onboarding sessions

Hands-On Technical Contribution

Resolve tickets across hardware, software, network, and user access; handle overflow and critical issues

Perform desktop administration: software deployment, system configuration, user provisioning, and hardware lifecycle management

Create and maintain knowledge base articles and process documentation

Security & People Development

Oversee Tier 1 SOC operations: triage, alert response, and adherence to incident response playbooks

Coach, mentor, and support career growth for India-based engineers; hire and develop top technical talent

You Have

Experience

8+ years in IT engineering or Service Desk operations, including hands-on automation engineering (scripting, API integrations, or workflow orchestration)

4+ years managing or leading technical support teams in matrixed or distributed organizations

Proven track record delivering cross-functional projects with technical ambiguity

Technical Skills

Deep proficiency in PowerShell or Python; experience building scalable IT automation workflows

Strong hands-on experience with Freshservice (or similar ITSM), including workflow orchestration and API integrations

Experience integrating AI/LLM capabilities into IT workflows via API, SDK, or prompt engineering

Experience with Active Directory, M365, Jamf, and endpoint management via Intune and/or Jamf

Working knowledge of EDR platforms, firewalls, and incident response; familiarity with ITIL or equivalent frameworks

Work Style

Excellent English communication skills; self-motivated with strong follow-through

Comfortable balancing hands-on technical work with management in a US-directed, India-based structure

Flexible to accommodate daily cross-timezone coordination (India ↔ US)

Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Note: This role requires daily coordination with US-based teams and flexibility in working hours to accommodate cross-timezone collaboration.