IT Service Desk Specialist

You keep colleagues productive day to day, so the rest of the IT team can focus on projects, infrastructure and security.

Optics11 is a fast-growing Dutch scale-up building precision fibre-optic sensing solutions, with offices in Amsterdam. Our people are engineers, scientists, production staff and commercial teams, so no two days on the desk are the same.

This is an entry-level position. You will not be on your own: the senior members of the IT team act as your second and third line, coach you and take over issues that need deeper expertise or elevated access.

Key responsibilities

You own first-line support end to end: pick up the ticket, solve it or escalate it with a clear handover, and close the loop with the user.

Service desk and user support

• Handle incoming tickets, Teams messages, phone calls and walk-in requests; log every request in the service desk system.
• Diagnose and resolve common issues with laptops, peripherals, printers, Wi-Fi, VPN and Microsoft 365 apps (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint).
• Prioritise work by impact and urgency, and keep users informed until their issue is resolved.
• Escalate issues you cannot resolve to the IT team, with a clear description of what you already checked.

Joiners, movers and leavers

• Take care of onboarding: prepare laptops, phones and accessories, and make sure new colleagues have everything they need on day one, including a short IT introduction.
• Execute standard account tasks (creating users, assigning licences, setting up access rights) following approved checklists and requests.
• Handle offboarding: securely remove access, collect and reset hardware, and keep records up to date, following the offboarding procedure.

Hardware and asset management

• Prepare, configure and deploy laptops and workstations for new and existing employees, using our standard images and device management (Intune).
• Support software updates and patching of end-user devices.
• Keep the IT asset inventory accurate: what we have, who has it and when it is due for replacement.
• Arrange repairs and warranty claims with suppliers, and manage the stock of spare equipment.
• Assist with general IT administration tasks for the IT team.

Security hygiene and documentation

• Apply security basics in daily work: identity verification before password resets, MFA enrolment support etc.
• Follow procedures for access requests and equipment, and record the evidence needed for audits.
• Write and maintain IT documentation, including manuals, FAQs, procedures and knowledge base articles, so recurring questions get solved faster.
• Spot recurring issues and suggest improvements to the IT team.

Why Join Us

• Join one of Europe’s most promising deep-tech scale-ups
• Dynamic, collaborative, and inclusive work environment in Amsterdam.
• Enjoy regular team activities and company events
• Fresh team lunches provided 5 times / week

Who we are looking for

We value attitude and eagerness to learn over years of experience: a starter with the right mindset fits this role well.

Must have

• A genuine interest in IT, ideally shown through personal projects: a homelab, a self-hosted service, a website you built, or anything else you are proud of and happy to tell us about.
• MBO level 4 in IT (e.g. ICT Support / Medewerker ICT-support or Expert IT Systems and Devices), or equivalent knowledge through experience.
• Basic familiarity with Windows and Microsoft 365, and ideally some exposure to macOS or Linux.
• A careful approach to security and personal data: you understand why access rights and confidentiality matter.
• Good communication skills in English, both spoken and written; Dutch is a strong plus.
• Customer-friendly and patient, also when a user is under pressure.
• Structured way of working: you log what you do, follow procedures and know when to ask for help or escalate.
• You are eligible for a Certificate of Conduct (VOG) and able to pass a security screening (veiligheidsonderzoek) by the AIVD.

Nice to have

• Internship or first work experience on a service desk.
• Some exposure to Intune, Entra ID (Azure AD) or basic networking.
• A starting certification such as CompTIA A+, Microsoft 365 Fundamentals (MS-900) or ITIL 4 Foundation.
• Interest in information security.

Personal qualities

• Hands-on, reliable and proactive: you notice problems before users report them.
• You enjoy helping people and do not mind the routine tasks that keep an IT environment healthy.
• Discreet: you handle confidential information and access with care.

Security & Compliance

You'll be working with clients in the defense and security sectors, obtaining a Certificate of No Objection issued by the AIVD (Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service) is mandatory. This means you will need to undergo a security screening. For more information, please refer to details on security screening.