IT Support Specialist & New Restaurant Opening (NRO) Coordinator
Addison / Dallas, TX - 100% Onsite | Contract (6-12 months, potential to convert) | ~60% NRO Coordination / 40% IT Support
About the Role
Our client, a fast-growing national upscale restaurant group, is looking for an IT Support Specialist & New Restaurant Opening (NRO) Coordinator to join its corporate IT team at its Dallas-area headquarters. The company opens 12-16 new restaurants a year, and this role owns the IT workstream for those openings while also providing Level 2 support for restaurant technology. It is a hybrid role: hands-on POS and general IT support combined with organization, prioritization, vendor management and clear communication.
The coordinator tracks deliverables, follows up with internal teams and external partners, places assigned and authorized orders ahead of lead times, and works with Restaurant Operations leadership to hit training and opening deadlines. The role supports the Senior IT Support Engineer on day-to-day technical issues; advanced escalations stay with senior specialists, and technical configuration and onsite installation stay with designated external partners. An external Level 1 help desk is already in place.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
New Restaurant Opening (NRO) Coordination
- Own day-to-day coordination of assigned NRO IT projects, from early planning through opening and operational handoff.
- Maintain a single project tracker covering milestones, task owners, deadlines, dependencies, vendor commitments, open issues and escalation dates.
- Align IT deliverables with construction, training and opening schedules alongside Restaurant Operations leadership.
- Follow up with IT Support, Restaurant Systems, Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, vendors and other partners until assigned actions are complete.
- Plan ahead for POS, computer, network, internet, phone, software and licensing needs; coordinate or place authorized orders to meet lead times.
- Track shipping, staging, partner-led configuration, testing, installation schedules and site readiness; spot blockers early and drive resolution.
- Provide proactive status updates and escalate delays, decisions and recovery actions to IT and restaurant leadership.
- Standardize opening checklists, procedures, readiness reviews and handoffs as NRO coordination moves from vendor-managed to internally managed.
Restaurant IT and POS Support
- Troubleshoot POS hardware and software, peripherals, printers, Windows computers and common connectivity issues for restaurant teams.
- Work alongside the Senior IT Support Engineer on service requests and incidents; escalate complex issues to the right specialists.
- Coordinate vendor and internal follow-up to restore service, keeping ticket owners and restaurant contacts informed.
- Document troubleshooting and resolutions in the ITSM platform and contribute to SOPs and knowledge articles.
Time Management, Communication and Accountability
- Balance competing deadlines and support tickets, shifting toward NRO work when opening schedules require it.
- Keep accurate action logs, track commitments and follow through without repeated reminders.
- Communicate clearly with vendors, IT teams and Operations; escalate risks early with an owner, next step and target date.
Required Experience and Skills
- 3+ years of hands-on IT support experience, including POS or restaurant/retail technology support.
- Practical troubleshooting across Windows devices, POS peripherals, printers, basic networking and connectivity.
- Experience with ticketing systems, spreadsheets and task/project trackers to manage work and deadlines.
- Strong organization, time management, prioritization, vendor coordination and follow-through.
- Clear written and verbal communication; able to work independently and build accountability across multiple stakeholders.
Preferred Experience
- Client Aloha experience preferred; strong experience with another POS platform will be considered.
- Experience supporting multi-location restaurant or retail operations and coordinating technology deployments or new-site openings.
- Familiarity with Microsoft 365 and ITSM tools such as Freshservice or ServiceNow.
Work Arrangement
- Onsite Monday-Friday at the client's headquarters in Addison (Dallas), TX. No regular remote work.
- 8-hour days with flexible start times (e.g., 8-4, 9-5 or 10-6).
- No travel required; restaurant openings are coordinated from headquarters.
Measures of Success
- NRO technology milestones, owners, risks and dependencies are documented and proactively managed.
- Orders, equipment and partner deliverables are ready in time for restaurant training and opening dates.
- IT leadership and Restaurant Operations receive accurate updates and clear escalation of open decisions.
- Routine coordination shifts away from senior specialists, support coverage improves and NRO procedures become repeatable.