NOC Team Lead

Job Title: NOC Team Lead

Department: Network Operations Center (Charlotte, NC) 
Reports To: NOC Supervisor/Manager 
Shift: Third Shift (12am - 8:30 am EST) Monday - Friday in office

Job Summary:

The NOC Team Lead (Third Shift) is responsible for overseeing overnight operations of the Network Operations Center. This individual will lead a team of engineers and technicians to ensure optimal network performance, timely incident resolution, and continuous monitoring of all infrastructure and customer-facing services. The Team Lead will act as the first line of escalation for technical and procedural issues and is expected to ensure proper shift turnover and maintain operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership and technical guidance to overnight NOC staff, including Engineers I/II and Technicians.
• Monitor network systems, infrastructure, and alarms to identify and respond to incidents promptly.
• Prioritize, assign, work, and track tickets, ensuring adherence to SLAs and escalation procedures.
• Serve as the shift escalation point for critical network issues and coordinate with cross-functional teams (e.g., Engineering, Field Ops, Vendors).
• Ensure accurate documentation and shift turnover notes are prepared and communicated effectively.
• Assist the NOC Supervisor/Manager in evaluating team performance, identifying training needs, and mentoring junior staff.
• Lead shift turnover process, manage escalations, and contribute to root cause analyses and problem management efforts.
• Uphold standard operating procedures (SOPs), compliance policies, and change management processes.
• Provide feedback on process improvements and participate in post-incident reviews.

Qualifications: 

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications, Networking, or related field preferred. 
• 3+ years of experience in a NOC environment, with at least 1 year in a lead or supervisory role. 
• Strong understanding of telecommunications infrastructure (fiber, transport, IP, voice). 
• Proficient with NOC tools and monitoring platforms (e.g., SolarWinds, Splunk, Netcool). 
• Excellent troubleshooting and analytical skills; ability to remain calm under high pressure. 
• Familiarity with ticketing systems (e.g., ServiceNow, Remedy, MBS/Elements). 
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, especially in shift handovers and incident documentation. 
• Willingness to work the third shift and weekends/holidays as needed. 
• Willingness to be part of a rotating on-call. 
• Must have demonstrated competency in all lower levels of job responsibility. 
• Troubleshoot network (Data & Voice) incidents in a timely fashion. 
• Prioritize network issues by severity and escalating to the appropriate level, as necessary. 
• Resolve customer incidents via multiple communication outlets. 
• Must have good customer service and organizational skills. 
• Maintain status updates to internal and external customers until incidents are resolved. 
• Perform various steps to verify levels and coordinate with Field Operations. 
• Ability to learn and retain information in a fast-paced environment. 
• Ability to multitask efficiently and work independently and as a team while maintaining quality service. 
• Respond to customer requests and provide timely communication as defined by our department’s policies. 
• Experience using MS Office Suite and SharePoint. 
• Knowledge of Telnet, SSH, RDP, and WebHTTPS is required to access devices and utilize web and CLI interfaces. 
• Must maintain and/or exceed company QA scores. 
• Possess the ability to take on new, demanding challenges. 
• Demonstrate the ability to assume new levels of responsibility and deal with them effectively. 
• Ability to accurately identify circuit types and the solution of how they are delivered.  (ie, internet, transport, managed, and voice services) 
• Conduct RFC and performance testing, adhere to SLA and MTTR policies and standards. 
• Knowledge and experience with the ability to identify and troubleshoot faults on network-related devices such as xDSL modems, network interface devices, Layer 2/Layer 3 switches, firewalls, routers, microwave radios, voice (VoIP, SIP, PRI, hosted voice, and analog voice services) daily. 
• Solid background using VISIO, Network Monitoring Software, and incident management systems. 
• Basic knowledge of dynamic routing protocols and technologies. 
• Basic knowledge of layer 2 switching technologies such as Q-in-Q, s-tag, c-tag, and STP. 
• Ability to assist field personnel with hardware replacement. 
• Ability to confirm and/or perform firmware upgrades to network devices. 
• Knowledge of network switching functions: LNP, CNAM, CALEA, STIR/SHAKEN, etc. 
• Ability to analyze, summarize, test, and solve issues with VoIP and TDM services, SIP, SS7, and ISDN messaging. 
• Ability to manage assigned tasks with minimal supervision. 
• Ability to monitor and analyze alarms via the NMS system and create tickets in the incident management system accordingly in a 24/7 environment. 
• Assist the NOC Change Management team, as required, in determining customers impacted and the effects during network maintenance and grooming. 
• Perform any other duties assigned by the NOC supervisor or manager. 
• Assist in training as needed.