The NOC Engineer Lead is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Network Operations Center (NOC) to ensure the stability, security, and optimal performance of the organization's network infrastructure. This role combines strong technical expertise with leadership responsibilities, including guiding a team of NOC engineers, managing network and security systems, and driving efficient incident and service request resolution. The NOC Engineer Lead serves as a key escalation point for complex network issues and plays a critical role in maintaining service availability and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee and supervise daily NOC operations to ensure continuous monitoring and reliable network performance
- Lead, coach, and mentor NOC engineers, promoting best practices, technical growth, and operational discipline
- Monitor network performance, system availability, alerts, and capacity using network monitoring tools
- Troubleshoot, analyze, and resolve complex network, connectivity, and firewall-related issues in a timely manner
- Manage and maintain enterprise network infrastructure, including routers, switches, firewalls, and related components
- Ensure incidents and service requests are logged, categorized, prioritized, escalated, and resolved in accordance with SLAs and internal procedures
- Act as an escalation point for high-impact or critical incidents, ensuring effective root-cause analysis and resolution
- Utilize ticketing systems and monitoring platforms to track issues, produce reports, and analyze trends
- Coordinate closely with internal teams, vendors, and stakeholders to support issue resolution, maintenance activities, and service improvements
- Drive continuous service improvement by identifying recurring issues and recommending preventive measures
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation, including network diagrams, configuration records, operational procedures, and incident reports
- Support change management activities related to network upgrades, enhancements, and maintenance work
Technical Requirements
- Strong understanding of networking fundamentals, including TCP/IP, VLANs, routing, switching, and network segmentation
- Hands-on experience configuring and supporting Cisco routers and switches
- Proven experience managing firewall technologies, preferably Fortinet (FortiGate)
- Working knowledge of VPN technologies, NAT, access control policies, and network security principles
- Experience using network monitoring, alerting, and ticketing systems in a NOC environment
- Ability to analyze logs, alerts, and performance metrics for proactive issue detection and troubleshooting
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
- At least 2 years of hands-on experience in Network Operations, NOC support, or a similar technical role
- Demonstrated experience supporting enterprise networking and firewall environments, including Cisco and FortiGate technologies
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills
- Proven leadership abilities with effective communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to work well under pressure and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced operations environment
