Network Operations Specialist

Overview

These descriptions are aligned to the NOC Service Scope Definition: connectivity and infrastructure monitoring, management, and maintenance. The NOC's customer is the client IT Admin. Endpoint and end-user support, invoicing, and agreement management are owned by other departments. Certification expectations are time-bound from date of hire; an equivalent combination of education, certifications, training, and relevant experience will be considered.

Department: Network Operations Center · Reports to: NOC leadership · Schedule: Rotating shifts including evenings, weekends, holidays, and after-hours on-call

Position Summary. The Network Operations Specialist is the first line of the One Source NOC. This role monitors client connectivity and network infrastructure, triages and resolves first-line incidents, engages carriers on service impairments, and maintains accurate incident records - delivering timely service restoration and clear communication to client IT Admins and location operators. The Specialist supports One Source's core position as an internet and voice broker by managing the carrier-facing side of every outage we own the outcome of. This role does not provide endpoint or end-user support; out-of-scope requests are redirected, not refused.

Scope of Services. The NOC supports connectivity and infrastructure: if a device carries traffic internally or between sites, or is required to do so, it is potentially in scope (circuits, routers, firewalls, switches, wireless access points, voice transport). If a device produces or consumes network traffic for its own application - workstations, servers, POS stations - it is out of scope, though the Specialist still investigates such devices when they are the cause of a network problem, fixes the network condition, and hands the device to its owner. Technical authority for managed configurations rests with the client's parent corporation; a location operator's request to change managed equipment is not an approved change and is escalated, not executed.

Responsibilities

Duties/Responsibilities

• Monitor client network environments and alerting platforms; acknowledge, triage, and prioritize incidents against severity definitions and response targets.
• Perform first-line diagnosis of connectivity impairments across circuits, routers, firewalls, switches, wireless access points, and voice transport; resolve within documented runbooks where possible.
• Open, manage, and pursue carrier and vendor cases for circuit and service impairments; demonstrate a clear understanding of the proper escalation channels for each carrier in the One Source portfolio and develop relationships within those channels to expedite resolution.
• Manage repeat and chronic trouble reports proactively to achieve final resolution and customer satisfaction; pursue service alt-routing and redesign opportunities (with management engagement) to reduce customer impact.
• Maintain continued communication with clients during resolution, providing status updates on any issue not resolved in one contact, and offer temporary workarounds where possible to keep sites operating until full resolution.
• Recognize the limits of first-line scope and escalate cleanly to the Analyst tier with complete diagnostic notes, so escalations arrive faster than the clock alone would allow.
• Navigate, utilize, and maintain all pertinent internal systems - ticketing, monitoring, and infrastructure records - ensuring timely and accurate documentation of repair history, dispositions, and device records.
• Support circuit turn-up activities: verify new circuits against acceptance criteria, confirm failover behavior, and record results under direction.
• Develop a working understanding of the services in the One Source portfolio - MPLS, Ethernet/DIA, LTE/5G failover, VPN, SIP trunking and VoIP, Dedicated Long Distance, PRI, and Cloud connectivity - and stay abreast of developing telecommunications technology and provider maintenance procedures.
• Communicate professionally with client IT Admins and with non-technical location and franchisee operators, applying approved redirect language for out-of-scope requests.
• Assist in training new associates as designated by management, and follow the internal escalation process with discernment, including notification to management and relevant associates on critical client issues.
• Work after-hours on-call as necessary to ensure that clients are served with excellence.
• Manage personal work time responsibly; comply with One Source information security policies and standards. Unauthorized access to data and/or systems is prohibited.

Qualifications

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Working knowledge of networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, switching and routing concepts, LAN/WAN behavior.
• Ability to read and interpret circuit documentation, order and work orders, invoices, and provider trouble reports, and to write clear incident notes and client-facing updates.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions from alerts and diagnostic output; interpret extensive written and verbal instructions and deal with several concrete variables.
• Comfortable calculating figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, and percentages, and applying concepts of basic algebra.
• Basic understanding of how carrier services interact with client premises equipment (CPE) and the One Source network in order to diagnose correctly and engage the right resources.
• Familiarity with command-line basics (ping, traceroute, nslookup/dig, show commands) and willingness to develop packet-level thinking.
• Customer-focused communication skills, including the ability to explain technical status to non-technical operators calmly and courteously.
• Ability to manage multiple open incidents, prioritize under time pressure, and document as work progresses rather than after the fact.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook); knowledge of ticketing and database software is helpful but not required.

Education and Experience:

• High school diploma or equivalent required; associate's or bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Networking, Computer Science, or a related field preferred. One to two years of related technical support, telecommunications, ISP, or NOC experience preferred; training and/or an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.

Certification Expectations. Certifications are developed on a schedule from date of hire; One Source supports preparation and exam costs. Prior certification is a plus, not a screen - the openings are open to strong candidates without certs today.

• Foundational - within 6 months of hire: CompTIA Network+ (or CCST) and Meraki Certified Network Operations (CMNO), the free online Meraki fundamentals course available through the Cisco partner portal.
• Target - within 18 months of hire: Cisco CCNA.
• Role-adjacent, encouraged: Cisco Meraki Solutions Specialist (ECMS) when partner training seats are available; CWNA (Certified Wireless Network Administrator); CompTIA Security+ as a security baseline.