Network Operations Center (NOC) Manager / Lead
Position Level : Senior Level / Management
Reports To : Director, IT Infrastructure
Position Summary :
The NOC Manager is responsible for the operational performance, leadership, and strategic direction of the enterprises 24 / 7 Network Operations Center. This role ensures network availability, incident resolution, team execution, and infrastructure reliability across 300+ global sites. The NOC Manager serves as both a people leader and technical enabler, driving continuous improvement, proactive monitoring, and efficient escalation workflows while aligning network operations with enterprise standards and business outcomes.
Key Responsibilities :
Operational Leadership :
- Manage and lead the daily operations of a global NOC supporting a multi-site, hybrid cloud environment
- Oversee Tier 13 support functions including incident triage, escalation, troubleshooting, change implementation, and monitoring
- Serve as the highest operational escalation point for network incidents and outages
- Maintain and enforce 24 / 7 shift coverage, including staffing, scheduling, and on-call rotations
Team Management & Development :
Directly manage NOC Analysts, Network Engineers, and the Network Reliability Engineer (NRE)Drive performance through coaching, 1 : 1s, skill development plans, and technical mentorshipDefine and track team KPIs including MTTR, SLA adherence, incident volume, and alert fatigue reductionFoster a high-performance culture built around accountability, collaboration, and continuous learningStrategy & Automation :
Partner with NRE to develop automation, infrastructure-as-code, and observability initiativesIdentify operational inefficiencies and lead projects to improve toolsets, response time, and coverageChampion reliability engineering practices to improve incident prevention and resiliencyLead the implementation and refinement of NOC runbooks, SOPs, and escalation proceduresCross-Functional Collaboration :
Act as the liaison between Infrastructure, Cloud, Security, Application, and Helpdesk teams during major incidents and network eventsPartner with Engineering and Cloud teams on deployments, migrations, and new service onboardingParticipate in ITSM governance for incident, problem, and change management processesReporting & Communication :
Own and distribute executive-level reporting on network health, SLAs, critical incident trends, and operational risksDeliver RCA documentation, incident debriefs, and recommendations to leadershipEnsure all ticketing, monitoring, and reporting platforms reflect real-time network health and team activityRequired Qualifications :
Degree in Computer Science, Networking, Information Technology, or a related field8+ years of experience in network operations or engineering roles, including 3+ years in a leadership or management positionDeep knowledge of enterprise networking (TCP / IP, BGP, OSPF, VPN, VLANs, SD-WAN)Experience with Cisco Catalyst, Meraki, ASA, Palo Alto Networks, and Zscaler (ZIA / ZPA)Strong understanding of network monitoring platforms (LogicMonitor, SolarWinds, PRTG, etc.)Familiarity with cloud networking (AWS VPC, Azure VNet, ExpressRoute, TGW, etc.)Experience with ITSM platforms (e.g., ServiceNow) and change management frameworksDemonstrated success managing 24 / 7 teams, shift coverage, and high-severity incident responsePreferred Qualifications :
Certifications : CCNP, PCNSE, ZCCA / ZCNA, AWS / Azure Networking certsExperience managing teams with diverse roles (e.g., NOC, NRE, Engineering) across multiple time zonesExposure to infrastructure automation tools (Terraform, Python, Ansible)Strong background in SLAs, SLOs, and operational performance trackingFamiliarity with ISO 27001, SOC 2, or other compliance frameworks relevant to network operation(ref : hirist.tech)