Network Support Technician (5PM -1AM EST)

Role Overview

firstPRO is actively hiring a Network Support Specialist – Level 1 to provide after-hours monitoring and first-line network support for a distributed enterprise environment. This role is primarily responsible for monitoring network health, identifying outages or degradation, and executing rapid triage and escalation procedures to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and senior network resources as needed.

This is not a high-volume call center or ticket-queue role. The focus is on proactive monitoring, incident response, and escalation, with limited administrative overhead.

Key Responsibilities

Network Monitoring & Triage

• Monitor network availability and performance to ensure sites remain operational after business hours
• Identify network outages, latency, or service degradation across locations
• Validate whether issues are local, ISP-related, or systemic

Incident Response & Escalation

• Serve as first responder for after-hours network incidents
• Contact and work directly with ISPs (e.g., Comcast) to open, track, and escalate service outages
• Clearly communicate status, impact, and resolution progress to internal stakeholders
• Escalate complex or unresolved issues to senior network or infrastructure teams

Tools & Platforms

• Monitor and triage alerts using SolarWinds OpManager
• Support and monitor environments utilizing Cisco Meraki (firewalls, switches, wireless)

Operational Support

• Assist with occasional monthly or quarterly network maintenance activities (e.g., patching support, validation tasks)
• Maintain situational awareness of network changes that could impact after-hours stability

What This Role Is / Is Not

This role IS:

• After-hours network operations and incident triage
• Focused on uptime, availability, and rapid escalation
• Light on documentation and ticket administration

This role is NOT:

• A traditional help desk or end-user support role
• High-volume phone support or ticket-queue management
• Primarily responsible for ticket creation or lifecycle management

Required Skills & Experience

• 1–3 years of experience in a Network Support, NOC, or Infrastructure Support role
• Hands-on experience with Cisco Meraki environments
• Experience monitoring networks using OpManager (SolarWinds)
• Strong understanding of basic networking concepts (WAN, LAN, ISP connectivity, firewalls)
• Proven ability to triage issues and work with ISPs during outages
• Comfortable working independently during after-hours shifts
• Strong verbal communication skills for vendor and escalation calls

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior NOC or after-hours operational support experience
• Experience supporting multi-site or retail/distributed environments
• Familiarity with SLA-based incident escalation