What are the responsibilities and job description for the ITOps / Observability Engineer position at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center?
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Job Description
The IT Operations and Observability Engineer (NOC) is responsible for monitoring, maintaining, and supporting the availability and performance of enterprise IT systems in a NOC-style operational environment. This role focuses on real-time systems monitoring, alert response, incident triage, and escalation using enterprise observability and monitoring tools. The position requires strong troubleshooting skills, attention to detail, and the ability to follow operational procedures to ensure stable, reliable system operations.
Key Responsibilities
The IT Operations and Observability Engineer monitors enterprise systems, networks, and services using tools such as SCOM, Splunk, SolarWinds, and cloud-based monitoring platforms, responding to alerts, anomalies, and service degradations in accordance with established operational procedures. The role triages incidents, opens and manages tickets using structured workflows (ServiceNow or Jira-equivalent systems), performs initial troubleshooting and impact assessment, and escalates issues to appropriate engineering or infrastructure teams as needed.
This position maintains real-time operational dashboards, validates alert accuracy, and assists in tuning thresholds and notifications to reduce noise and improve signal quality. The engineer documents incidents, troubleshooting steps, handoffs, and resolutions to ensure continuity across shifts and contributes to the creation and maintenance of standard operating procedures, runbooks, and knowledge base articles.
The role also supports Linux and Windows environments, monitors distributed and network-connected systems in hybrid and cloud environments, validates data integrity within monitoring and reporting systems, and assists with asset tracking and environment awareness. The engineer provides operational support for internal users and technical teams while adhering to security, compliance, and change management requirements.
Required Qualifications
Bachelors degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Candidates must have at least 4 years of experience in IT operations, NOC, or systems monitoring roles with hands-on exposure to enterprise monitoring and observability platforms such as SCOM, Splunk, SolarWinds, and cloud-native monitoring solutions (e.g., Azure Monitor, AWS CloudWatch, or equivalent). Experience with incident triage, alert response, ticket-based workflows, and escalation procedures is required, along with strong troubleshooting, documentation, and communication skills. Familiarity with Linux and Windows operating environments and distributed system monitoring is essential.
Preferred Qualifications
Preferred candidates will have experience in a 24/7 or shift-based NOC environment, familiarity with ITIL-aligned incident and problem management practices, experience tuning alerts and dashboards, and strong analytical skills using tools such as Excel or similar reporting platforms. Experience with IT Operations / Systems Administration. Experience supporting collaboration tools and integrating monitoring systems with alerting and incident response workflows is a plus.
Role Impact
This role is essential to maintaining continuous visibility, rapid incident response, and operational stability across enterprise IT systems. By serving as the front line of monitoring and incident management, the IT Operations and Observability Engineer helps prevent outages, minimize impact, and ensure reliable service delivery.
Screen reader users may encounter difficulty with the online application. For assistance with applying, please contact hr-accessibleapplication@osu.edu. If you have questions while submitting an application, please review these frequently asked questions.
Thank you for your interest in working at Ohio State.
Final candidates are subject to successful completion of a background check. A drug screen or physical may be required during the post offer process.
The university is an equal opportunity employer, including veterans and disability.
Job Description
The IT Operations and Observability Engineer (NOC) is responsible for monitoring, maintaining, and supporting the availability and performance of enterprise IT systems in a NOC-style operational environment. This role focuses on real-time systems monitoring, alert response, incident triage, and escalation using enterprise observability and monitoring tools. The position requires strong troubleshooting skills, attention to detail, and the ability to follow operational procedures to ensure stable, reliable system operations.
Key Responsibilities
The IT Operations and Observability Engineer monitors enterprise systems, networks, and services using tools such as SCOM, Splunk, SolarWinds, and cloud-based monitoring platforms, responding to alerts, anomalies, and service degradations in accordance with established operational procedures. The role triages incidents, opens and manages tickets using structured workflows (ServiceNow or Jira-equivalent systems), performs initial troubleshooting and impact assessment, and escalates issues to appropriate engineering or infrastructure teams as needed.
This position maintains real-time operational dashboards, validates alert accuracy, and assists in tuning thresholds and notifications to reduce noise and improve signal quality. The engineer documents incidents, troubleshooting steps, handoffs, and resolutions to ensure continuity across shifts and contributes to the creation and maintenance of standard operating procedures, runbooks, and knowledge base articles.
The role also supports Linux and Windows environments, monitors distributed and network-connected systems in hybrid and cloud environments, validates data integrity within monitoring and reporting systems, and assists with asset tracking and environment awareness. The engineer provides operational support for internal users and technical teams while adhering to security, compliance, and change management requirements.
Required Qualifications
Bachelors degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Candidates must have at least 4 years of experience in IT operations, NOC, or systems monitoring roles with hands-on exposure to enterprise monitoring and observability platforms such as SCOM, Splunk, SolarWinds, and cloud-native monitoring solutions (e.g., Azure Monitor, AWS CloudWatch, or equivalent). Experience with incident triage, alert response, ticket-based workflows, and escalation procedures is required, along with strong troubleshooting, documentation, and communication skills. Familiarity with Linux and Windows operating environments and distributed system monitoring is essential.
Preferred Qualifications
Preferred candidates will have experience in a 24/7 or shift-based NOC environment, familiarity with ITIL-aligned incident and problem management practices, experience tuning alerts and dashboards, and strong analytical skills using tools such as Excel or similar reporting platforms. Experience with IT Operations / Systems Administration. Experience supporting collaboration tools and integrating monitoring systems with alerting and incident response workflows is a plus.
Role Impact
This role is essential to maintaining continuous visibility, rapid incident response, and operational stability across enterprise IT systems. By serving as the front line of monitoring and incident management, the IT Operations and Observability Engineer helps prevent outages, minimize impact, and ensure reliable service delivery.
Screen reader users may encounter difficulty with the online application. For assistance with applying, please contact hr-accessibleapplication@osu.edu. If you have questions while submitting an application, please review these frequently asked questions.
Thank you for your interest in working at Ohio State.
Final candidates are subject to successful completion of a background check. A drug screen or physical may be required during the post offer process.
The university is an equal opportunity employer, including veterans and disability.