Tier 3 Engineer — Team Lead

Summary

The Tier 3 Engineer — Team Lead is responsible for leading the technical team in delivering high-quality managed services, projects, and automation initiatives. This hybrid leadership role combines deep technical expertise with team mentorship, policy enforcement, escalation oversight, and cross-functional communication. The Team Lead serves as the primary technical authority for Tier 1 and Tier 2 escalations, drives automation strategy, and ensures team adherence to standards and processes. This can be a hybrid or in-office position. The successful candidate will have a passion for technology and automation, a natural ability to develop others, and the communication and planning skills to guide both people and projects from concept to completion.

Key Responsibilities — Helpdesk Team Lead

1. Serve as the primary escalation point for Tier 1, 2, and 3 technicians; triage escalated tickets, advise on next steps, and ensure timely resolution.
2. Mentor and develop Tier 1 and Tier 2 team members through hands-on coaching, knowledge transfer, and structured training opportunities.
3. Monitor ticket queues for SLA compliance, workload balance, and resolution quality; provide real-time guidance and corrections as needed.
4. Enforce team policies, documentation standards, and operational procedures; ensure consistent adherence across all technicians.
5. Review resolution notes, knowledge base articles, and SOPs created by team members for accuracy and completeness; provide feedback.
6. Conduct regular one-on-one check-ins with technicians to assess skill development, identify gaps, and build individualized growth plans.
7. Display exemplary leadership behavior; serve as a role model for professionalism, technical excellence, and customer service.
8. Identify recurring issues or patterns across the team and drive root-cause resolution through documentation, training, or automation.
9. Perform assessments of client networks; evaluate operating practices to determine if controls and security measures are adequate.
10. Monitor and maintain performance and security of LANs, VPNs, and vLANs; oversee client servers, network infrastructure, peripheral devices, and workstations.
11. Implement, maintain, and update cloud infrastructure including Entra ID, Intune, Azure, and related platforms.
12. Implement disaster recovery systems and maintain procedures to ensure reliability of client data resources.
13. Ensure daily time entry accounting for at least 8 hours in the form of Resolution Notes in Service Tickets; hold team members to the same standard.
14. Monthly billing should be at least 85% or more of a typical month of approximately 160 available hours.

Key Responsibilities — Project Team Lead

1. Plan, coordinate, and deliver concurrent technology projects; serve as the technical lead and primary point of accountability for project outcomes.
2. Mentor project team members, providing direction and guidance to meet objectives, quality standards, and client expectations.
3. Develop project scope statements, define deliverables, and establish timed implementation plans in collaboration with the Project Manager.
4. Track milestones, budgets, and scope; escalate risks or blockers with sufficient lead time for course correction.
5. Ensure strict quality of all project deliverables through peer review, testing, and documentation.
6. Manage client expectations proactively when targets require adjustment; communicate changes clearly and professionally.
7. Participate in team meetings and project review sessions with effective, structured communication and proactive status reporting.
8. Escalate unresolved technical or personnel issues to the Project Manager with recommended next steps.
9. Recommend, schedule, and perform hardware and software improvements, upgrades, patches, and reconfigurations.

Key Responsibilities — Automation & Standards

1. Lead the team’s automation strategy; identify opportunities across managed services, onboarding, and project workflows to reduce manual effort and increase consistency.
2. Build, maintain, and improve automation workflows using leading industry automation tools; serve as the team’s subject matter expert for automation tooling.
3. Develop and document automation standards, naming conventions, and best practices; ensure team members follow established patterns.
4. Train and mentor technicians on automation concepts, scripting fundamentals, and workflows.
5. Conduct research on emerging automation tools, protocols, and practices; present recommendations to leadership.
6. Define and enforce team policies, procedural standards, and quality benchmarks across helpdesk and project work.
7. Own the team’s knowledge base and SOP library; ensure documentation is current, accessible, and actionable.
8. Actively contribute to scripting, automation building, and implementation efforts as both a builder and a reviewer.

Qualifications

1. Relevant industry certifications — Vendor, Microsoft, and/or CompTIA (e.g., MS-102, AZ-104, CCNA, Network+, Security+).
2. At least 6–10 years of experience in an IT Service Team or MSP/NOC environment, with demonstrated project leadership experience.
3. Prior experience in a formal or informal team lead, senior technician, or mentorship role.
4. Expert-level comprehension of network setups and configurations, Microsoft 365, and Azure administration.
5. Proficient use of a Service and Project Ticketing Platform (ConnectWise preferred).
6. Hands-on automation and scripting experience required.
7. Demonstrated ability to manage a large and evolving toolset; ability to evaluate and recommend updated technology.
8. Reliable transportation, active and current driver’s license, valid insurance, and clean driving record.

Skills and Knowledge

1. Natural leader with a coaching mindset; genuinely invested in the growth and success of team members.
2. Strong planning and organizational skills; able to manage multiple priorities across helpdesk operations and concurrent projects.
3. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
4. Skilled at structured decision-making under pressure; able to advise confidently on escalations and next steps.
5. Exhibits professional integrity, balanced business judgment, tact, and diplomacy.
6. Positive, solutions-first attitude toward both people and problems; models a can-do culture for the team.
7. Exceptional attention to detail in both technical work and documentation.
8. Ability to self-start, work independently, and hold others accountable to the same standard.

Work Environment Expectations

Work in this environment is considered low physical requirements, with sitting at a computer up to 8 hours per day. Must be able to:

1. Walk, sit, stand, and type for extended periods of time up to 8 hours.
2. Write and speak effectively in all languages required by the job.
3. Apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
4. Maintain effective working relationships with team members, leadership, vendors, and clients.
5. Perform under stress and adapt when confronted with high-priority situations.
6. Be sensitive to cultural differences among individuals and groups of people.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required of all employees within this class.

Accommodations

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.