NOC Engineer 1

at  Pavlov Media Inc

Job Title: NOC Engineer 1
Department: Network Operations
Reports to: NOC Shift Manager
Salary Grade/Level:
Summary:
This is an onsite position located in Champaign, Illinois.
Summary
The NOC Engineer 1 is an onsite role based in Champaign, Illinois. This position is responsible for designing and supporting enterprise networks for Pavlov Media customers, while also guiding junior technicians in managing end-user support escalations. As a skilled network professional with specialized expertise, the NOC Engineer 1 plays a critical role in diagnosing and resolving network issues across localized, building-wide, and site-wide systems. Troubleshooting is primarily performed remotely, often with the assistance of field service technicians.
This role requires a solid understanding of networking fundamentals and Pavlov’s standards for network design, security, and Active Ethernet and GPON/XGPON configurations. The NOC Engineer 1 also supports field technicians and educates junior technicians in networking principles and Pavlov’s practices.

Key Functional Responsibilities:

• Respond to network outages efficiently.
• Answer calls from field technicians and dispatchers, ensuring adherence to service-level goals.
• Collaborate with field operations to resolve outages, expand networks, or add new functionality for customers.
• Encourage and support team members in following up on open cases, service calls, and issue tracking.
• Under the guidance of NOC Managers and the NOC Director, monitor, investigate, and address network performance issues beyond outages.

This senior-level position offers advancement opportunities for driven and high-performing employees.
Duties and Responsibilities:

Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Maintain a professional demeanor with internal and external contacts while addressing issues and outages.
• Remotely troubleshoot Ethernet and fiber optic issues to assess if physical repairs are needed and prepare clear scopes of work for dispatch as necessary.
• Diagnose and resolve customer-impacting issues across OSI layers 1-4 on Pavlov networks.
• Identify and escalate issues affecting customer satisfaction or retention through the appropriate channels.
• Stay informed on Pavlov products and supported networks, including standard firmware, designs, and known hardware/firmware issues.
• Use a scientific approach to problem-solving, escalating complex issues to network professionals and third-party vendors as needed.
• Review and recommend process improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Assist the engineering team in developing departmental knowledge resources for onboarding and junior technician education.
• Lead or participate in special projects or other assignments as directed.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or equivalent required.
• Desired Certifications: Cisco CCNA, CompTIA Network+, MikroTik MTCNA, Ruckus RCNA or RWNA, or similar network-centric certifications.
• Minimum of two years’ experience supporting enterprise networks with routing and switching components.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise network design and implementation concepts.
• Experience with Linux and familiarity with scripting languages (e.g., BaSH, Python) is a plus.

Desired Skills

• Solution-oriented approach to problem-solving.
• Experience troubleshooting local area network issues and end-user devices.
• Familiarity with remote monitoring tools (e.g., LibreNMS, Nagios, SolarWinds, Zabbix).
• Ability to work under tight deadlines to resolve customer-impacting issues.
• Strong technical and non-technical communication skills for collaborating with network professionals.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills, with experience in technical documentation.
• Adaptability and a positive attitude toward process improvements.
• Solid understanding of OSI model layers 1-4 and knowledge of routers, switches, Wi-Fi, fiber optics, and other networking components.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Windows 10/11, macOS, PC hardware, and Microsoft Office 365.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to sit for prolonged periods
• Ability to lift up to 15 lbs

About us:
Come join our rapidly growing team! Pavlov Media is a dynamic company that has been building great networks for over 30 years and has been named by The Silicon Review as one of the 50 Best Companies to watch! Headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, we’re one of the nation’s largest private providers of broadband services, serving communities in 44 US states.

We offer a competitive benefits package which includes:

• Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance on day one
• 3 weeks of PTO
• Paid holidays
• 401K with Company match
• Tuition/professional development reimbursement

Pavlov Media is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

Key Functional Responsibilities:

• Respond to network outages efficiently.
• Answer calls from field technicians and dispatchers, ensuring adherence to service-level goals.
• Collaborate with field operations to resolve outages, expand networks, or add new functionality for customers.
• Encourage and support team members in following up on open cases, service calls, and issue tracking.
• Under the guidance of NOC Managers and the NOC Director, monitor, investigate, and address network performance issues beyond outages

Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Maintain a professional demeanor with internal and external contacts while addressing issues and outages.
• Remotely troubleshoot Ethernet and fiber optic issues to assess if physical repairs are needed and prepare clear scopes of work for dispatch as necessary.
• Diagnose and resolve customer-impacting issues across OSI layers 1-4 on Pavlov networks.
• Identify and escalate issues affecting customer satisfaction or retention through the appropriate channels.
• Stay informed on Pavlov products and supported networks, including standard firmware, designs, and known hardware/firmware issues.
• Use a scientific approach to problem-solving, escalating complex issues to network professionals and third-party vendors as needed.
• Review and recommend process improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Assist the engineering team in developing departmental knowledge resources for onboarding and junior technician education.
• Lead or participate in special projects or other assignments as directed