Development Support Engineer Team Lead

The Development Support Team Lead is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Development Support team as well as participating as an active member of the team. Supporting elements of software, hardware, networking and cloud products, and linked closely with the Software Developers, the team has the facility to re-create systems and configurations to enable issue investigation and resolution which cannot be resolved at the 1st-line help desk.

As a team lead, this position will partner a range of internal stakeholders to deliver exceptional support to colleagues through ticket support, email and internal channels. This team member will be expected to lead by example, organise work, build reports, handle escalations, and help with ad-hoc projects. This position is an advocate in the overall culture, vision and values of Synectics.

The Development Support Team Lead will work within the Synectics Technology Centre and will report to the Head of Software Quality Assurance.

Including yourself, the Development Support Team has three members and forms a key part of the 45+ strong Synectics Technology Centre, comprised of Product Managers, Software Developers, and Software Testers, amongst other roles. You will be primarily responsible for dealing with escalated software, hardware, and cloud support requests from Synectics engineering teams worldwide.

As well as resolving technical issues, the role is responsible for delivering high-level technical and engineering information, updates and best practice approaches to the global engineering teams.

Further to this, you will identify and feedback opportunities to help harmonise Synectics’ project delivery and improve the Synectics’ customer experience. You will have input into our quality assurance initiatives, product management backlogs and support processes.

Principal Accountabilities

Technical Support:

• Act as a senior agent who will drive customer satisfaction through customer support.
• Provide timely, accurate technical support to the internal engineering base and external customers.
• Be the point of contact when it comes to technical escalations.
• Manage technical issues through clear communication with internal customers, fault reproduction and fault resolution.
• Hands-on reproduction of systems, environments, and configurations to aid in investigations, where required.
• Be actively involved with the operational delivery and U.A.T. if required for new product and feature releases.

Identify and drive improvements:

• Evaluate and analyse ticket case trends to prevent future issues.
• Implement any necessary preventive measures to reduce customer faults and issues.
• Liaise with Product Management to communicate and prioritise product issues that need development resource to fully resolve and remove future occurrences.
• Close collaboration with development teams to help automate our build, test and release processes.

Processes & systems:

• Own and manage the established support platforms (e.g. Zendesk), processes and channels Synectics have in place.
• Support ‘user’ and ‘group’ management of ticketing and knowledgebase systems to provide streamlined and effective support for teams across the globe.
• Assist in the creation and implementation of customer self-service material and tools.
• Work to create any relevant support material for internal or external teams.
• Review technical support-related processes and documentation for continuous improvement.
• Filter, classify and issue technical release-note documentation in conjunction with Product Management, for example, generation and upkeep of technical FAQs and generation of updates and application notes.
• Maintain and develop the teams’ local hardware and virtual support environment.

Team Leader aspects:

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the Development Support Team.
• Manage and report on all incoming technical support inquiries and record and track team SLAs and workflows, where appropriate.
• Provide direct supervision of the technical support staff which may include: recruitment, evaluations and performance review and sensitive people matters, supported by the Head of Software Quality Assurance.
• Assist in the creation of the team KPIs as well as monitor and report on results.
• On-board any new Development Support Team members and aid in the onboarding/training of other internal support or engineering-based roles as appropriate.

Key Personal Attributes

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to deliver complex technical information in a manner that is easy to understand.
• Highly analytical and investigative mind (to support fault diagnostics & process analysis).
• Able to work with cutting edge technology and assimilate information rapidly.
• Ability to work under project deadlines, which are important to customers.
• Ability to prioritise, multitask and effectively manage customer expectations.
• A strong willingness to accept ownership and responsibility to enable empowerment.

Experience

• Proven experience in managing a service and support-focused team culture.
• Strong experience in a Technical Support role, ideally in 2nd or 3rd line.
• Desirable: Degree (2:2 or above) in any subject, ideally in computing / software development / IT / networking / technology.
• Supporting IT related qualification(s).
• Experience in a desktop support/installation role, ideally within a development and engineering environment.
• Proven history of strong hardware and software troubleshooting skills
• Hands-on experience in troubleshooting Windows based operating systems, including Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022.
• IT networking (I.P. addressing, sub netting, routing, TCP,UDP, multicast).
• An understanding of virtualisation technologies such as Hyper-V including failover and replication processes.
• Exposure to or familiarity with basic cloud/Azure services and architecture.
• Database knowledge – IBM DB2 and MS SQL (as examples).
• Familiarity with vulnerability scanning tools such as Nessus/Tenable.

Other Beneficial skills/experience include:

• Awareness of the surveillance market, knowledge of Integrated Security systems, IP video systems and CCTV installations.
• Experience in – Windows Server, Enterprise Storage Platforms, Active Directory, SQL Server / IBM DB2 Admin, Virtualisation, WAN/LAN networking.
• Experience with Wireshark.
• Firewall and Routing configuration.
• Cisco or other advanced networking qualifications.
• Understanding of enterprise-scale storage solutions such as SAN.
• Knowledge of Java.

Eligibility for Employment in the UK

In accordance with current legislative requirements within the UK, any successful applicant must produce verification of their eligibility to live and work in the UK. Such verification should be taken in advance of the employment start date and the applicant will be unable to start in their role until this has been received by Synectics.

Our Commitment to Equality and Diversity

Synectics plc and its subsidiaries are committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment and in our employment policies for recruitment, selection, training, development and promotion. Such policies are in place to ensure that both job applicants and employees of Synectics receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.