Service Desk Lead

Peraton•Washington, DC

7d•$80,000 - $128,000

About The Position

Join Peraton in advancing the safety, efficiency, and modernization of the National Airspace System (NAS) through the FAA’s Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) contract. As a trusted partner to the Federal Aviation Administration, Peraton helps deliver the systems and services that keep our nation’s skies safe and connected. We’re looking for innovative professionals who thrive in mission-critical environments and are passionate about shaping the future of air traffic management. This is your chance to make an impact on one of the world’s most vital transportation infrastructures, working alongside leaders in aviation, engineering, data science, and systems integration. At Peraton, you won’t just support the mission — you’ll define it. Join a team dedicated to protecting the safety and integrity of U.S. air travel. Peraton is seeking a motivated and experienced Service Desk Lead to provide frontline leadership and operational oversight for IT service desk activities supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This role serves as the senior on-shift technical resource—coordinating daily operations, mentoring analysts, and ensuring incidents and requests are handled efficiently, securely, and in compliance with FAA standards. The ideal candidate blends strong technical troubleshooting skills with leadership capability, thrives in a fast-paced operations environment, and is comfortable serving as the primary escalation point for complex issues. In this position, you will: Lead and manage Service Desk operations, ensuring consistent, high-quality support across FAA programs. Supervise, mentor, and develop Service Desk analysts, including scheduling, workload management, and performance coaching. Enforce ITIL-based processes for incident, request, problem, and knowledge management. Monitor and report on service desk metrics and SLAs, including response time, resolution time, customer satisfaction, and backlog trends. Serve as the escalation point for high-priority incidents, outages, and customer-impacting issues. Coordinate with infrastructure, cybersecurity, application, and platform teams to ensure timely issue resolution. Ensure accurate ticket documentation, categorization, and knowledge base maintenance. Support change management and release coordination to minimize operational disruptions. Ensure service desk activities comply with FAA policies, RMF, NIST, and internal governance standards. Prepare and deliver operational reports and briefings to program leadership and FAA stakeholders. Support onboarding, training, and continuous improvement initiatives for service desk staff. Why This Role Matters Reliable IT support is essential to FAA operations that protect and modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). As a Service Desk Lead, you ensure timely issue resolution, consistent service quality, and effective communication during incidents. Your leadership helps minimize downtime, improve customer confidence, and maintain continuity of operations across FAA programs.

Requirements

U.S. Citizenship Required.
Must have the ability to obtain / maintain a Public Trust clearance.
10 years of IT Service Desk experience.
Experience managing or supervising a Service Desk team.
Strong understanding of ITIL processes (Incident, Request, Problem, Change).
Hands-on experience with ITSM tools such as ServiceNow (or equivalent).
Proven troubleshooting skills across end-user computing, applications, identity/access, and collaboration tools.
Excellent communication and leadership skills; ability to coordinate during incidents.
Ability to manage priority incidents, communicate status, and coordinate resolution across teams.
Experience with queue management, workforce scheduling, and quality control.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to FAA programs or NAS systems.
Experience supporting federal, aviation, or other regulated environments.
ITIL v4 Foundation or HDI Support Center Analyst/Lead certification.
Experience supporting FAA, DOT, or other federal aviation programs.
Familiarity with RMF, NIST 800-53, and federal cybersecurity requirements for IT operations.
Experience in 24x7 service desk environments.
Exposure to automation, self-service, or service optimization initiatives.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage Service Desk operations, ensuring consistent, high-quality support across FAA programs.
Supervise, mentor, and develop Service Desk analysts, including scheduling, workload management, and performance coaching.
Enforce ITIL-based processes for incident, request, problem, and knowledge management.
Monitor and report on service desk metrics and SLAs, including response time, resolution time, customer satisfaction, and backlog trends.
Serve as the escalation point for high-priority incidents, outages, and customer-impacting issues.
Coordinate with infrastructure, cybersecurity, application, and platform teams to ensure timely issue resolution.
Ensure accurate ticket documentation, categorization, and knowledge base maintenance.
Support change management and release coordination to minimize operational disruptions.
Ensure service desk activities comply with FAA policies, RMF, NIST, and internal governance standards.
Prepare and deliver operational reports and briefings to program leadership and FAA stakeholders.
Support onboarding, training, and continuous improvement initiatives for service desk staff.