Team Lead Internal System and Networking Support

NISC•Cedar Rapids, IA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position reports to NISC’s Manager IT Infrastructure and supervises the organization’s internal systems and networking team. This position plays a critical leadership role within NISC’s Internal IT & Security department, which is focused on serving the technical needs of NISC’s staff and maintaining secure, reliable IT infrastructure. The Team Lead is expected to work collaboratively with other leaders across Internal IT & Infrastructure—actively fostering alignment, shared problem solving, and effective execution across systems, networking, cloud, and security teams. This role requires a strong ability to build bridges across divisions, drive cross-team initiatives, and ensure cohesive technical operations across the organization.

Requirements

Preferred prior experience includes six to eight years of experience in either IT networking or systems administration, including three years in a leadership or supervisory role.
Strong commitment to highquality documentation, including SOPs, system diagrams, troubleshooting guides, and crossteam process documentation.
Ability to assess infrastructure performance, anticipate capacity plans and support future scalability needs.
Lead team members involved in system operations and maintenance (system design and installation, support and troubleshooting, patching, backup, and replacement).
Lead team members involved in networking operations (network performance monitoring and performance optimization, troubleshooting, incident response, management of rule bases and access policies, and applying firmware updates/OS patches/security fixes).
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with other leaders within the Internal IT & Infrastructure group, promoting shared ownership, aligned priorities, and unified execution.
Proven ability to work across technical divisions, particularly with Cloud Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, and Security Operations.
Superior verbal and written interpersonal and communication skills.
Superior research and problem-solving skills that include innovation and the ability to identify long-term solutions that influence NISC.
Excellent employee relations skills to include the ability to lead people, set clear expectations, and manage employee performance effectively.
Excellent training and mentoring skills.
Expert knowledge of and experience with Windows and Linux operating systems (SUSE Linux preferred).
Expert knowledge of and experience with VMware vSphere or similar virtualization platforms in a 1000+ server environment.
Expert knowledge of and experience with systems backup and recovery.
Expert knowledge of and experience with the IT systems life cycle (systems planning and requirements, design, testing, maintenance, and replacement).
Expert knowledge of and experience with networking principles and protocols such as TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, switching, and segmentation.
Expert knowledge of and experience with administering firewalls and web proxies, including creating and maintaining access policies, analyzing traffic logs, and resolving connectivity or filtering issues.
Expert knowledge of and experience with Extreme networking switches .
Expert knowledge of and experience with Palo Alto Networks firewalls (next-generation PA-series) and Panorama, including associated security subscriptions (Threat Prevention, URL Filtering, Wildfire).
Expert knowledge of and experience with security incident response, business continuity, and disaster recovery as related to networking and systems operations
Ability to perform and report on problem analysis and problem resolution at both a strategic and functional level.
Ability to adapt and remain effective in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to organize and manage multiple priorities within critical deadlines.
Ability to identify key performance indicators and leverage them to improve team performance and service delivery.
Ability to maintain the highest level of professionalism, ethical behavior, and confidentiality.
Ability to travel as often as necessary to meet the goals and objectives of the position.
Commitment to NISC's Statement of Shared Values.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of the utility and telecommunications industries as related to NISC customers.

Responsibilities

Supervises all activities of assigned personnel.
Performs hands-on technical support duties when workload or priority demands.
Prioritizes team projects and ensures assignments are followed through efficiently, accurately, on time, and within budget.
Manages team capacity and allocates resources effectively across new and existing projects.
Assists in daily server administration, including performing installations, establishing permissions, performing hardware and software maintenance, repairs, upgrades, and backups.
Assists in daily network operations, including monitoring network performance and availability, firewall/proxy/security enforcement, documentation and asset management, managing access control policies, and hardware maintenance and replacement.
Researches, analyzes, and resolves technical issues across the organization.
Ensures direct reports receive clear, timely communication and relevant updates from upper management.
Promotes and maintains a high-quality, professional, service-oriented company image.
Champions and reinforces best inclass service practices across all team interactions.
Assists in planning future projects for the team and works with NISC’s other Internal IT & security teams to prioritize projects and adjust resources to fit those project needs.
Assists in the selection and hiring of new employees.
Coordinates training programs and provides ongoing coaching and mentoring to team members.
Addresses personnel issues in accordance with NISC policy, including performance counseling and disciplinary actions.
Exceptional communication skills with the capability to present complex technical information clearly to both technical and nontechnical audiences.
Other duties as assigned.