Entry Level Computer Support Specialist Jobs in Edison, NJ

The IT Support Specialist provides information technology support to students, faculty, staff, alumni and others affiliated with Princeton University through multiple support channels including phone, chat, email, and walk-in/deskside appointments. As a member of the Service Management Office (SMO) within the Office of Information Technology (OIT), this position delivers exceptional customer service and technical troubleshooting to resolve incidents, fulfill requests, and quickly respond to escalations.

Working both independently and in collaboration with other IT teams, the specialist provides general customer support for IT services and participates in security response activities, technical emergencies, and continuous service improvement activities. The specialist must demonstrate technical aptitude, strong communication and customer service skills, flexibility, and sound judgment.

As a full-time staff member working on-site, the IT Support Specialist is primarily assigned to work as part of the IT Service Desk. Work schedules include being part of an on-call rotation outside normal business hours and may include working a later shift or supporting weekend hours. The specialist may also be scheduled for remote IT support sessions or dispatched for in-person support to nearby offices.

Technology & Security Support 

• Serve as the initial point of contact to answer technology and IT service-related questions, triage incidents, and fulfill requests.
• Maintain a working understanding of core IT services and be able to proficiently direct customers to the applicable published information for IT services and applications provided by OIT and other University departments.
• Efficiently diagnose and resolve hardware, software, accounts, and access-related issues, leveraging documented procedures and prescribed troubleshooting methodologies and tools.
• Monitor IT support requests and assigned tasks in the University's service management system (ServiceNow) and respond to customers with timely and detailed communication and updates.
• Document all customer interactions and troubleshooting notes in the service management system following defined standards for inquiries, incidents, and requests. Route work to other support and technical teams as needed.
• Collaborate with technical teams on customer issues, ensuring timely resolution and escalating when necessary to maintain service levels.
• Monitor the status of university systems and proactively escalate reported outages and emerging trends in customer incidents.
• Promote secure computing practices and educate customers on cybersecurity awareness.
• Participate in emergency response and service restoration activities during technology outages and security incidents.
• Assist with the review, escalation, and remediation of security-related alerts and customer concerns including phishing attempts, compromised accounts, and suspicious account activity. Follow established incident response procedures and coordinate with the Information Security Office as required.
• Sustain a continuous improvement mindset, actively identifying opportunities to improve customer experience, reduce risk, and increase service efficiency. Contribute to problem management and service enhancement efforts.
• Participate in critical activities outside of standard business hours when required including scheduled on-call time for after-hours escalations and support for major incident response.
• Assist customers as scheduled across support channels including assigned time fielding calls and chats as well as in person support by appointment/dispatch and at walk-up locations (on campus and within the University's Carnegie Center/Alexander Road offices).
• Maintain personal/proprietary information and confidential/restricted data in the strictest of confidence and follow procedures to ensure privacy, security, and data management according to policy.

Community Engagement and Knowledge Management 

• Contribute to the maintenance of IT support documentation and knowledge articles for the campus community. Identify gaps and errors in content and draft proposed changes.
• Make recommendations that aim to improve customer self-service and IT support staff with troubleshooting and operational procedures.
• Develop and share best practices and knowledge with other IT support colleagues including participating in IT community forums.
• Complete required training and pursue professional development to maintain technical knowledge, customer service skills, and troubleshooting strategies.

IT Asset and Service Management 

• Support lifecycle management for IT-related assets, including maintaining accurate database records according to defined asset management and security protocols.
• Assist customers with computer diagnosis, loaner equipment/peripheral requests, scheduled replacements, and disposal according to a defined retirement schedule.
• Deploy and recover managed computers, peripherals and related equipment by standard guidelines.
• Assist with requests for alternative endpoint management configurations in support of specialized administrative needs and the research enterprise.
• Provide general consultation on computer security standards including operating system/application patching and account management for best practices. Work with customers to ensure remediation of known vulnerabilities.
• Provide input to new and enhanced processes, services, and applications. Assist with implementation activities including support for testing efforts.
• Participate in projects, root cause problem solving, and change management/readiness activities, as assigned.
• Adhere to established service level agreements.

Essential Qualifications:

• 3+ years of experience providing multi-platform computer, application, and networking technical support through multiple channels including phone, chat, service ticket, walk-in, remote support, and onsite dispatch.
• A commitment to outstanding customer service and continual service improvement.
• Ability to be "quick on your feet", thinking critically and collaborating with colleagues to triage, investigate, and resolve issues in a multi-channel technical support environment.
• Ability to work well independently and in a team environment.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills, and the ability to prioritize.
• Experience with Windows and MacOS platforms, email clients (Microsoft/Gmail), and general productivity/collaboration applications.
• Willingness to work toward mastery of new technologies and skills as customer needs and supported services change.
• Understanding IT security fundamentals and best practices.
• Scheduling and location flexibility for work shifts across multiple offices and that may include evenings, holidays, and weekends.
• Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5 years of experience providing customer-facing technical support
• Experience with ServiceNow or comparable IT service management platforms
• Experience supporting multi-factor authentication, privilege identity management, and password management solutions (e.g., Duo, Authenticator, EntraID, LastPass, and CyberArk)
• Background supporting wireless and wired networks, Linux operating systems, and virtual environments
• Experience working in higher education supporting faculty, staff, students, and alumni
• Experience with Agile project management methodology
• Experience with directory services (Windows Active Directory/Azure and LDAP)
• Experience with Cisco CUCM Call Manager
• CompTIA A+ certification and/or HDI Support Center Analyst certification

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly.

If the salary range on the posted position shows an hourly rate, this is the baseline; the actual hourly rate may be higher, depending on the position and factors listed above.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.