Freelance Network Operations Center Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Req ID: 356196
NTT DATA strives to hire exceptional, innovative and passionate individuals who want to grow with us. If you want to be part of an inclusive, adaptable, and forward-thinking organization, apply now.
We are currently seeking a Network Operations Center Manager to join our team in Annapolis, Maryland (US-MD), United States (US).
Job Title:
Network Operations Center (NOC) Manager - Public Sector SLED
Position Overview:
NTT DATA seeks a highly experienced Network Operations Center (NOC) Manager to lead a 24x7x365 operations center supporting mission-critical public sector networks. This role requires strong expertise in networking and fiber technologies, combined with program management skills to oversee complex IT initiatives, ensure operational excellence, and drive strategic improvements. This position is responsible for managing and coordinating the NOC team. Important focuses of this coordination are to assure that the networking system runs effectively without interruption, and to assure that performance meets and exceeds SLAs. This individual is able to quickly develop innovative solutions in response to various networking problems and direct the execution of these solutions. Candidates proposed for this role would have managed a network operations center supporting a service provider network.
About NTT DATA Americas
At NTT DATA Americas, we believe that with the right people on board, anything is possible. Our growth, market presence, and ability to help clients stay ahead of the competition are driven by the quality, integrity, and commitment of our employees. We strive to hire exceptional, innovative, and passionate individuals who want to grow with us in an inclusive, adaptable, and forward-thinking environment.
Key Responsibilities:

• Direct daily operations of the 24x7x365 NOC.
• Ensure all incidents, service requests, and outage events are handled in accordance with SLAs.
• Maintain operational discipline, documentation accuracy, and real-time service visibility.
• Supervise NOC staff, shift leads, analysts, and escalation resources.
• Oversee monitoring coverage, alert accuracy, and event correlation.
• Approve and enforce NOC SOPs, alerting rules, and ticketing workflows.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Service Assurance, Firewall teams, ISP/OSP field teams, and DoIT.
• Lead response efforts for Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents.
• Deliver operational reports, KPIs, and executive dashboards.
• Oversee NOC training programs, certification paths, and competency development.
• NOC and Team Leadership - Manage and schedule 24x7x365 NOC and maintenance staff, ensuring training, readiness and performance accountability.
• Incident Management - Direct detection, escalation and resolution of incidents, lead incident bridges and coordinate restoration efforts.
• Service Continuity and SLA Compliance - Facilitate uninterrupted network operations and maintain service levels through proactive monitoring and issue mitigation.
• Maintenance and Change Management - Plan, coordinate and execute scheduled maintenance activities, lead change management process with proper approvals and testing.
• Problem Management - Conduct Root Cause analyses (RCAs) and implement permanent corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Provisioning and Implementation Oversight - Manage deployment of new services, circuits and network devices and ensure quality and timeliness.
• Performance Monitoring and Reporting - Track and analyze network KPIs, maintain performance dashboards for internal and customer reporting.
• Continuous Improvement - Implement process improvements and introduce tools/automation to enhance operational efficiency.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 5 years as an IT Operations Center Manager.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in network operations, including at least 5 years managing a Net Operations Center (NOC) or similar 24x7X365 operations team.
• Minimum 5 years monitoring and managing configuration of 500+ network devices.
• Minimum 5 years monitoring and managing a virtual server environment.
• Strong technical expertise in networking and fiber technologies.
• Current ITIL Foundation certification. One Intermediate-level ITIL certification preferred.

Education and Experience

• Must possess a bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems or related field. Equivalent work experience of five (5) years may be substituted for a degree.
• At least five (5) years of experience in network operations, monitoring, troubleshooting and/or provisioning, including at least two (2) years in a managerial or supervisory role.
• Proven leadership of 24x7x365 enterprise-class operations.
• Strong understanding of ITIL best practices, incident management and service operations.
• Strong technical expertise in networking and fiber technologies.

Certifications (Preferred):

• PMP (Project Management Professional) or PgMP (Program Management Professional).
• Cisco Certifications (CCNP, CCIE) for advanced networking expertise.
• CompTIA Network+, Security+, or CySA+ for foundational and security knowledge.
• Fiber Optic Technician Certification (CFOT or equivalent).
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect or Azure Network Engineer Associate for cloud networking.
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) for security leadership.

Additional Skills (Plus):

• Experience with Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity Planning (BCP) for network environments.
• Knowledge of network automation and orchestration tools (e.g., Ansible, Python scripting).
• Familiarity with Zero Trust Architecture and advanced cybersecurity frameworks.
• Strong vendor and contract negotiation skills for fiber and networking services.
• Ability to manage multi-site network deployments and large-scale fiber rollouts.
• Experience with large-scale network migrations, upgrades, and service transitions.

Why Join NTT DATA Public Sector SLED?

• Work on mission-critical projects impacting public services.
• Collaborate with industry-leading experts and cutting-edge technologies.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and career growth opportunities.

Where required by law, NTT DATA provides a reasonable range of compensation for specific roles. The starting pay range for this role is $109,275 to $182,125 Actual compensation will depend on a number of factors, including the candidate's relevant experience, technical skills, and other qualifications. The candidate may also be eligible for incentive compensation based on personal and/or company performance. This position is eligible for company benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance with an employer contribution, flexible spending or health savings account, life and AD&D insurance, short- and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program with company match, and additional voluntary or legally required benefits.
About NTT DATA
NTT DATA is a $30 billion business and technology services leader, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We are committed to accelerating client success and positively impacting society through responsible innovation. We are one of the world's leading AI and digital infrastructure providers, with unmatched capabilities in enterprise-scale AI, cloud, security, connectivity, data centers and application services. our consulting and Industry solutions help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. As a Global Top Employer, we have experts in more than 50 countries. We also offer clients access to a robust ecosystem of innovation centers as well as established and start-up partners. NTT DATA is a part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion each year in R&D.
Whenever possible, we hire locally to NTT DATA offices or client sites. This ensures we can provide timely and effective support tailored to each client's needs. While many positions offer remote or hybrid work options, these arrangements are subject to change based on client requirements. For employees near an NTT DATA office or client site, in-office attendance may be required for meetings or events, depending on business needs. At NTT DATA, we are committed to staying flexible and meeting the evolving needs of both our clients and employees. NTT DATA recruiters will never ask for payment or banking information and will only use @nttdata.com and @talent.nttdataservices.com email addresses. If you are requested to provide payment or disclose banking information, please submit a contact us form, https://us.nttdata.com/en/contact-us.
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