Optical Transport Network Engineer Jobs in Rochester, NY

Job Description

The Senior NOC Technician is responsible for monitoring, supporting, and maintaining the performance, reliability, and availability of the company's telecommunications network and services. This role serves as a technical resource within the NOC, providing advanced troubleshooting, incident management, and escalation support for network and service-impacting issues.

The Senior NOC Technician leads response efforts during network outages and degradation events, coordinates restoration activities with internal and external partners, and works closely with Engineering, Operations, and Field Services teams. This position also provides mentorship to other workgroups and contributes to operational excellence through process improvement, documentation, and knowledge sharing.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Network Operations and Monitoring

• Monitor and support the health, availability, and performance of telecommunications network infrastructure and customer services.
• Identify, analyze, troubleshoot, and resolve service-impacting network alarms and events.
• Perform proactive monitoring to detect network degradation and minimize customer impact.
• Escalate issues appropriately in accordance with operational procedures and service-level objectives.

Incident and Outage Management

• Serve as the primary technical escalation point for complex network and service-impacting incidents.
• Lead troubleshooting and restoration activities during network outages and major service events.
• Coordinate response efforts with Network Engineering, Field Operations, Transport, Vendors, and third-party carriers.
• Provide accurate and timely updates to leadership, internal stakeholders, and customers during active incidents.
• Participate in post-incident reviews and root cause analysis activities.

Service Assurance

• Support service assurance efforts by identifying chronic network issues and recommending corrective actions.
• Analyze network performance trends and recommend improvements to increase network reliability and customer satisfaction.
• Ensure customer-affecting issues are prioritized and addressed in accordance with operational standards and service commitments.

Technical Leadership

• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to NOC Technicians
• Assist in developing troubleshooting procedures, operational workflows, and knowledge-base documentation.
• Promote operational consistency and adherence to best practices.
• Support training initiatives and knowledge transfer activities within the NOC.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Associate degree in Telecommunications, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or related field; or equivalent work experience.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience in a Network Operations Center or telecommunications operations.
• Experience supporting carrier-grade telecommunications networks and services.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex outage and service restoration activities.

Technical Skills

Strong knowledge of:

• IP Networking (TCP/IP)
• Routing and Switching
• Ethernet Services
• MPLS Networks
• Optical Transport Networks
• Broadband Technologies
• Fiber Access Networks
• DWDM and Transport Technologies
• Network Monitoring and Fault Management Systems
• Incident, Change, and Problem Management Processes

Ability to:

• Interpret network alarms, logs, and performance metrics.
• Diagnose network failures and service impairments.
• Perform advanced troubleshooting across multi-vendor environments.
• Manage multiple critical issues simultaneously in a fast-paced operational environment.

Preferred Qualifications

Certifications

• Ciena OC-A or OC-P
• Cisco CCNA or CCNP
• Juniper Certifications
• MEF Carrier Ethernet Certifications

About FirstLight:

FirstLight, headquartered in Albany, New York, provides fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast connecting more than 13,000 locations in service with more than 125,000 locations serviceable by our more than 25,000-route mile network. FirstLight offers a robust suite of advanced telecommunications products featuring a comprehensive portfolio of high bandwidth connectivity solutions including Ethernet, wavelength, and dark fiber services as well as dedicated Internet access solutions, data center, cloud and voice services. FirstLight’s clientele includes national cellular providers and wireline carriers and many leading enterprises, spanning high tech manufacturing and research, hospitals and healthcare, banking and financial, secondary education, colleges and universities, and local and state governments.

FirstLight Fiber is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with state and federal laws, FirstLight’s equal opportunity policy is that all applicants and employees are treated equally by the company with respect to employment opportunities, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status or veteran disability.