Senior Engineer (Level 1 Lead) - Service Desk Lead

Role level: Level 1 Lead (Frontline Lead / Triage Owner)

Typical experience: 2–4 years

Reporting to: Service Delivery Lead / Customer Success Lead (as assigned)

Work model: Onsite / Remote / Hybrid (based on customer deployment); may require roster for after-office support where contracted

Role purpose

Own and stabilize the Level 1 service desk experience by leading triage, improving first-contact resolution, mentoring junior engineers, and driving SLA hygiene. Ensure escalations to Level 2 are high quality and reduce repeat incidents through knowledge and SOP improvements.

Key responsibilities

• Lead daily Level 1 queue triage: prioritize, assign, and manage workload to hit SLA targets.
• Handle complex Level 1 cases requiring stronger troubleshooting depth (mail profiles, recurring user issues, endpoint tuning).
• Perform Microsoft 365 admin-lite tasks where permitted (user/group/license support) and troubleshoot common identity/access issues at L1 boundary.
• Maintain and improve knowledge base articles and SOPs; coach L1 engineers on quality and consistency.
• Reduce repeat incidents by identifying patterns and proposing fixes (standard configs, preventative checks, user guidance).
• Escalate to Level 2 with complete evidence (logs, reproduction steps, impact summary) and act as escalation quality gate.
• Support IT asset tagging and inventory governance; ensure records are accurate and auditable.
• Provide service reporting inputs (top categories, recurring issues, SLA risks) to Service Delivery Lead.

Scope coverage (service-aligned)

• All Level 1 scope coverage (end-user devices, OS basics, productivity tools, basic connectivity, initial security triage).
• L1 triage ownership and service quality control (queue discipline, SLA hygiene, escalation quality).
• Microsoft 365 admin-lite (user/group/license support) where delegated.
• Mail profile troubleshooting (POP/IMAP/Outlook), printer driver/queue support, and deeper endpoint tuning within L1 boundary.
• Knowledge base and SOP development; mentoring and on-the-job enablement for L1 engineers.

Required technical skillsets

• Advanced L1 troubleshooting
• Stronger Windows/macOS troubleshooting depth; common root-cause identification at endpoint level
• Outlook profile / mailbox configuration troubleshooting; printer queue/driver management
• Endpoint performance tuning and common stability fixes
• Service desk leadership
• Triage and prioritization, SLA management, and escalation governance
• Coaching/mentoring junior engineers; quality assurance on tickets
• Knowledge base curation and SOP writing
• Productivity & identity
• Microsoft 365 admin-lite: users, groups, licenses (within delegated scope)
• Basic identity/access troubleshooting and secure handling of account requests

Tools & platforms exposure

• Ticketing platform reporting views (SLA dashboards, queue analytics)
• Remote support + endpoint management tools (customer dependent)
• Microsoft 365 Admin Center (delegated) and Exchange troubleshooting basics (user context)
• Knowledge base tooling (Confluence/SharePoint/Service portal KB)

Behavioural & service skillsets

• Leadership without ego: calm under pressure, able to coordinate and coach.
• Strong stakeholder communication: explains issues and next steps clearly to users and customer IT.
• Quality mindset: cares about repeat-issue elimination and documentation standards.
• Decision-making: knows what to fix, what to defer, and what to escalate.

Education & experience requirements

• Diploma or equivalent in Information Technology / Computer Science (or relevant experience).
• 2–4 years in service desk / desktop support, with exposure to SLA environments and ticket triage.
• Experience acting as shift lead, team lead, or escalation point is preferred.

Certifications (preferred / nice-to-have)

• ITIL Foundation (preferred)
• Microsoft 365 Fundamentals (MS-900) or equivalent (preferred)
• CompTIA Network+ (nice-to-have)

Success measures (KPIs)

• Team SLA compliance (response and resolution) and backlog health
• First-contact resolution improvement and reduction in unnecessary escalations
• Ticket quality consistency across L1 (audit score)
• Knowledge base adoption and reduction of repeat incidents
• CSAT and partner/customer feedback

Working notes

This role is a key control point for service quality. The L1 Lead should actively drive standards, ensure escalations are actionable, and create operational stability for customers and partners.