Tier 3 Service Desk Engineer
SFIA Level 4
Department: Managed Services
Location: Hybrid (Home / 848 Offices / Customer Sites)
Job Summary
We are seeking a highly capable and customer-focused Tier 3 Service Desk Engineer to act as a senior technical escalation point within our Managed Services function.
This role is responsible for resolving complex technical issues, supporting critical customer infrastructure, mentoring Service Desk Engineers, and driving continual service improvement across managed service customers. The successful candidate will combine strong technical expertise with proactive thinking, operational leadership, and cross-functional collaboration to support the continual evolution of customer services.
The Tier 3 Service Desk Engineer will play a key role in supporting 848’s value chain-led managed services approach by identifying opportunities to improve customer environments, automate operational processes, reduce recurring incidents, and enhance the end-user experience.
This is not purely a reactive support role. The successful candidate will be expected to think strategically, contribute to service evolution, and help raise technical capability across the wider Service Desk function.
Depending on customer assignment, the successful candidate may be required to obtain and maintain NPPV3 and/or SC clearance.
Core Responsibilities
Technical Escalation & Incident Resolution
- Act as a senior technical escalation point for Tier 1 and Tier 2 engineers.
- Diagnose and resolve complex infrastructure, cloud, networking, and end-user technology issues.
- Lead technical investigations relating to major incidents, recurring problems, and service degradation.
- Perform root cause analysis and contribute to long-term problem resolution activities.
- Support the stability, availability, performance, and security of customer environments.
- Work closely with vendors, third parties, and internal technical teams to resolve complex issues efficiently.
- Participate in out-of-hours escalation support where required.
Proactive Service Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve customer environments, operational processes, and service delivery standards.
- Proactively reduce recurring incidents through automation, standardisation, documentation, and technical optimisation.
- Support continual improvement initiatives aligned to 848’s value chain-led managed services approach.
- Monitor customer platforms and service alerts to identify risks, trends, or improvement opportunities before incidents occur.
- Contribute to platform optimisation, technical debt reduction, and operational maturity improvements.
- Promote automation-first operational practices using scripting and tooling where appropriate.
- Maintain awareness of emerging technologies, platform enhancements, and industry best practices.
Collaboration & Service Evolution
- Work closely with the Proactive Services team, acting as a technical bridge between the Service Desk and specialist functions including Innovation Engineers, Technical Leads, and Security Leads.
- Collaborate with proactive teams to identify opportunities for automation, optimisation, risk reduction, and service enhancement across customer environments.
- Support the transition of reactive support trends into proactive improvement initiatives and strategic remediation activities.
- Escalate recurring technical issues, operational risks, and service improvement opportunities to the appropriate proactive technical teams.
- Contribute operational insight and customer experience feedback to support continual service evolution and roadmap activities.
- Assist with implementing recommendations and improvement actions delivered by proactive technical teams.
- Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing between operational support and proactive technical functions.
Technical Coaching & Team Development
- Provide technical mentoring and coaching to Tier 1 and Tier 2 Service Desk Engineers.
- Support knowledge sharing and skills development across the wider Service Desk team.
- Assist junior engineers with troubleshooting methodologies, technical best practices, and customer engagement approaches.
- Contribute to internal documentation, knowledge base articles, technical standards, and operational procedures.
- Encourage a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continual improvement.
Infrastructure & Platform Support
- Support and maintain Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows Server, networking, and telephony environments.
- Support and maintain networking environments including Cisco, Ubiquiti UniFi, Fortinet FortiGate, and Palo Alto technologies, covering switching, routing, wireless, VPN, firewall management, segmentation, and network security best practices.
- Assist with infrastructure changes, upgrades, migrations, and platform optimisation activities.
- Support VoIP and telephony solutions including SIP and unified communications platforms.
- Assist with security, compliance, identity, and access management activities across customer environments.
- Develop and maintain PowerShell scripts and automation solutions to improve operational efficiency.
Customer Service & Operational Excellence
- Take ownership of assigned incidents, service requests, and operational tasks through to resolution.
- Provide clear, professional, and proactive communication to customers throughout ticket lifecycles.
- Ensure all tickets are managed in line with agreed SLAs, customer expectations, and internal processes.
- Support onsite customer engagements where required.
- Support customer onboarding activities.
- Ensure managed service policies, standards, and procedures are consistently followed.
- Maintain accurate technical documentation and customer records.
- Contribute positively to customer satisfaction, service quality, and operational performance targets.
Key Measures of Success
- High levels of customer satisfaction and positive end-user experience.
- Effective resolution of complex technical incidents within agreed service levels.
- Reduction in recurring incidents and operational inefficiencies.
- Delivery of proactive service improvement and automation initiatives.
- Increased technical capability across Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams.
- Strong adherence to operational processes, governance, and security standards.
- Positive contribution to service stability, resilience, and continual improvement activities.
Required Skills & Experience
- Proven experience in a senior technical support or Tier 3 engineering role within a managed services or enterprise IT environment.
- Strong troubleshooting experience across Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows Server, and hybrid infrastructure environments.
- Strong understanding of enterprise networking concepts including switching, routing, wireless networking, VPNs, firewalls, segmentation, and security best practices across platforms such as Cisco, Ubiquiti UniFi, Fortinet FortiGate, and Palo Alto.
- Experience supporting telephony, VoIP, or unified communications platforms.
- Experience with PowerShell scripting and automation.
- Strong understanding of incident, problem, and change management processes.
- Experience mentoring or supporting junior technical engineers.
- Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving capabilities.
- Strong customer service and stakeholder communication skills.
- Ability to prioritise effectively and operate within fast-paced support environments.
- Experience working within SLA-driven managed service environments.
Preferred Qualifications
Microsoft Certifications
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
Networking & Security Certifications
- Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or CCNP
- Fortinet NSE certifications or equivalent
- Palo Alto Networks certifications or equivalent
- Networking, wireless, or security-focused certifications
- CompTIA Security+ or equivalent
Service Management & Infrastructure
- ITIL v4 Foundation or Managing Professional
- Relevant cloud, networking, or infrastructure certifications
Equivalent experience and certifications will also be considered.
Working Hours
We provide a 24x7x365 managed service operation supporting customer environments across a full calendar year.
This role operates within a shift-based rota pattern designed to provide continuous service coverage.
The successful candidate will be expected to participate in the shift rota, including weekends, public holidays, and out-of-hours support requirements as part of normal operational duties.
Flexibility may occasionally be required to support major incidents, critical customer activities, project delivery, or operational escalations.
Location
This is a hybrid role operating across home working, 848 offices, and customer sites as required.
Travel within the United Kingdom and occasional international travel may be required depending on customer and business needs.
Pay: £39,000.00-£50,000.00 per year
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Stafford ST18 0WP
