3rd Line Lead support Engineer

Spectrum IT Recruitment; Redhill; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5% bonus

22 days annual leave

Company laptop

Company phone

Training and development

Career progression

Team social events

Job summary

Spectrum IT Recruitment is seeking an experienced 3rd Line Lead Engineer in the UK to combine hands-on troubleshooting with technical leadership. You will own complex escalations, drive resolutions and guide the 3rd Line team through high-impact incidents.

The role requires senior-level infrastructure knowledge across Windows, VMware, Citrix and Microsoft 365, with a focus on proactive problem solving and strong customer communication.

Qualifications

• Experience operating at senior 3rd Line level and taking ownership of complex issues.
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Responsibilities

• Take ownership of complex 3rd Line escalations and drive issues through to resolution.
• Lead the technical response to major and high-impact incidents.
• Provide technical direction to other 3rd Line engineers and help prioritise work based on customer impact, urgency and SLA risk.
• Review escalations from 1st and 2nd Line and ensure proper troubleshooting is completed.
• Work with suppliers and internal specialists when deeper expertise is needed.
• Identify recurring problems and drive permanent fixes rather than repeat workarounds.
• Coach engineers and contribute to knowledge articles and troubleshooting guides.
• Maintain high standards around documentation, customer communication, security and change control.

Skills

Senior 3rd Line

Technical leadership

Troubleshooting

Root-cause analysis

Escalation handling

Mentoring engineers

Documentation

Security & change control

Tools

Windows Server

Active Directory

DNS/DHCP

Microsoft 365

VMware vSphere

Hyper-V

Citrix/NetScaler

Remote Desktop Services

Palo Alto

Veeam

Job description

If you're an experienced 3rd Line Engineer who enjoys solving the difficult problems rather than simply passing them on, this could be a good opportunity to step into a technical leadership role without moving away from the hands-on work.

3rd Line Lead Support Engineer

The role has been created to help manage workload across the 3rd Line function and provide a clear technical lead for complex customer issues. You'll be the highest internal escalation point, helping engineers work through challenging problems while taking ownership of the issues that need deeper investigation.

The role

You'll combine senior-level infrastructure support with day-to-day technical leadership.

That means you'll still be hands-on, troubleshooting complex issues across customer environments, while also helping the 3rd Line team prioritise its workload, reviewing escalations and making sure important tickets are properly owned and progressed.

You'll also:

• Take ownership of complex 3rd Line escalations and drive issues through to resolution.
• Lead the technical response to major and high-impact incidents.
• Provide technical direction to other 3rd Line engineers and help prioritise work based on customer impact, urgency and SLA risk.
• Review escalations from 1st and 2nd Line and make sure the right troubleshooting has been completed.
• Work with suppliers and internal specialists when an issue needs deeper expertise.
• Identify recurring problems and help drive permanent fixes rather than repeated workarounds.
• Coach engineers and contribute to knowledge articles, troubleshooting guides and improved support processes.
• Maintain high standards around documentation, customer communication, security and change control.

The technology

You'll be working across a broad Microsoft-focused MSP and private-cloud environment, so you'll need strong infrastructure knowledge and the ability to troubleshoot across different layers.

You'll ideally have strong experience with:

• Windows Server, Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS and DHCP
• Microsoft 365, including Entra ID, Exchange Online, Teams, MFA and Conditional Access
• VMware vSphere and/or Hyper-V
• Citrix, NetScaler and Remote Desktop Services
• Networking, WAN connectivity, switching, VPNs, TCP/IP and Palo Alto firewalls
• Backup and recovery, including Veeam
• Security across identities, servers, endpoints, networks and cloud services

Deeper expertise in at least two of VMware vSphere, Citrix/NetScaler, enterprise storage or firewall/network security is expected.

Experience supporting applications such as IRIS, CCH or Sage would be useful, but isn't essential.

What we're looking for

You don't need to tick every technology box. What's more important is that you're operating comfortably at senior 3rd Line level and can take ownership when problems become complex.

You'll need strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills, experience handling technical escalations and major incidents, and the judgement to know when to investigate further and when to involve a specialist.

Just as importantly, you'll be comfortable helping other engineers develop, challenging constructively and explaining technical issues clearly to customers.

What's on offer

• 5% performance-based bonus
• 22 days' annual leave, increasing to 25 days with length of service, plus bank holidays
• Company laptop and phone
• In-house and external training
• Clear technical development and career progression opportunities
• Regular team social events

If you're looking for a role where you can remain technically hands-on while becoming the person other engineers turn to when things get complicated, this is worth a conversation.