Production Support Team Lead

Ocho People; Belfast; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A global market infrastructure provider is seeking a Production Support Team Lead in Belfast. This hands-on role involves leading a Level 2 team for critical trading applications. Responsibilities include managing incidents, overseeing releases, and driving automation for efficiency. Candidates should have strong Windows and Unix/Linux skills, along with scripting and SQL experience. The role suits those who want ownership in a high-pressure environment and build a high-performing support function.

Benefits

Opportunity for real ownership

Hands-on leadership role

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading a Level 2 Production Support team.
• Hands-on experience with automation tools.
• Strong understanding of network fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Lead Level 2 support for business-critical trading applications.
• Act as the escalation point for complex production issues.
• Drive automation to improve reliability and efficiency.

Skills

Leading a Level 2 Production Support team

Strong Windows Server experience

Advanced Unix/Linux skills

Strong SQL skills (T-SQL, SSMS)

Scripting experience (PowerShell, Bash, Perl)

Understanding of ITIL processes

Automation experience (Ansible, Jenkins)

Tools

Observability tools

Cloud or hybrid environments

Job description

Do you want to lead production support at the heart of a global electronic trading platform?

Are you ready to shape how production aligns with the business, not just keep the lights on?

My client is a global market infrastructure provider operating at scale across financial and commodities markets. They build and support the systems that underpin price discovery, liquidity, and electronic trading worldwide.

This is a Production Support Team Lead opportunity based in Belfast, with real ownership. You'll be leading a Level 2 Production Support function, acting as the local escalation point for critical issues, and driving meaningful change in how production services are delivered globally.

This is not a passive people-management role. It's hands-on, technically deep, and highly visible to the business.

The Role

You'll lead a Belfast-based Level 2 Production Support team within a global production function. The team supports business-critical trading applications across both on-prem and cloud environments, working closely with development, QA, and global support teams.

You'll be responsible for service quality, incident ownership, automation, and setting the standard for how production support operates locally.

What You'll Be Doing

Technical & Operational

• Lead Level 2 support for high-profile, business-critical trading applications
• Act as the escalation point for complex production issues and major incidents
• Manage Incident, Problem, and Change processes in line with ITIL practices
• Oversee releases, bug fixes, upgrades, and enhancements into production
• Monitor application health, performance, and stability across environments
• Own and manage application stacks across non-prod and prod
• Collaborate closely with EMEA and US support teams
• Lead major incident and project calls
• Drive automation using scripting and tooling to improve reliability and efficiency
• Produce and maintain high-quality runbooks and support documentation

Leadership & Management

• Line-manage and develop the Belfast Production Support team
• Set performance standards and drive behavioural and delivery objectives
• Track and report on KPIs and service metrics
• Plan workload, resourcing, and staffing forecasts
• Support hiring and internal mobility
• Create learning and development roadmaps for the team
• Build strong relationships with engineering, infrastructure, and the business

What You'll Bring

Essential

• Proven experience leading a Level 2 Production Support team
• Strong Windows Server experience
• Advanced Unix/Linux skills
• Strong SQL skills (T-SQL, SSMS)
• Solid networking fundamentals (ssh, sftp, traceroute, etc.)
• Scripting experience (PowerShell, Bash, Perl)
• Strong understanding of ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Change)
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools
• Hands-on experience with automation (Ansible, Jenkins, TFS or similar)
• Confidence owning change management and production risk

Nice to Have

• Exposure to cloud or hybrid environments
• CI/CD and DevOps experience
• HTML, JavaScript, or CSS knowledge
• Deeper database optimisation or advanced SQL experience

This role suits someone who wants real ownership, enjoys operating in high-pressure environments, and wants to build a high-performing production support function rather than simply inherit one.

If you have any further questions on the role, please feel free to reach out to Brendan McCrory directly.