TechOps Lead

TechOps Lead 📍 Croydon (2 days onsite) + 3 days remote 💰 £50,000 - £60,000 We're looking for a TechOps Lead to take ownership of technical operations within a fast-growing, technology-driven organisation transforming real-world infrastructure through smart, connected systems. This is a player-manager role, ideal for someone who enjoys balancing leadership with hands-on technical work. You'll lead a small team while remaining deeply involved in infrastructure, diagnostics, and continuous improvement across a distributed technology estate. The Role As TechOps Lead, you'll own the technical operations function end-to-end. You'll set standards for how issues are identified and resolved, act as the escalation point for complex problems, and ensure the reliability and performance of a multi-site infrastructure. You'll work closely with operational and project stakeholders, acting as the technical authority across systems that combine hardware, networking, and backend platforms. Key Responsibilities Leadership & Team Management Lead, mentor, and line manage a team of TechOps engineers Set clear expectations, run 1:1s, and drive performance standards Define and document workflows, escalation paths, and SOPs Own and optimise the service desk/ticketing pipeline Report on performance metrics, trends, and improvementsMonitoring & Device Management Own monitoring and alerting systems to proactively identify issues Manage lifecycle of IoT and edge devices across multiple sites Drive preventative maintenance strategies Lead root-cause analysis and post-incident reviews Maintain accurate asset inventory and ensure compliance standardsInfrastructure & Networking Manage site network infrastructure (routers, VPNs, DNS, DHCP, etc.) Standardise configurations and maintain documentation Troubleshoot end-to-end system workflows across hardware and software Act as escalation point for complex technical issues Recommend and implement infrastructure improvementsNew Site Onboarding Lead technical delivery of new site deployments Oversee network design, hardware setup, and system configuration Support remote commissioning and technical validation before go-live What We're Looking For Experience 6+ years in IT support, infrastructure, or technical operations Proven experience managing or leading a technical team Experience working with distributed systems or multi-site environments Exposure to IoT, CCTV, ANPR, or similar infrastructure is advantageousTechnical Skills Strong networking knowledge (IP, VLANs, VPNs, DNS, DHCP, firewalls) Experience with routers, switches, and firewall