Support Operations Lead

Support Operations LeadARS is looking for a Support Operations Lead. The Support Operations Lead manages and improves a multi-tier technical support team delivering mission-critical solutions. The role drives service quality, support strategy, and daily operations.The Support Operations Lead is responsible for overseeing and evolving a multi-tiered technical support organization (Tier 1–4) supporting mission-critical customer solutions. This role ensures high-quality service delivery, establishes long-term support strategies, drives operational excellence, and manages daily performance across the support team. The ideal candidate has strong experience running support operations within Defense/DoW environments, preferably USAF, and has hands-on expertise supporting solutions hosted in the cloud.Why Work with Us?Applied Research Solutions (ARS) is respected as a world-class provider of technically integrated solutions as we deliver premier talent and technology across our focused markets for unparalleled, continuous mission support. Awarded a Best Places to Work nominee since 2020, ARS recognizes that without our career-driven, loyal professionals, we would not be able to deliver state-of-the-art results for our mission partners. We firmly believe that prioritizing our employees is of the utmost importance. We provide a culture where our employees are challenged to meet their career goals and aspirations, while still obtaining a work/life balance. ARS employees are motivated through our industry competitive benefits package, our awards and recognition program, and personalized attention from ARS Senior Managers.Responsibilities include:Lead, manage, and mentor a multi-tiered support team (Tier 1–4), ensuring timely and effective resolution of incidents, service requests, and escalations.Develop and implement long-term support strategies, processes, and frameworks to improve reliability, scalability, and customer satisfaction.Own the performance, accountability, and operational maturity of the support organization.Establish metrics, KPIs, and reporting mechanisms to measure efficiency, responsiveness, and quality of support outcomes.Partner with engineering, product, and program teams to drive root-cause analysis, continuous improvement, and proactive support initiatives.Oversee escalation procedures and ensure the team is equipped to resolve complex technical issues, particularly those involving Azure-hosted services.Ensure compliance with DoW and USAF standards, security requirements, and support expectations.Contribute to workforce planning, training programs, and professional development to build a high-performance operations team.Guide optimization of support tooling, knowledge bases, workflows, and operational documentation.Serve as a primary point of accountability for support performance to internal stakeholders, external partners, and government customers.Other duties as assignedQualifications/Technical Experience Requirements:Required:Must be a US citizenActive Secret clearanceHigh School diplomaStrong organizational, communication, and multi-tasking skillsDemonstrated experience managing or leading support operations teams within Defense/DoW environments; USAF experience strongly preferred.Proven history overseeing multi-tier technical support structures (Tier 1–4).3+ years experience supporting and troubleshooting customer solutions hosted on Azure cloud (e.g., Azure VMs, networking, identity, monitoring, logging).Strong understanding of incident management, problem management, escalation procedures, and ITIL-aligned practices.Excellent leadership, communication, and organizational skills.Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, mission-centric environments.Experience interacting with government stakeholders and contract requirements.Certifications: ITIL Foundation, Azure (AZ-900) or willing to obtain within 12 months of hirePreferred:Experience working within a government contractor organization.Knowledge of Azure and/or Azure GovCloud, DISA STIGs, and RMF.Familiarity with DevSecOps practices and modern support tooling ecosystems.All positions at Applied Research Solutions are subject to background investigations. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background investigation including criminal history and identity check.This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability, and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified protected veterans, and requires affirmative action by covered contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans.Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.