Field Technician

General duties include but are not limited to install, maintain, and repair all aspects of customer premise electronics; use industry standard practices to construct and maintain telecommunications networks; supporting Central Office and point of presence (POP) locations on the FirstLight network; and to understand outside plant fiber network components and when required/requested assist outside plant engineering and construction in restoration efforts.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Technician will be accountable for end-to-end installation, test, turn-up, and maintenance of all FirstLight small-medium business/Enterprise services
• Accountable for maintenance and installation activities on a variety of customer premise equipment (Calix/Telco Systems/Ciena/Adtran/Cisco/Polycom & more).
• Perform installation and turn-up of Hosted PBX services at customer premise locations.
• Comprehension of test equipment (i.e., Ethernet, TDM, Optical and all other required testing equipment to conduct and troubleshoot the FirstLight network).
• Test circuits and components of malfunctioning telecommunications equipment to isolate sources of malfunctions, using test meters, circuit diagrams, and other network diagnostic tools.
• Work reliably within FirstLight Central Office/POP environments to support installation of services.
• Attend to service-related issues as identified by the Network Operations Center and Repair Departments.
• Technician must know access procedures for all relevant sites under their area of operation. Be accountable for notifying management when access renewals are within 30 days.
• Participate in On-Call Rotation.
• Be available as Essential Personnel in emergency scenarios.
• When necessary, assist Core Field group with installation/maintenance and repair duties.
• Completes special projects and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Skills:

To perform this job successfully, a candidate must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the qualifications, knowledge, skill and/or experience required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified candidates with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Service order workflow systems
• Reading and comprehending CLR/DLR’s
• Understand inventory control protocols
• Troubleshooting process (i.e., point to point assessment)
• AC / DC power fundamentals
• Field Test equipment operation (i.e., OTDR, Ethernet/TDM testing, Optical Power Measurement)
• Basic knowledge of IP networking and troubleshooting skills, Working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and direct connection to equipment.
• SharePoint access/use of departmental, engineering and NOC related pages.
• General knowledge of structured wiring: Copper/fiber optic color codes, general wiring practices/etc.
• Experience interfacing with end users of phones in an office environment and programming of the voice (PBX/Hosted) phone systems.
• Installing/testing /troubleshooting T-1 & PRI voice services on TDM and SIP devices.
• Basic fiber optic fusion splicing
• Industry standard installation practices:
• Planning for network installations by studying customer orders, plans, manuals, and technical specifications.
• ordering and gathering equipment, supplies, materials, and tools, assessing installation site; preparing an installation diagram.
• Verifies service by testing circuits, equipment, and alarms, identifying, correcting, or escalating problems.
• Documents network by labeling and routing equipment and cables; recording configuration diagrams and specifications on appropriate company owned systems.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading technical publications.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for attaining new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments

Education and/or Experience:

High School Diploma (or GED or High School Equivalence Certificate) with a minimum of one (1) to three (3) years relevant experience installing and troubleshooting voice and data services; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Good geographical knowledge of territory to be covered.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

Valid driver’s license with good driving record. Familiarity with OSHA standards. Be able to pass drug and criminal background checks for carrier access cards.

We offer a competitive base salary as well as an outstanding benefits package including health, dental, vision, and life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, 401(k) with company match, tuition reimbursement, paid training, and paid time off.

About FirstLight

FirstLight, headquartered in Albany, New York, provides fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast connecting more than 13,000 locations in service with more than 125,000 locations serviceable by our more than 25,000-route mile network. FirstLight offers a robust suite of advanced telecommunications products featuring a comprehensive portfolio of high bandwidth connectivity solutions including Ethernet, wavelength, and dark fiber services as well as dedicated Internet access solutions, data center, cloud and voice services. FirstLight’s clientele includes national cellular providers and wireline carriers and many leading enterprises, spanning high tech manufacturing and research, hospitals and healthcare, banking and financial, secondary education, colleges and universities, and local and state governments.

FirstLight is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We recognize that our differences are assets that strengthen us as a team, and FirstLight is committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, respected and recognized. FirstLight Fiber is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with state and federal laws, FirstLight’s equal opportunity policy is that all applicants and employees are treated equally by the company with respect to employment opportunities, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status or veteran disability.