Telephony and Network Lead

As the Telephony and Network Lead at Tala, your key responsibilities will include managing and optimizing our telephony systems, ensuring high availability and quality for voice services. You'll oversee the administration of the Five9 dialer platform, maintain SIP trunking infrastructure, administer Asterisk PBX systems, and provide global telephony support. Additionally, you'll lead monitoring and optimization tasks, manage vendor relationships, and work on compliance and security matters.

To qualify for the Telephony and Network Lead role at Tala, you should have at least 5 years of experience in managing complex telephony systems. A deep understanding of VoIP technologies, particularly SIP, GSM, and RTP, is also crucial. Expertise in Asterisk PBX administration, dialing platforms like Five9, strong troubleshooting skills, and familiarity with scripting languages such as Python or Bash are highly desirable.

Tala places a significant emphasis on maintaining high availability—specifically targeting a 99.9% uptime for our telephony systems. This is achieved through proactive monitoring, regular maintenance of the VoIP infrastructure and PBX systems, and efficient troubleshooting. You will also engage in systematic project management to handle upgrades and new implementations effectively.

As the Telephony and Network Lead at Tala, you would lead or participate in various telephony-related projects, including system upgrades, migrations, and the implementation of new technologies. Collaboration with the Shared Services and Operations teams will be integral to ensure that all projects align with Tala’s mission and operational goals to enhance our global telephony infrastructure.

At Tala, the culture is vibrant and inclusive, centered around our mission of fostering economic access for the Global Majority. As a Telephony and Network Lead, you'll be part of a diverse team that values innovation and collaboration. Working remotely with colleagues from various backgrounds ensures you’ll experience a global perspective, and the company's entrepreneurial spirit invites diverse ideas and solutions to thrive.

When managing multiple telephony systems, I prioritize establishing robust documentation and monitoring processes that allow for effective tracking of issues and performance metrics. I ensure regular communication with all team members involved in operations, which enhances collaboration for timely problem resolution and system optimizations.

In a previous role, I optimized our dialer system by analyzing call data and adjusting configurations to reduce call drop rates. I worked with the Shared Services team to identify bottlenecks and implemented changes that led to a significant increase in call completion rates. Being data-driven is key to enhancing system performance.

For VoIP-related troubleshooting, I follow a structured approach: first, I gather data from monitoring tools to identify the issue, then I assess the network connectivity and bandwidth availability. From there, I systematically check configurations and re-test to pinpoint the exact cause, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

To ensure compliance and security, I regularly review and update our telephony configurations according to industry standards. This includes implementing encryption protocols, ensuring proper access controls, and documenting any changes. Additionally, staying updated on regulatory changes in the telecommunications field is crucial.

In my past positions, I've successfully led various projects involving system upgrades and migrations. Utilizing project management tools, I ensured timelines were met and collaborated with other departments to align our telephony objectives with overall company goals. I believe thorough planning and communication are essential for project success.

One of the most challenging issues I faced was a sudden outage affecting multiple call centers. I coordinated with IT and network teams to identify the root cause, which was a misconfiguration in the SIP trunking setup. We quickly reverted to the previous configuration while implementing a fix, minimizing downtime and ensuring effective communication.

I regularly engage in professional forums, read industry-related publications, and participate in webinars to stay informed about the latest technologies. Networking with other telephony professionals also helps me exchange knowledge and learn best practices that I can implement in my role.

Vendor management is crucial in my telephony responsibilities as it ensures that we have reliable partners for our SIPproviders and hardware suppliers. I focus on negotiating contracts that meet our needs while maintaining service quality. Fostering good relationships also leads to better support during critical times.

I utilize key performance indicators such as call quality metrics (e.g., MOS scores), system uptime percentages, call drop rates, and user satisfaction scores. These indicators help provide a holistic view of system performance and identify areas for improvement.

In a remote setting, I emphasize frequent communication, utilizing video calls and collaborative tools to ensure everyone is on the same page. Regular check-ins and creating a sharing culture for ideas and problem-solving are methods I use to foster team collaboration despite physical distances.