Support Team Lead, TechOps

Kela is a defense technology startup pioneering next-generation command & control and data infrastructure systems. We empower defense organizations with robust, scalable, and secure platforms that integrate diverse sensors and AI to deliver real-time battlefield intelligence. Backed by leading investors, Kela combines Israeli innovation with global mission impact.

What you'll do

Run the support function end-to-end: ticket queue management, alert response, SLA tracking, and shift coverage across a 24/7 rotation
Lead the team hands-on. Hire, mentor, and grow a high performing group of support engineers, set technical standards, and build a culture of deep ownership
Stay hands-on in the work yourself. Take tickets, investigate alerts, solve hard problems alongside the team, and join the on-call rotation
Own customer experience proactively. Reach out before customers do, run satisfaction surveys, gather feedback, and feed product ideas back to R&D and Product
Manage the soldier rotation handover process - exit surveys with the outgoing rotation, training and onboarding for the incoming one
Set the bar for escalations. Every ticket that reaches Professional Services or R&D should be well-investigated, clearly documented, and impossible to bounce back as "not enough info"
Be the technical face of support in customer meetings. Speak credibly about root causes, timelines, and remediation
Drive automation across the support flow. If something is being done by hand twice a week, it shouldn't be
Identify major incidents, coordinate cross-team resolution, and keep stakeholders updated through to closure
Build and maintain the knowledge base - runbooks, troubleshooting guides, internal procedures
Provide leadership a live picture of production status, plus monthly reports on support volumes, trends, and bottlenecks
Continuously improve the team's tooling, workflows, and processes. The support experience should get measurably better quarter over quarter

Requirements:

What we're looking for

5+ years of hands-on technical experience in customer support, technical support, system administration, or a similar customer-facing role in mission-critical environments
2+ years leading a technical support or operations team
Strong Linux fundamentals and confidence at the command line
Working knowledge of Kubernetes in production - able to investigate pod issues, read logs, and know when to escalate
Networking across the stack - TCP/IP, routing, DNS, VPNs, VLANs - with real experience debugging connectivity issues on live sites
Comfortable reading code and digging through logs to trace issues to root cause
Hands-on with databases - able to run queries and understand what's happening underneath
Proven track record of building and running 24/7 support coverage, with real SLA accountability
Methodical thinker, creative problem solver. You hold complexity, work the problem, and don't give up at the first dead end
Customer obsession that's actually felt, not claimed. You believe support is a craft and you take it personally when a customer has a bad experience
Strong ownership instinct - the kind of person who sees a half-finished thing and finishes it
Analytical and precise. You form conclusions from evidence, not gut feel, and you don't make the same mistake twice
Clear communicator in both Hebrew and English, with both technical and non-technical people
Comfortable working in shifts and joining the on-call rotation as part of the regular routine