Technical Support Specialist

Pharos is seeking a Technical Support Specialist with experience of architectural or entertainment lighting control systems to be based in North America out of their office in Denver, CO.

About Us

Pharos Architectural Controls is an award-winning manufacturer of dynamic lighting control solutions for the architectural and themed entertainment industries. Our products are highly flexible, versatile and powerful, and trusted to run day and night illuminating iconic installations around the world from international landmarks and historic architecture to theme parks, airports, stadiums, bridges, shopping malls, art installations, and more.

Pharos strives to keep in step with the ever-changing lighting industry and adapt to the needs of our customers and their projects; our business is expanding and evolving with opportunities in new markets and new technologies in lighting. The Pharos brand is known for its high-quality lighting control, flexible integration and responsive technical support. The Pharos team are passionate about providing customers and projects with just the right control system to meet (and often exceed) their needs.

Job Summary

The Technical Support Specialist will respond quickly and effectively to support requests from our customers worldwide, including manufacturer partners, dealers and end-users. The role will concentrate on providing support for customers working in the US time zones but successful candidates will be part of the global Pharos support team, who work together closely to provide continuity of support around the clock for all regions.

We use Zendesk to track every support request and YouTrack to track features in development the Technical Support Specialist will be expected to use both on a daily basis. The successful candidate will be expected to gain an awareness of the paths to market for Pharos products and contribute regularly to our online support resources to help ensure Pharos provides the best possible support.

The Technical Support Specialist will have some involvement in customer training and will be comfortable presenting Pharos products at customer events and tradeshows. The successful candidate will often be required to assist with system diagrams and to advise on the programming of projects as well be a resource for the Americas Sales Team.

Key Responsibilities

• Respond promptly, effectively and consistently to support enquiries for Pharos projects via phone or email.
• Provide a degree of out of hours and weekend support as part of the global Pharos support team. This is organised on a rota.
• Use the internal Zendesk support tracking system, ensuring that support requests are logged and responded to correctly.
• Use YouTrack to log software issues for R&D's attention, and update customers on their progress.
• Assist customers with system designs, configuration and programming for specific projects.
• Make regular contributions to online support resources, including FAQs, knowledgebase articles and user tips.
• Assist with in-house training for clients and end-users.
• Demonstrate Pharos products to potential customers, and occasionally act in a technical sales capacity to support our sales team as required.
• Trial & evaluate new products & features prior to release, providing feedback to the development team.

Essential Skills and Qualifications

• At least 2 years' experience in a customer-facing sales or support role.
• Technical knowledge of lighting or video products and experience of their use in a live event or installation environment.
• An understanding of electrical safety.
• An ability to apply existing knowledge to unfamiliar problems, suggest possible solutions, and comment on the relative merits of different solutions.
• An ability to work independently, sometimes in remote locations.
• Good working knowledge of computers (Windows/macOS).
• Strong communication skills in both written and verbal English.
• Excellent time management, including the ability to prioritise conflicting tasks appropriately.

Desirable Extras

• Lighting programming experience on architectural or entertainment lighting projects.
• Experience with programming or scripting languages, e.g. C, JavaScript or Lua.
• Practical experience or understanding of integrating systems over Ethernet.
• Experience drawing technical one-line riser diagrams for illustrating system architecture.
• Experience writing project specifications for inclusion into bid packages.
• A working knowledge of CAD or other drawing applications.
• Fluency in Spanish and/or French both written and verbal.