Advanced Technical Support Specialist

SOVRA is a leading public procurement platform trusted by over 7,000 government agencies and 1 million suppliers across North America. The company specializes in contract lifecycle management applications, balancing compliance, usability, and innovation for public sector efficiency and transparency.

The role of Advanced Technical Support Specialist involves resolving complex issues across SOVRA’s contract lifecycle management applications, supporting both established products and the rollout of its next-generation platform.

The responsibilities include:

Complex Issue Resolution

• Troubleshoot and resolve complex customer issues, escalating when deeper product or development support is needed.
• Test reported behavior in staging environments, review application logs, document findings, and translate end-user descriptions into clear technical information.

Case Ownership & Customer Communication

• Track issues and changes in Jira and Zendesk, keeping records current through resolution.
• Manage customer expectations with clear updates on ticket status, delivery timing, releases, product upgrades, and next steps.

Application Configuration & Customer Enablement

• Configure SOVRA CLM instances and create applications based on documented business requirements.
• Import customer data, support client upgrades, and assist or train customers with configuration when requested.

Cross-Functional Delivery & Service Improvement

• Coordinate with Support, Development, Product, Services, Account Management, and Customer Success to negotiate requests and delivery time frames.
• Update processes, procedures, and training materials, support product communications, and participate in the 24/7 on-call rotation approximately every 3–5 weeks.

The ideal candidate brings:

• A strong foundation in technical support, including independent investigation and reviewing less-experienced colleagues’ work.
• Experience resolving and documenting complex application issues using a structured troubleshooting process.
• Support for web-based applications on Linux platforms, including reviewing application logs to isolate problems.
• Experience with support platforms such as Jira and Zendesk.
• Clear communication skills with customers and technical teams, and a genuine enjoyment of solving problems.
• Experience with SaaS and PaaS applications, including the ability to research, test, and learn unfamiliar systems independently.
• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent technical experience.
• Authorization to work in the US or Canada.

Assets that would make a candidate stand out include:

• Bilingual proficiency in French and English.

Success in this role is measured by:

• By 3 months: Responding to customer tickets, emails, and calls; creating service and change requests; and providing support with team guidance.
• By 6 months: Independently owning the specialist workflow, managing customer issues through resolution, and making sound escalation decisions.
• By 12 months: Supporting the next-generation product rollout through customer changes, configuration guidance, training, and issue resolution.

The interview process includes:

• A 30-minute recruiter call to outline the role and explore alignment.
• A technical take-home exercise focused on clear technical reasoning and communication.
• A 30-minute hiring manager screen about the role, technical support approach, and customer ownership.
• A 60-minute team interview about collaboration, complex issue resolution, and cross-functional work.

SOVRA serves the public sector, and this role offers genuine ownership of work, directly impacting how SOVRA supports customers and delivers its products.