Noel spent his early career producing beverage and industrial alcohol, then a short spell in the pharmaceutical industry producing nature identical flavours before entering the Whiskey industry joining Cooley Distillery in 1989 as Quality Control Manager.

Over his 27 years at Cooley he became Master Blender and Master distiller and was recognized internationally with various awards including IWSC Distiller of the Year 2008. He worked with Jim Beam and Beam Suntory till December 2016, joining Powerscourt Distillery in 2017 as Master Distiller/Director he was inducted into Whiskey Magazine Hall of Fame 2017, in 2020 received the Irish Whiskey Association's Chairman's Award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Irish Whiskey Industry".

He was elected chairman of the Irish Whiskey Association's Technical Committee in 2021 and re-elected in 2023. He cofounded Next Level Distillers Ltd. in 2021.  Noel holds a National Certificate in Analytical Chemistry a B.Sc. hons in Information Technology and a M.Sc. in Total Quality Management.