Job Description

Job Description

Network Infrastructure and Services (NI&S) is part of the Division of Information Technology at Virginia Tech. We provide advanced network, communications, public safety, and data center services. We design, deploy, and operate enterprise-scale, high-performance computing, and communications networks. At NI&S, we hire bright, enthusiastic people with diverse skills, talents, and ideas to serve over forty thousand customers across the university. NI&S is a dynamic and exciting organization committed to continuous improvement and is seeking an enthusiastic and motivated person to fill this role.

As a Senior Escalation Engineer of the Operations Escalation team, you will provide technical leadership and contribute engineering expertise for the design, operations, maintenance, and support of the Virginia Tech telephone, contact center, voicemail, and emergency communications systems (VT Alerts). You will be a technical lead in the development of campus cellular service strategies. In this role, you will find exciting opportunities to expand the communications service of on- and off-campus locations over many thousands of endpoints, supply timely notifications to the university at scale through a variety of communication channels, enhance IT business intelligence and security compliance, and enable real-time support for emergency first responders. You will be an advocate for continuous product refinement, improvement, and service evolution to allow Virginia Tech to achieve its goals. Our team comprises professional, approachable, collaborative staff dedicated to facilitating these crucial IT functions in service to the university community. Come build with us!

Members of our Escalation team will have an opportunity to learn and grow in an environment where all members of the team are expected to:
● Serve as technical leaders for customers, service delivery partners, and operational and escalation team members providing analysis, consultation, and support via phone, email, chats, and in-person meetings
● Deliver value by collaboratively solving customer problems, providing proactive support advice, promoting service quality and enhancements, and creating self-help resources to improve customer and employee success
● Serve as a top-level technical escalation resource for solving complex or service-impacting issues. Assist in root cause analysis and contribute to the composition of After Action Reports
● Actively participate in service strategy, architecture, and design activities, with a focus on identifying opportunities to improve and optimize interactions between the development and operations teams
● Develop professional relationships with key vendor partners, peers, and others to ensure NI&S has awareness of relevant technology changes, and new service features/offerings
● Assist with the integration of the enterprise communications systems with other enterprise systems and services
● Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in services and processes.
● Contribute to the success of other team members through mentoring peers, and conducting knowledge transfer and training sessions
● Participate in project or team Kanban ceremonies by promoting service delivery principles, assisting the Service Request Managers with prioritization of work, and ensuring tasks are completed efficiently
● Collaborate with service owners, architects, and departmental leaders to identify opportunities to improve the reliability and performance of critical infrastructure services and applications, ensuring they meet the requirements of internal and external users

Required Qualifications

● Master’s degree in a STEM or related field or the equivalent level of training and experience
● Significant experience providing technical leadership in a higher education environment for telephone, contact center, and voicemail services
● Significant experience with the configuration and deployment of Session Border Controllers and Voice Gateways
● Working knowledge of VoIP, SIP, SRTP, and ISDN protocols and technologies
● Significant knowledge and understanding of networking, cybersecurity, systems, and application administration practices
● Experience with the design and development of robust contact center applications
● Working knowledge and experience designing and maintaining telephone dial plans
● Refined ability to troubleshoot and diagnose complex problems in many disciplines and technologies
● Understanding of network infrastructure components and concepts
● Strong listening, verbal, and written communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical concepts to customers

Preferred Qualifications

● Knowledge with Zoom Phone and Zoom Contact Center services
● Working knowledge of Kanban principles and practices
● Industry certifications in relevant unified communications and network disciplines