Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for UC Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

The UC Engineer is responsible for designing, deploying, operating, and optimizing unified communications and collaboration solutions across the enterprise. This role covers IP telephony, conferencing and video systems, contact center integrations, SIP trunking, session border controllers (SBCs), and the underlying network services that enable high-quality voice and video (QoS, VLANs, routing). The ideal candidate combines deep technical knowledge—Cisco CUCM, Microsoft Teams/Direct Routing, Avaya or other PBX systems, SBC configuration, SIP/RTP troubleshooting—with strong stakeholder communication and project execution skills to deliver reliable, secure, and scalable UC services.

Key keywords: UC Engineer, Unified Communications, VoIP, Cisco CUCM, Microsoft Teams, SIP Trunking, Session Border Controller, Contact Center, QoS, IP Telephony, Collaboration, UCaaS.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Network Engineer (VoIP-focused)
Systems Engineer with telephony collaboration exposure
Telecommunications Technician / VoIP Technician

Advancement To:

Senior UC Engineer / UC Architect
Collaboration Architect / Voice Infrastructure Architect
Manager of Collaboration Services / Telecom Manager

Lateral Moves:

Contact Center Engineer / CCaaS Specialist
Network Infrastructure Architect (focus on QoS & voice)
Cloud Collaboration Specialist (Teams Phone, UCaaS migrations)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, implement and maintain enterprise IP telephony solutions (Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Avaya Aura, Mitel, or cloud UCaaS platforms), ensuring high availability and adherence to SLA and security standards.
Architect and configure Session Border Controllers (AudioCodes, Ribbon, Cisco, or equivalent) for secure SIP trunking, direct routing, and PSTN connectivity, including TLS and SRTP for encrypted signaling and media.
Plan and execute Microsoft Teams Phone System and Direct Routing deployments, integrate with existing PBXs, and manage coexistence strategies for hybrid voice environments.
Manage SIP trunk provisioning, PSTN interconnects, number porting, and PSTN redundancy strategies while coordinating with carriers for SLA, routing, and failover testing.
Troubleshoot complex voice/video call flows using packet captures (Wireshark), SIP logs, debuggers and vendor tools to diagnose signaling, media path, codec negotiation, and QoS-related issues.
Configure and manage call routing, dial plans, call admission control, hunt groups, translation patterns, and voice gateways to meet business requirements and international dialing norms.
Implement and maintain conferencing and video collaboration systems (Cisco Webex, Webex Edge, Zoom, Polycom, Tandberg) including interop with telepresence systems and calendaring integrations.
Deploy and maintain voicemail and unified messaging platforms (Cisco Unity Connection, Microsoft Exchange/Teams voicemail), including retention, archiving, and compliance requirements.
Implement QoS policies across LAN and WAN (DSCP tagging, queuing strategies, policing/shaping) and validate voice/video performance through jitter, latency, and packet loss monitoring.
Lead firmware and software upgrades for UC platforms, endpoints, and SBCs, including pre-upgrade validation, rollback plans, and lab testing to minimize production impact.
Design and manage endpoint provisioning and lifecycle for desk phones, soft clients (Cisco Jabber, Teams client), video endpoints, and mobile integration with device management solutions.
Integrate contact center technologies (Genesys, NICE, Cisco UCCX/UCCE, Avaya Contact Center) with telephony platforms to enable ACD routing, CRM pop, and reporting.
Develop and maintain disaster recovery, backup and restoration procedures for UC systems and ensure DR runbooks are tested regularly.
Implement and enforce security controls for UC (SRTP/TLS, SIP ALG mitigation, SBC hardening, segmentation, network ACLs) and work with security teams to remediate vulnerabilities and conduct periodic audits.
Provide L3 escalated support for UC incidents, lead RCA (root cause analysis), coordinate cross-functional remediation, and track long-term fixes to improve reliability.
Manage licensing and capacity planning for telephony and collaboration platforms, including forecasting growth, optimizing license usage, and preparing budgetary recommendations.
Create and maintain detailed architecture diagrams, runbooks, standard operating procedures, configuration templates, and knowledge base articles for UC operations.
Execute voice and video migration projects (on-prem to cloud, PBX consolidation, SIP migration, analog to IP) including cutover planning, user communication, and post-migration validation.
Automate repetitive UC tasks using scripting (PowerShell, Python), REST APIs, or orchestration tools to accelerate deployments, standardize configurations, and reduce human error.
Coordinate with network, security, and WAN teams to perform network assessments, VLAN planning, firewall rule design, NAT traversal, and transport-level optimizations for UC traffic.
Perform endpoint QA and acceptance testing (dial plans, codec negotiation, video interoperability, emergency calling / E911 validation) prior to production releases.
Collaborate with vendors and managed service providers for escalation, firmware patches, interoperability testing, and to ensure SLAs are met for supported UC technologies.
Monitor UC platform health using monitoring tools (SolarWinds, PRTG, Cisco Prime, Splunk) and implement proactive alerts and dashboards for call quality, system capacity, and service availability.
Provide technical guidance and mentoring to junior UC staff, maintain training materials, and support enablement initiatives for IT and help desk teams.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist IT service desk with Level 2 UC escalations; develop triage flows and runbooks to reduce mean time to resolution.
Maintain an inventory of UC hardware and firmware versions; track warranties and coordinate RMA with vendors.
Develop user-facing documentation, quick reference guides, and training sessions for common UC tasks (voicemail setup, Teams call handling, softphone use).
Support procurement activities: RFP responses for UC projects, vendor feature comparisons, and technical evaluations.
Participate in security/compliance reviews and help implement controls required for industry regulations (HIPAA, PCI, GDPR) as they relate to UC systems.
Contribute to proof-of-concept labs and pilot programs for emerging collaboration technologies and UCaaS offerings.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) administration and design, including call routing, SIP trunking, and device management.
Microsoft Teams Phone System, Direct Routing, Teams client troubleshooting and hybrid voice integration.
Session Border Controller (AudioCodes, Ribbon, Cisco) deployment and configuration for secure SIP interconnects and NAT traversal.
SIP, RTP, SRTP, TLS, codec negotiation, and deep packet inspection using tools like Wireshark.
IP telephony protocols and PSTN interconnects (SIP Trunks, PRI, ISDN, SS7) and number management.
Quality of Service (QoS) across LAN/WAN, DSCP mapping, queuing, CAC, and voice/video performance tuning.
Contact center integration and ACD systems (Genesys, Cisco UCCX/UCCE, Avaya Contact Center).
PowerShell and/or Python scripting for automation of UC tasks and API-driven provisioning (Cisco AXL, Microsoft Graph).
SBC and firewall configuration for voice (NAT rules, SIP ALG considerations, IMS/ALG bypass).
Endpoint provisioning and management for IP phones, soft clients, conferencing endpoints, and mobile clients.
Voice platform monitoring and analytics tools (SolarWinds, Cisco Prime, Splunk, Call Quality Dashboard).
Virtualization and infrastructure knowledge (VMware, Linux, Windows Server) for hosting UC services.
UC security best practices: SRTP/TLS implementation, certificate management, hardening, and vulnerability remediation.
Voice licensing and capacity planning, budgeting, and vendor contract management.
Experience with UCaaS platforms and cloud migration strategies (Zoom Phone, RingCentral, Cisco Webex Calling).

Soft Skills

Strong verbal and written communication to explain technical UC concepts to non-technical stakeholders and present implementation plans.
Effective stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration with network, security, facilities, and business unit leads.
Project management discipline: planning cutovers, coordinating windows, and delivering UC projects on schedule.
Analytical problem solving and systematic troubleshooting under incident conditions.
Customer-focused mindset with a service-oriented approach and ability to manage high-priority escalations.
Documentation and knowledge transfer skills to create runbooks, SOPs, and training materials.
Time management and prioritization in a multi-project environment.
Vendor negotiation and relationship management to drive issue resolution and product roadmap influence.
Adaptability to evolving collaboration technologies and continuous learning mindset.
Mentoring and coaching skills for junior engineers and operations staff.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in a relevant technical discipline.
Industry certifications such as Cisco CCNP/CCIE Collaboration, Microsoft Teams Voice/Phone System certification, Avaya Certified Engineer, or equivalent.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science
Telecommunications / Network Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–8 years of progressive experience in VoIP, UC, or telephony engineering roles.

Preferred:

5+ years of hands-on experience with enterprise UC deployments (Cisco CUCM, Microsoft Teams, SBCs, SIP trunk migrations) and proven experience leading medium to large-scale UC projects.
Demonstrated experience with contact center integrations, cloud UC migrations, and voice security/compliance programs.