A Deployment Support Engineer plans and supports new system installations, software and hardware upgrades, and other onsite services. To initiate these processes, this individual collaborates with project managers, customers, and product development teams.
Deployment in IT involves ensuring that new software or hardware is functioning as it should in an organization’s ecosystem after it has been installed, configured, tested, and modified as per requirements.
Moreover, support engineers analyze and troubleshoot technical problems of diverse technologies and platforms, besides suggesting what equipment and applications to be purchased in their client network architecture. They also research, trial, and deploy new IT solutions and services as per the requirements of their organizations. Support engineers should also have expertise in the services or products offered by their enterprise.
Importantly, they would need to be good team players with excellent customer service skills.
Job Description of Deployment Support Engineers
They are the first point of contact for users who require support for their PCs, laptops, mobile devices, networking, telephony, applications, and printers, among others.
Deployment Support Engineers also resolve and address issues of all users within an organization, help the onboarding of new employees by setting up their PCs or other devices. They deploy hardware, software, and other equipment and undertake protective maintenance assignments on all equipment. They carry out tasks by complying with warranty requirements, while monitoring, operating, managing, resolving, and restoring to service any device that has the authority to access the network. Finally, by monitoring and evaluating tickets raised, issues and requests for support, they develop trends for network infrastructure.
Engineers aid in developing and implementation of deployment plans, configurations, and specifications. They maintain deployment and build installation documentation. Engineers partner with the test and development teams to produce new features and services. They fix network hardware, network circuits, and software. Engineers maintain the network, which includes upgrading hardware and software.
Engineers monitor the installation and integration of hardware in the network, such as routers, switches servers, and cables, among others. They should respond to clients on issues with the deployment that they face, such as resolving and troubleshooting issues, by partnering with the support team. Engineers should effectively troubleshoot problems with the operating system (OS) and other common software issues, as well.
Engineers should advise clients on upgrading and best practice troubleshooting. They should gather data on common failures affecting work processes and partner with other teams to fix them. Also, engineers help clients by monitoring the deployment of any hardware or software. When necessary, they apply new strategies based on their analysis to resolve the client’s issues.
Engineers need to provide training to the personnel of their clients whenever required. They must research all issues that the clients face and document all the results.
They should maintain all business and technical documents and act as intermediaries between clients and their organization’s IT department to see that each issue is addressed.
Engineers need to interact with marketing, development, and training teams to help clients understand how the deployed products, applications or services should be used. They should go on-site when required to test and ensure that the installed products and services meet client’s requirements.
Engineers are also responsible for creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) and for also complying with change control processes.
Apart from performing the tasks mentioned above, these engineers should have sound knowledge of networking, such as routers, switches, and links, must test systems to ensure that they are functioning as they should, should understand wired and wireless networking and networking protocols, such as TCP/IP, PAT, and others.
Besides, They Should
- Have had experience in configuring firewalls, such as SonicWall, Fortinet, Checkpoint, and others.
- Possess a solid knowledge of routing protocols, such as BGP, EIGRP, and OSFP.
- Be conversant about installing and configuring virtual machines on VMware or Hyper-V
- Have experience in MySQL, Apache, and Linux.
At times, Deployment Support Engineers require to make custom settings to hardware and software as per an organization’s needs and then install them in many systems without having to interact with its users.
Educational requirements and certifications required for Deployment Support Engineers
To be considered for this position, candidates must have an associate/bachelor’s degree in computer sciences or mathematics or information technology or related disciplines.
Preferred are candidates with strong skills in Windows or Unix OS, the ability to script in Perl, Python or Shell, and with knowledge of IP networking.
Prospects of Deployment Support Engineers
These engineers can advance their careers by learning networking concepts, such as NS, DHCP, SSL, OSI Model, and through acquiring Microsoft’s MCSE or Cisco’s CCNA certifications. With the expertise they gain in troubleshooting complex systems, they will be sought-after by many enterprises.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), jobs for computer support specialists are estimated to grow 11 percent during 2016-2026, which is better than the average for other IT occupations.
Earnings of Deployment Support Engineers
Neuvoo.com reveals that the annual average salary for a Deployment Technician in the United States is $40,677. On the other hand, their average pay per hour is $21.
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