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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Microsoft Collaboration Engineer

💰 $ - $

ITMicrosoft 365Collaboration

🎯 Role Definition

A Microsoft Collaboration Engineer is an experienced IT professional responsible for designing, deploying, administering, and supporting Microsoft 365 collaboration services (Microsoft Teams, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Azure AD). This role focuses on ensuring reliable unified communications (UC), secure identity and access management, seamless hybrid or cloud migrations, voice/telephony integration, policy-driven governance, automation with PowerShell and Microsoft Graph, and strong end-user adoption through documentation and training. The engineer partners with security, networking, and endpoint teams to deliver scalable collaboration solutions that meet business continuity, compliance, and performance requirements.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Desktop Support Technician with Microsoft 365 exposure
  • Systems Administrator / Windows Server Administrator
  • Unified Communications (UC) or Telephony Engineer

Advancement To:

  • Senior Microsoft Collaboration Engineer / Lead Collaboration Engineer
  • Unified Communications Architect / Microsoft 365 Architect
  • IT Infrastructure Manager or Head of Workplace Technology

Lateral Moves:

  • Cloud Engineer (Azure/M365 focus)
  • Identity & Access Management (IAM) Engineer
  • Security Engineer (Cloud Security/Zero Trust focus)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, implement, and maintain Microsoft Teams environments for enterprise collaboration, including tenant configuration, Teams policies, meeting policies, app governance, and security controls to maximize adoption while maintaining compliance.
  • Architect and manage Exchange Online and hybrid Exchange deployments, including mailbox migration planning and execution, mail flow configuration, transport rules, journaling, retention policies, and migration cutover strategies.
  • Configure and administer Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) including user lifecycle management, hybrid identity (AD Connect), Single Sign-On (SSO), Conditional Access policies, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and troubleshooting authentication issues.
  • Implement and support Teams Voice solutions, including Direct Routing, Microsoft Calling Plans, PSTN integration, SBC configuration, call routing, Emergency Calling (E911), Auto Attendants, Call Queues, and telephony governance.
  • Lead migration projects from legacy UC platforms (Skype for Business, on-premises PBX, other cloud vendors) to Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365, including discovery, coexistence strategies, pilot programs, cutover, and post-migration stabilization.
  • Develop, test, and maintain PowerShell scripts and automation using Microsoft Graph API to automate onboarding, policy application, reporting, license management, and recurring administrative tasks.
  • Administer SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and team sites: site provisioning, permissions and governance models, external sharing policies, content lifecycle, metadata strategy, and migration of file shares and intranet content.
  • Implement and optimize Quality of Service (QoS) policies across network and endpoint stacks in collaboration with networking teams to ensure high quality voice and video in Microsoft Teams.
  • Troubleshoot multi-layer issues impacting collaboration services, performing root-cause analysis across clients, network, SBCs, identity, and cloud service health dashboards to deliver timely resolution and permanent fixes.
  • Manage licensing strategy and optimization for Microsoft 365 workloads, advising on SKU selection, license assignment automation, and cost optimization measures.
  • Maintain and monitor service health and telemetry for Microsoft 365 (Service Health Dashboard, Message Center, Microsoft 365 admin center) and implement alerting and escalation processes for critical incidents.
  • Design and enforce security and compliance controls for collaboration tools, including DLP, sensitivity labels, retention policies, eDiscovery, legal hold, and secure external collaboration patterns.
  • Collaborate with network engineers to design firewall rules, SBC sizing and HA architectures, SIP trunk vendor selection, and bandwidth planning for voice and video deployments.
  • Build and maintain runbooks, operational playbooks, and troubleshooting guides for support teams; ensure incident post-mortems with actionable remediation and service improvement plans.
  • Conduct performance capacity planning for tenancy features, meeting and call concurrency, PSTN usage, SharePoint storage growth, and recommend architecture changes to support business growth.
  • Configure and maintain endpoint management and device policies for Teams Rooms, collaboration devices, and conferencing hardware through Intune and device management platforms.
  • Integrate third-party collaboration and contact center solutions (e.g., CRM integrations, call recording, bots, apps) with Microsoft Teams using approved APIs, connectors, and security reviews.
  • Lead pilot programs and proof-of-concepts for new collaboration features (e.g., Teams Premium, Viva, AI-enabled meetings), evaluating business value, security impact, and rollout strategy.
  • Provide advanced level 3 support and escalation handling for cross-functional incidents, coordinating with Microsoft Support, telephony carriers, and third-party vendors to resolve complex issues.
  • Drive best practices for governance and adoption: build change management plans, end-user training materials, quick reference guides, and supportable naming, lifecycle, and retention policies.
  • Manage backup, information protection, and recovery strategies for collaboration data using native or third-party solutions to meet RTO/RPO and regulatory requirements.
  • Implement conditional access, session controls, and app protection to secure Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange access on unmanaged or mobile devices.
  • Maintain up-to-date documentation on tenancy architecture, connectivity diagrams, voice designs, certificates, domain verification, DNS records, and SBC configurations.
  • Participate in architecture reviews, security assessments, and compliance audits; implement remediation steps and provide detailed evidence for auditors and stakeholders.

Secondary Functions

  • Act as a subject matter expert to internal teams and business stakeholders on collaboration best practices and new Microsoft 365 features; advise on business process improvements.
  • Support vendor management, evaluating quotes, managing service contracts (SBC support, PSTN carriers, third-party app vendors) and coordinating vendor deliverables for major changes.
  • Create and deliver training sessions, webinars, and user adoption campaigns with measurable KPIs for Teams and SharePoint usage.
  • Contribute to the collaboration roadmap and continuous improvement initiatives by recommending feature adoption, configuration improvements, and automation opportunities.
  • Participate in weekly operational reviews and change advisory board (CAB) meetings to coordinate releases, maintenance windows, and potential impacts to collaboration services.
  • Monitor and report on key collaboration metrics (adoption, support ticket trends, call quality scores, uptime) and present findings to leadership with recommendations.
  • Support procurement and inventory of collaboration devices (phones, headsets, Teams Rooms hardware) and provide guidance for standardization and compatibility.
  • Assist with disaster recovery and business continuity planning for collaboration services, validating failover scenarios and running regular recovery drills.
  • Maintain compliance with internal policies and external regulations by supporting eDiscovery requests, legal holds, and information governance initiatives.
  • Research and pilot emerging collaboration technologies and features, providing formal recommendations and estimated total cost of ownership (TCO) for stakeholders.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Microsoft 365 Administration (Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive)
  • Azure Active Directory: AD Connect, Hybrid Identity, Conditional Access, MFA, SSO
  • Microsoft Teams Voice: Direct Routing, SBC configuration, PSTN integration, Call Queues, Auto Attendants
  • PowerShell scripting for Microsoft 365 and automation using Microsoft Graph API
  • Hybrid Exchange architecture and mailbox migrations (on-premises to Exchange Online)
  • SharePoint Online architecture and migration tools (SPFx, PnP, migration tooling)
  • Intune / Endpoint Manager for device configuration and Teams Rooms management
  • Quality of Service (QoS) design, SIP/TLS/SRTP, VoIP fundamentals, jitter, latency management
  • Networking fundamentals related to collaboration: firewall rules, NAT, ports for Teams media
  • Compliance and security tools: DLP, eDiscovery, sensitivity labels, retention and legal hold
  • Telephony vendor and SBC management, SIP trunking, carrier coordination
  • Monitoring and telemetry: Microsoft 365 admin center, Call Analytics / Call Quality Dashboard, SIEM integration
  • Third-party integrations: contact center platforms, CRM connectors, APIs and bot frameworks
  • Backup/Recovery strategies for collaboration data; knowledge of third-party backup tools for M365
  • Certificate management, DNS, domain verification for tenant and telephony services

Soft Skills

  • Excellent stakeholder management and ability to translate technical solutions to business outcomes
  • Strong oral and written communication skills for documentation, training, and executive reporting
  • Proven project management skills: planning, risk management, vendor coordination, and status reporting
  • Analytical and troubleshooting mindset with strong problem-solving skills for cross-domain incidents
  • Customer-focused approach with experience delivering end-user training and adoption programs
  • Ability to prioritize concurrent projects and operational tasks in high-availability environments
  • Collaborative team player who can work with security, networking, desktop, and application teams
  • Continuous learning mindset to stay current with Microsoft 365 roadmap and industry best practices
  • Attention to detail for governance, compliance artifacts, and change control processes
  • Leadership and mentoring skills to coach junior administrators and support staff

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or equivalent experience

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree + relevant certifications (see below), or Master's degree in related field

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Information Systems / Information Technology
  • Network Engineering
  • Cybersecurity

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of hands-on experience administering Microsoft 365, Teams, and enterprise collaboration platforms.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years in enterprise collaboration/UC engineering with proven Teams and Exchange Online project delivery experience
  • Experience with large-scale migrations, cloud-first architecture, and hybrid identity implementations
  • Demonstrated experience integrating telephony (PSTN/SIP), configuring SBCs, and working with carriers
  • Prior exposure to security/compliance assessments, eDiscovery, and data governance for collaboration data
  • Experience operating in an Agile/DevOps environment and using automation to reduce manual operational overhead

Certifications (desirable):

  • Microsoft Certified: Teams Administrator Associate (MS-700)
  • Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert (MS-100 / MS-101)
  • Azure Administrator / Azure Fundamentals
  • VOIP/SIP or networking certifications (e.g., CCNA, CCNP) and vendor SBC certifications
  • Any security certifications (e.g., CompTIA Security+, CISSP) preferred for governance-heavy environments
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