IT Infrastructure Engineer Duties and Responsibilities

IT infrastructure engineers have different responsibilities depending on the specific role they perform in an organization, but certain elements of their jobs remain similar:

Establish Network Infrastructure

Whether they’re building a whole IT network or setting up a PC and access permissions for a new hire, IT infrastructure engineers provide the technological foundation for much of their organization’s day-to-day operations. This process involves both hardware and software setup and often interaction and basic training with end-users who may not be familiar with the finer points of IT.

Provide IT Support

Because IT systems are so crucial to the daily operations of most organizations, IT infrastructure engineers must quickly solve problems. Issues are typically “escalated” from a worker or nonspecialist for resolution. Depending on the scope of their duties, the engineer may be responsible for liaising with affected stakeholders, identifying the problem, devising a solution, and implementing that fix.

Maintain Network Components

Minimizing IT outages requires constant upkeep of the network infrastructure. IT infrastructure engineers handle updates, upgrades, and other maintenance tasks in both hardware and software areas. Additionally, they look for ways to make the network more efficient, cost-effective, and secure.

IT Infrastructure Engineer Skills and Qualifications

An IT infrastructure engineer relies on a deep body of knowledge and a wide variety of hard and soft skills to go about their work. These include:

• Software knowledge – IT infrastructure engineers work with a variety of software. Working knowledge of how these various systems interact virtually helps the engineer conduct rapid troubleshooting
• Hardware knowledge – routers, servers, PCs, printers, and other equipment all fall under the IT infrastructure engineer’s purview. The engineer also knows how to manage LANs and wired/wireless networks to connect these devices
• Problem-solving skills – getting many pieces of hardware and software to work in harmony is an ongoing and challenging task. Strong deductive reasoning and patience serve engineers well here
• Customer service – infrastructure engineers tend to work with internal rather than external partners. Communicating well with these “customers” helps the engineer resolve outages quickly and build strong working relationships
• Teaching ability – engineers may need to explain complex technical concepts to nontechnical colleagues and train them to use software and hardware
• Organization skills – whether keeping cable sprawl to a minimum, documenting their work, or prioritizing requests for support, IT infrastructure engineers need to stay organized to keep on top of their tasks

Tools of the Trade

IT infrastructure engineers work with a wide variety of equipment and software:

• Ticket or support software (such as Zendesk or Freshdesk)
• Linux and Windows-based servers and associated hardware
• Office 365, SharePoint, Citrix