Senior Unified Communications Engineer

Senior Unified Communications Engineer

Employer will not sponsor for employment Visa status

Job Description Summary: As a Senior Unified Communications Engineer within GW Information Technology, this role is a recognized subject matter expert instrumental in enhancing the digital experience for our faculty, staff, and students. Working with periodic oversight from a manager, this position leads the design, engineering, implementation, and optimization of the university's user-centric communication and collaboration technologies. The Senior Engineer drives the effective adoption of voice, video, messaging, and meeting platforms, proactively identifies opportunities to elevate collaborative capabilities across multiple departments, and coaches less experienced team members.

Core Responsibilities:

• Leads the design, engineering, implementation, and maintenance of robust, secure, and intuitive unified communication and collaboration platforms (voice, video conferencing, instant messaging, and presence) that enhance the digital employee experience and support diverse work styles across the university.
• Manages the lifecycle of UC technologies, planning and executing major upgrades, feature enhancements, and migrations with a strong focus on minimizing disruption and maximizing employee readiness and adoption.
• Partners with digital strategists and enablement teams to promote the effective use of collaboration tools, contributing to the development of university-wide resources and guidance that enhance digital dexterity.
• Optimizes and streamlines provisioning and configuration processes for UC endpoints and services, actively leveraging automation and scripting to achieve significant improvements in efficiency and user satisfaction across multiple areas.
• Proactively monitors UC platform health, performance, and usage patterns across the enterprise, utilizing service data and analytics to identify trends, anticipate issues, and implement preventative measures before they impact users.
• Takes ownership of the UC systems' integrity, including associated databases (e.g., supporting UC, 3rd party billing integration), ensuring reliability and accuracy, and serving as an escalation point for complex technical and operational issues.
• Continuously evaluates the collaboration technology landscape, user feedback, and service metrics such as adoption rates and uptime to identify and recommend innovative solutions or enhancements that improve functionality, reliability, and the overall employee experience across multiple departments or specialties.
• Explores and assesses the role of programmability (e.g., APIs, scripting) within the UC environment to design and develop custom integrations, automate complex workflows, and significantly enhance collaboration effectiveness.
• Collaborates effectively with IT peers, academic and administrative departments, and external vendors to understand communication needs, manage complex service delivery, and ensure solutions are aligned with university objectives.
• Drive the strategic expansion of the Collaboration ecosystem to include Whiteboards, Clips, Events, Webinars, Rooms, Workspace Reservation, Contact Center, AI-driven productivity tools, etc.
• Ensure deep integration between collaboration platforms and other university business systems (e.g., LMS, CRM, Facilities Management) to create a seamless, end-to-end employee journey.
• Performs other related duties as assigned. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position.

Minimum Qualifications: Qualified candidates will hold a Bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization plus 5 years of relevant professional experience, or, a Master's degree or higher in a relevant area of study plus 3 years of relevant professional experience. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position. Degree requirements may be substituted with an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Additional Required Licenses/Certifications/Posting Specific Minimum Qualifications:

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Proven experience in designing, implementing, managing, and supporting enterprise-scale Unified Communications solutions in a multi-vendor environment (e.g., Cisco CUCM, Microsoft Teams Voice, Zoom Phone, etc.).
• Recognized subject matter expertise in VoIP protocols (SIP, H.323, MGCP), network infrastructure (routing, switching, QoS), and their impact on real-time communication services.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze, troubleshoot, and resolve difficult and moderately complex technical issues related to UC platforms, applications, and endpoints, with excellent attention to detail and a solid grasp of the OSI model.
• A passion for enhancing the employee experience through technology, with a user-centric approach to solution design and support.
• Proactive and results-oriented mindset with the ability to anticipate needs, identify opportunities for service improvement, and drive high-impact initiatives to completion.
• Proven experience leveraging automation and scripting (e.g., Python, PowerShell) to manage UC environments, streamline operations, and implement significant efficiency gains across areas.
• Strong familiarity with data analysis related to UC system performance, usage metrics, and call quality reporting to inform decision-making.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into user-friendly language and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including senior management.
• An enablement mindset focused on empowering users and ensuring they have the motivation and knowledge to fully exploit IT-supplied collaboration technology.
• Strong digital dexterity with the ability to quickly learn, adapt to, and champion new communication and collaboration technologies.
• Experience with a range of enterprise-wide software systems (both on-premises and cloud-based), networks, and devices.
• Vendor management experience.
• Relevant industry certifications (e.g., Cisco CCNP Collaboration, Microsoft Teams Voice Engineer Expert, Zoom Certified Integrator).
• Specific experience with Cisco CUCM, Zoom Workplace, HPE Mist and related applications.
• Experience working in a higher education environment.
• Understanding of change and project management principles as they apply to technology adoption.

Hiring Range - $72,470.61 - $138,974.45

GW Staff Approach to Pay - How is pay for new employees determined at GW?

Healthcare Benefits

GW offers a comprehensive benefit package that includes medical, dental, vision, life & disability insurance, time off & leave, retirement savings, tuition, well-being and various voluntary benefits. For program details and eligibility, please visit

Campus Location: Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.

College/School/Department: GW IT

Family - Information Technology

Sub-Family - Communications Systems

Stream - Individual Contributor

Level - Level 3

Full-Time/Part-Time: Full-Time

Hours Per Week: 40

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday

Will this job require the employee to work on site? No

Employee Onsite Status - Hybrid

Telework: Yes

Required Background Check: Criminal History Screening, Education/Degree/Certifications Verification, Social Security Number Trace, and Sex Offender Registry Search

Special Instructions to Applicants: Employer will not sponsor for employment Visa status

Internal Applicants Only? No

Posting Number: S014083

Job Open Date: 03/09/2026

Job Close Date:

If temporary, grant funded, Sponsored Project funded or limited term appointment, position funded until:

Background Screening - Successful Completion of a Background Screening will be required as a condition of hire.

EEO Statement: The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Posting Specific Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

1. * Are you currently employed with The George Washington University?
   • No
   • Yes
2. * For current GW employees, have you completed your Introductory Employment Period (IEP)? (As a reminder, employees in their IEP are not eligible to apply for other internal university staff and research positions until the IEP is complete.)
   • Yes, IEP complete
   • No, still in IEP
   • N/a - not a current GW employee