Zendesk Architect

As the Zendesk Architect at Vermont Information Processing (VIP), you will own the strategic design, continuous optimization, and ongoing governance of our comprehensive Zendesk instance. Serving as a highly collaborative Individual Contributor, you will coordinate and align multiple Customer Support departments, centralizing system administration to ensure cross‑functional consistency. You will assume ownership of our fully deployed, advanced Zendesk ecosystem. You will dive deep into our current setup to audit workflows, identify friction points, and drive the maximum return on investment from our technology stack. You will serve as the primary liaison between Customer Support, product/engineering, and leadership to ensure our integrated infrastructure delivers an exceptional experience for our end users and scales seamlessly with our business. Position Type: Full Time, Hybrid – will be required to report to our office in Colchester, VT. Remote considered for the right candidate. What You’ll Do System Strategy & Governance: Centralize Zendesk administration across all Customer Support teams. Audit, streamline, and optimize existing workflows, triggers, automations, and macros to replace siloed departmental setups with unified, scalable architecture. Platform & AI Optimization: Serve as the primary architect and owner of our robust Zendesk instance (Support, Guide, Talk, Explore, WFM). Drive the ongoing optimization and refinement of our advanced capabilities, specifically messaging and Zendesk Advanced AI (Copilot, Auto‑assist, and AI Agents). Complex Integrations: Architect, maintain, and upgrade seamless integrations between Zendesk and our broader tech stack, including Atlassian, HubSpot, MS Office, our internal Admin Portal, Data Warehouse, and in‑house AI tools. Project & Change Management: Lead continuous improvement initiatives and manage the ongoing change management required to keep support teams aligned. Gain buy‑in from support managers, coordinate resources, and manage stakeholder communication to ensure smooth adoption of process updates. Data & Reporting: Design and maintain custom reporting dashboards within Zendesk Explore to measure system performance, AI deflection rates, agent productivity, and user needs, providing actionable insights to leadership. Quality Assurance & Troubleshooting: Create and execute robust testing in a sandbox environment before deploying updates or changes to production. Act as the highest point of escalation for complex technical issues. Enablement: Create clear documentation and train staff on unified system procedures, continuously gathering feedback from Customer Support teams to drive iterative improvements and maximize agent efficiency. What We’re Looking For Experience: 5+ years in Customer Support Operations or CX Technology, with at least 3+ years specifically serving as an advanced Zendesk Administrator or Architect for enterprise organizations. Cross‑Functional Leadership: Proven ability to act as an individual contributor who can effectively coordinate, align, and influence multiple support departments and technical teams without direct reporting authority. Technical Acumen: Deep understanding of Zendesk APIs, Webhooks, custom app development, and third‑party integrations (specifically Atlassian and HubSpot). Experience integrating proprietary internal databases/portals is highly preferred. Advanced Zendesk Knowledge: Hands‑on experience optimizing Zendesk WFM (formerly Tymeshift) and refining AI/automation tools (bots, auto‑assist, custom routing) within the Zendesk ecosystem. Certifications: Zendesk Administrator certifications highly preferred. Education: Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or equivalent practical experience. Execution: Excellent project planning, strong business communication skills, and the ability to translate complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders. Compensation $80,750 - $95,000/year. Compensation is based on a variety of factors including skills, experience, and industry background. The range listed here represents our best faith estimate for the role. Benefits Health Insurance Vision and Dental Expense Reimbursement 401(k) Match & Employer Contributions Life and Disability Insurance Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts On‑site Child Care Center (VT) On‑site Fitness Center (VT) On‑site Health Clinic (VT) Discounted Gym Memberships Combined Time Off and Floating Holidays Flex and Hybrid Schedules All full‑time job offers are contingent upon passing a pre‑employment drug screening and background check. #J-18808-Ljbffr