IT infrastructure Engineers provide expertise in information technology, security, operations, networking, computer storage, telephony, structured network cabling, market data localization and multimedia functionality. They ensure all of these aspects work within an organization. This is often the person in charge of hardware, software and networking issues at any company.
They are in charge of the hardware components and often the software applications of business networks. This is the professional on whose shoulders lies the wellbeing, maintenance and continued success of the business server network. It is this engineer that ensures the network connectivity of every person working in an enterprise.

Basic Educational Needs

Most professionals entering the job market need a bachelor’s degree in a computer or information science field. But unlike prior IT professionals, this expert is not siloed. Although he may have specialized in a certain IT area, he knows a little about every aspect of the network. In other words, he isn’t the person that only knows how to work on the server, or the network, or the storage. He isn’t the Windows expert. The basic education for this professional is more generalized, yet also centered on making the entire network function properly.

Certification

Because the skill set of infrastructure engineers is complex, a bachelor’s degree is usually not enough. Once working in the professional field, most professionals holding this position will also need special certifications. The certification required will generally depend on the hiring company, but usually are those offered by Microsoft, Red Hat and Cisco. Common certifications for this profession might be MCITP, VCP or CCNP amongst others.

IT Infrastructure Knowledge

This is the person that just makes it all work. These IT pros have a multi-discipline knowledge that gives them the knowledge to make the entire IT server and network structure work. They must have both administration and configuration knowledge of end-user applications, Linux, Windows Server, Cisco Networking gear, server systems, VMware, Windows Server and Storage applications.

Traditionally this role was called the ‘Senior Analyst’ but because of the need nowadays to have even more globalized IT knowledge, with experience in Cloud IT, server, network and hardware, the current given title is ‘Infrastructure Engineer’.

Analytical Skills

As with all professionals who hold IT management positions, this professional must have competent analytical skills. They must be able to structure and analyze data to evaluate network performance, system performance, and how changes to the environment will affect the overall organizational IT infrastructure.

Communication Skills

Unlike other IT experts, the infrastructure engineer must be able to communicate well with management teams from other areas. They need to make processes easy-to-understand, and clear for every type of professional. They must also be able to explain an issue, workaround solution, using language that everyone involved can understand.

Bottom Line

An infrastructure engineer needs to be a great problem solver, and be able to manage both in-house and cloud infrastructure. They need to resolve problems in the different frameworks within the shortest time possible. Essentially, this is the ‘superhero’ of all IT professionals. Of course, they may need a team of highly specialized IT professionals, each with their own specialized skills, but this is the person that gets the network to work –whatever the cost involved is.