Blake Willemsen
Bloomington,MN
Summary
Experienced engineering professional with expertise in project management and design. Demonstrated success in conducting precise load and cost calculations and establishing clear project execution parameters. Meticulous attention to detail and extensive knowledge in all areas of telecommunications and proficiency in pre/post sales engineering. Skilled at driving efficient and effective engineering solutions.
Overview
39
39
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Tier 2 Technical Support/SIP Engineer
8x8 Inc.
05.2021 - 01.2024
- Advanced SIP technology in order to improve case resolution using SalesForce ticketing system
- SIP telephony and contact center solutions engineering
- Debugging using Dashbase, Wireshark, SIP Monitor and Trace, and data retrieval Using SQL
- Capture, structure, and improve Knowledge Base articles
- Consistently achieving personal and team targets of KPI’s within SLA
- Implemented best troubleshooting scenarios for SIP, VOIP, and Network.
Sr. Telecommunications Analyst
Merrill Corporation
04.2016 - 12.2019
- Recently responsible for the implementation and maintenance of new 8X8 cloud-based communications platform
- Responsible for installation, maintenance and day to day operations of corporate NEC 3C communications platform for North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions
- Total of 14000 endpoints
- Responsible for installation and maintenance of Oracle Acme Packet session border controllers
- Resolve software, hardware, application and data issues for the company's customers
- Coordinate and track resolutions in ticketing software averaging approximately 30 customer interactions per day.
Sr. UC Engineer
Black Box Network Services
04.2013 - 04.2016
- Implemented Global SIP PBX solutions with remote SIP endpoints, UC Clients, unified messaging, and IVR/contact center administration
- Responsible for maintaining the Texas Dept
- Of Criminal Justice prison communication platforms, which consist of NEC SV9500/8500, SV9300/8300, SV9100/8100, 2400IPX, 2400IMX, 2400ICS as well as 2000IVS, IVS2 and IPS along with the full AVST product line of voicemails
- Maintained networks (routing & switching) for several customers with varying hardware vendors for both the voice side of the business as well as the security and access control side.
Sr. Field Engineer
Matrix Communications
07.2008 - 04.2013
- SME for SIP integration with both NEC and Avaya communications platforms
- Installation and maintenance of NEC U3C, SV8500, SV8300 and SV8100 communication platforms
- Installation and maintenance of Enghouse Interactive Call Center platforms
- Installation and maintenance of AVST voicemail products
- Advanced application software integration
- Executed new system installations/cutovers approximately one per week (SME 50-1500 endpoints each)
- Assisted sales team with technical engineering and pre-sales proof of concept.
Field Service Engineer
NEC Unified Solutions Inc
07.2003 - 06.2008
- Responsible for installation and maintenance of the entire NEC product line Installation and maintenance of all Zeacom UCB call centers
- Installation and maintenance of AVST voice server platforms
- Pre/Post Sales Engineering
- Assisted PBX engineers with new installations and cutovers, deploying endpoints, cross-connects, etc.
Sr. Technician
Matrix Communications
12.1987 - 03.2003
- Responsible for the installation and maintenance of NEC 2400, 2000, and 1400 PBX's and advanced applications
- Installed and maintained Active Voice voicemail systems
- Maintained Rolm 9751 and Avaya G3 PBX's for a large corporate customer.
Technician
Communications General Contractors
07.1985 - 12.1987
- Responsible for the installation and maintenance of Rolm Redwood, 8000, 9000, and 9751 PBX along with Rolm Phonemail platform.
Education
Associate of Science - Telecommunications
Dakota County Technical College
Rosemount, MN06.1985
Skills
- Project Management
- Project Planning
- Technical reporting
- Engineering Documentation
- System Troubleshooting
- Root Cause Analysis
- Quality Control
- Quality Assurance Controls
- Technical Writing
- Process Improvement
- Electrical Systems
Accomplishments
- Supervised team of ten staff members.
- Awarded Master Technician certification from NEC.
Skillsabilities
SIP PBX, SIP trunking, and Hosted SIP unified communications implementations and life-cycle support., Configuration of leading edge industry standard equipment such as NEC, Adtran and Oracle/Acme Packet SIP Session Border Controllers, Excellent knowledge of all Server Operating systems. Excellent analytical and technical skills., Multi-Media Contact Center, Operator, Call Recording, Quality Management, Collaboration, Reports, and Unified Messaging [on premise and hosted Office 365] administration., Analysis and troubleshooting IP network. Skilled and experienced with packet captures, port-mirrors, syslogs, and log file review to diagnose issues with Active Directory, VLANs, LLDP, DHCP, DNS, QOS, SIP expression & interoperability., A proven leader, with 35 years of experience in the IT telecommunications industry. Able to rally and lead the team, prioritize and delegate tasks, manage projects, and critical escalations. Encourage others to think positively and impart wise practices with regard to eliminating costs and protecting company interests. Provide management with comprehensive status reports and solutions updates., Work cross-functionally with developers and engineers on multiple customer projects simultaneously., Write KB articles detailing resolutions to technical issues and system interoperability for internal engineering and implementation teams., Design user guides for end-users and provide end-user training., Create cheat-sheets and configuration documentation for reference by the operations team, and end- user administrators, which get raving reviews and increase overall implementation profitability by reducing labor time in the field.
Certification
- Trained and certified on the entire NEC VOIP product line, including their cloud offering, Univerge Blue.
- 8X8 Installation and Maintenance.
- Oracle Communications Session Border Controller 7 Advanced Certified Implementation Specialist.
- InfoBlox DNS.
- Adtran 6310 and 908e Session Border Controller.
- The SIP School SSCA
Timeline
Tier 2 Technical Support/SIP Engineer
8x8 Inc.
05.2021 - 01.2024
Sr. Telecommunications Analyst
Merrill Corporation
04.2016 - 12.2019
Sr. UC Engineer
Black Box Network Services
04.2013 - 04.2016
Sr. Field Engineer
Matrix Communications
07.2008 - 04.2013
Field Service Engineer
NEC Unified Solutions Inc
07.2003 - 06.2008
Sr. Technician
Matrix Communications
12.1987 - 03.2003
Technician
Communications General Contractors
07.1985 - 12.1987
Associate of Science - Telecommunications
Dakota County Technical College
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