The Art of SharePoint Evolution

Wahoo!!

Over 2 months and 5 interviews later, I was overjoyed to receive an employment offer from Microsoft to become a SharePoint Premier Field Engineer based out of Irvine, CA. I’ve been numb and ecstatic about the opportunity since seeing the email on Monday that I didn’t even know what to do with myself for awhile.

In case you’re wondering what a PFE does, here’s the job description from the Microsoft Careers website:

The purpose of the Premier Field Engineer (PFE) position is to provide Microsoft customers with reliable technical solutions to the complex integration problems associated with business solutions built using Windows SharePoint Services, SharePoint Portal Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Typical tasks performed in this role include specific problem isolation and correction, conducting application design and technical reviews, performance tuning, application stability consulting/troubleshooting, code reviews, porting/migration assistance, configuration/administration management, pre-rollout testing and general development consulting. The prospective PFE candidate should draw upon all resources at Microsoft, to advise and consult on the use of Microsoft SharePoint Technologies to avoid such problems in the future.

The PFE position requires a long list of technology experience or demonstrated understanding of these technologies. The ideal PFE skill set is grounded in a solid understanding of the Microsoft Windows platform. From this foundation, the PFE position is exposed to many technologies, including but not limited to: Windows SharePoint Services, SharePoint Portal Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, IIS, SQL Server, development with .NET languages, XML and Scripting technologies, and data access technologies. Practical user mode debugging is a preferred skill, but not required.

Candidates must have exceptional customer service, problem solving, and communication skills, and the ability to work in a team environment. Must have sufficient technical depth to communicate with development and other internal organizations at a peer level as well as convey technical concepts to non-technical individuals. Must possess the ability to work with minimal supervision and operate as a self contained business unit within the Premier Field Engineering team. Must have the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Strong business background in Fortune 500 and/or experience with systems technology consulting firm desired.

Overnight travel is required. Travel requirements vary regionally and could be as much as 40-70%. Candidates must possess current passport or be able to obtain passport within 90 days of hire. They must be available for travel dispatch 24×7x365.

Education: College degree, preferably in Computer Science, is required. MCTS in SharePoint Technologies or other applicable advanced certification is strongly preferred, but not required at hire; however, must be obtained within 12 months of hire. Will consider related field (or equivalent) experience.

I’m going to be shipped out to Redmond for 3 weeks of training starting September 21 so this blog will be pretty quiet and comments may not recieve timely responses as I’ll have to spend most of my time wrapping up current projects. But next time, you can expect to see a post about my PFE interview experience!