Telephony Engineer-AI Conversation Specialist #11438

6+ month contract

Title: Telephony Engineer (Conversational AI Specialist)

Start date: Immediate Need

Duration: 6+ Month Contract-end of year

Rate: Market-call on Monday-will get then

Years of experience: 7+

Telephony Engineer – AI Conversation Specialist

Location: Remote

Engagement Type: 6+ Month Contract with Potential to Extend

Travel: Limited travel, approximately 10%

Job Summary

The Telephony Engineer – AI Conversation Specialist will be responsible for the hands-on configuration, deployment, integration, and ongoing support of cloud telephony and conversational AI solutions. This role will focus heavily on integrating Kore.ai, or similar conversational AI and virtual assistant platforms, within a Five9 contact center environment.

This position will support contact center modernization by designing, scripting, and troubleshooting complex IVR call flows, API integrations, AI-driven automation tools, virtual agents, and agent-assist capabilities. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in telephony engineering, contact center technologies, SIP/SBC integrations, conversational AI

platforms, NLP tuning, and enterprise system integrations.

Key Performance Indicators

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Availability, health, and performance of telephony and conversational AI platforms
• Successful implementation, configuration, and tuning of AI services
• Accuracy and continuous improvement of intent recognition and NLP models
• Effective support of contact center modernization initiatives
• Timely resolution of complex Level 2 and Level 3 technical issues
• Ongoing research and recommendations related to emerging CCaaS and conversational AI technologies

Key Responsibilities

Conversational AI & Automation

• Design, configure, deploy, and maintain Kore.ai or similar conversational AI solutions, including virtual agents, NLP bots, predictive routing, and agent-assist tools.
• Build, configure, and maintain complex conversational flows using Kore.ai Dialog Builder or comparable tools.
• Translate business requirements into natural, multi-turn user journeys.
• Define, configure, and tune intents, sub-intents, entities, synonyms, and training data to improve recognition accuracy.
• Manage conversation context, session variables, switch-flow logic, user digressions, and edge-case handling.
• Support continuous AI model tuning, training corpus optimization, and performance improvement.

Telephony & IVR Engineering

• Provide hands-on technical support and engineering expertise within the Five9 contact center environment.
• Design, program, script, and troubleshoot complex Call Center and IVR call flows.
• Support cloud telephony components, including PBX, IVR, voicemail, endpoints, SIP trunking, and cloud contact center platforms.
• Support SIP messaging, SIP headers, RTP, WebSockets, and SBC integrations.
• Configure and troubleshoot SIP header information passed between Five9 and external systems over SIP trunks.
• Support AudioCodes Session Border Controller integrations and related telephony infrastructure.

System Integration & Service Orchestration

• Build and maintain integrations between CCaaS platforms, conversational AI tools, and enterprise applications.
• Develop and support REST/SOAP API requests, JSON payloads, webhooks, and service nodes within Kore.ai or similar platforms.
• Integrate AI platforms with backend CRM, ERP, and enterprise systems to retrieve, update, or pass data during live interactions.
• Support OAuth 2.0 authentication and secure API-based integrations.
• Script smart handoff and fallback mechanisms that transfer full conversational context, transcripts, and intent data from the virtual assistant to live Five9 agents.

Operational Support & Optimization

• Maintain day-to-day operational responsibility for the telephony and conversational AI environment.
• Provide Level 2 and Level 3 support for complex technical issues and major incidents.
• Monitor platform health, performance, and service availability.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, automation, routing, user experience, and AI model performance.
• Draft and maintain technical procedures, call flow diagrams, support documentation, training materials, and integration documentation.
• Ensure security, compliance, and data privacy standards are embedded into all conversational AI, telephony, and IT operations.

Collaboration

• Work closely with engineering, business teams, contact center stakeholders, and cross-functional project teams.
• Define, validate, and manage technical requirements for AI, IVR, routing, and telephony initiatives.
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Support multiple projects in a deadline-driven environment while maintaining quality and accountability.

Required Experience

• 5+ years of experience in telephony, contact center technology, or related technical functions.
• 5+ years of experience designing, scripting, programming, and supporting Call Center and IVR call flows.
• Proven experience configuring and supporting Kore.ai or comparable conversational AI / virtual agent platforms such as Google Dialogflow CX, Amazon Lex V2, or Cognigy.
• Hands-on experience supporting Five9 or similar cloud contact center platforms.
• Strong experience with SIP, SBC, SIP messaging, SIP headers, and SIP trunk integrations.
• Experience passing SIP header information between Five9 and external systems.
• Hands-on experience integrating systems using RESTful APIs, SOAP APIs, JSON, webhooks, and service orchestration.
• Experience supporting PBX, IVR, voicemail, endpoints, cloud contact center platforms, and related telephony components.
• Experience with cloud-based platforms and omnichannel contact center support, including chat, email, and SMS.
• Working knowledge of contact center best practices, analytics, reporting, routing, and operational support.

Essential Technology Skills

Conversational AI Platforms

• Kore.ai Experience Optimization Platform, highly preferred
• Google Dialogflow CX, Amazon Lex V2, Cognigy, or similar enterprise conversational AI platforms
• Enterprise chatbot and virtual assistant configuration
• Dialog management and multi-turn conversational design
• Agent-assist and virtual agent solutions

NLP & AI Training

• Intent mapping
• Sub-intent configuration
• Entity extraction
• Synonym management
• Sentiment analysis
• Training corpus optimization
• Continuous AI model tuning and improvement

Integration & API Development

• RESTful APIs
• SOAP APIs
• JSON payloads
• Webhooks
• OAuth 2.0 authentication
• Service nodes and backend system integrations
• CRM, ERP, and enterprise application integrations

Voice & Digital Communication Technologies

• Five9
• Genesys AI cloud connectors
• SIP
• RTP
• WebSockets
• SIP headers
• SIP trunking
• AudioCodes Session Border Controller integrations
• PBX, IVR, voicemail, endpoints, and cloud contact center technologies

Required Leadership Traits

• Collaborative, analytical, and solutions-oriented mindset
• Strong problem-solving skills with an achievement and growth mindset
• Ability to manage multiple projects in a deadline-driven environment
• Comfortable working through ambiguity and technical complexity
• Strong verbal, written, and presentation communication skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with management, business stakeholders, technical teams, and cross-functional groups
• Team-oriented approach with the ability to build trust and foster collaboration
• Commitment to recognizing team contributions and supporting shared success

ECCO Select is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. Our policy is to provide equal opportunity to all people without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other legally protected category. Veterans of our United States Uniformed Services are specifically encouraged to apply for ECCO Select opportunities.