Nestorbot
Infocomm TechnologyOperations and Support

Applications Support Engineer

The Applications Support Engineer is responsible for the operation, support and maintenance of specific software applications, which may be built in-house or third-party software. He/She should have a deep understanding of the application's functionality and backend. He oversees software testing and transition processes and provides necessary support when required. He is responsible for interacting with the application users and setting up, and on boarding of the users. He works in a team setting and is proficient in applications development and monitoring tools and techniques required by the organisation. He is also familiar with the relevant software platforms on which the solutions are deployed. The Applications Support Engineer uses critical thinking skills to identify and solve problems. He is passionate about analysing and resolving problems, and addressing technical challenges. He also possesses strong interpersonal skills.

What Does a Applications Support Engineer Do?

Key Responsibilities & Tasks

Provide software support

  • Develop operational software configuration management plans
  • Manage the maintenance of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) and other software technologies to maintain currency
  • Oversee software help desk activities
  • Develop software retirement procedures
  • Acquire tools to facilitate the analysis of operational data

Manage software maintenance

  • Implement software maintenance processes and plans
  • Conduct technical impact analysis and problem identification
  • Develop plans to make corrective, adaptive and perfective changes to software
  • Manage preventative maintenance and software re-engineering activities
  • Monitor and analyse software maintenance activities

Oversee software transition

  • Develop software transition plans and identify stakeholders for transition and operational requirements
  • Modify existing and develop new software operational standards
  • Develop software activation and check-out procedures
  • Lead software operational training
  • Develop training materials for operational support personnel
  • Determine the impact of software changes on the operational environment
  • Lead software diagnostics and real-time debugging and/or troubleshooting

Oversee software testing

  • Identify stakeholders participating in testing activities
  • Design software test plan and criteria for regression testing
  • Design the test environment and test case scenarios
  • Specify test cases for the selected testing technique
  • Analyse defect arrival rate and failure intensity data

Maintain software and platform solutions

  • Develop maintenance plans including timelines and resources needed
  • Provide high-level maintenance and update of an existing software and/or platform to improve functionality and process flow
  • Provide high-level monitoring of security measures, proper registration of passwords and other access procedures
  • Solve unique and highly complex problems by taking a broad perspective to identify solutions
  • Anticipate internal and/or external business challenges and/or regulatory issues
  • Oversee the maintenance of technical documentation of technical architecture, code changes, issue resolutions and procedures
  • Collaborate with external stakeholders and vendors to resolve problems

Oversee service level agreements and service improvements

  • Manage the development of service-level objectives and targets
  • Monitor service-level objectives to ensure that requirements are met or exceeded
  • Develop client satisfaction metrics and service procedures
  • Propose recommendations to improve performance and client satisfaction

Do You Have the Skills for This Role?

A Applications Support Engineer needs 4 core competencies. Here's what's required and at what level.

Supporting Skills

Communication

Intermediate

Interacting with Others

Collaboration

Intermediate

Interacting with Others

Problem Solving

Basic

Thinking Critically

Customer Orientation

Basic

Interacting with Others

SkillsFuture Skill Levels

3 levels
1

Basic

Recognise and understand fundamental concepts. Apply skills in routine situations with guidance.

2

Intermediate

Apply skills in varied situations independently. Analyse problems and adapt approaches as needed.

3

Advanced

Lead and innovate in complex situations. Evaluate strategies, guide teams, and drive improvements.

Technical Skills & Competencies (TSC) Levels

6 levels
1

Follow

Carry out routine tasks under close supervision. Follow established procedures and guidelines.

2

Assist

Perform tasks with some independence. Assist in non-routine situations and apply established techniques.

3

Apply

Apply skills and knowledge independently in varied situations. Analyse problems and adapt approaches.

4

Analyse

Analyse complex situations and develop solutions. Guide and mentor junior colleagues.

5

Strategise

Set strategic direction and drive innovation. Evaluate trade-offs and make high-impact decisions.

6

Transform

Lead industry transformation. Establish standards, shape policy, and provide expert advisory.

Technical Skills & Competencies

A Applications Support Engineer requires 14 technical skills at specific proficiency levels.

Service Level Management

Level 4

Stakeholder and Contract Management

Manage fulfilment of service level agreements (SLAs) and resolve issues to maintain overall service levels

Stakeholder Management

Level 4

Stakeholder and Contract Management

Develop a stakeholder engagement plan and negotiate with stakeholders to arrive at mutually-beneficial arrangements

Test Planning

Level 4

Development and Implementation

Define testing objectives, and design a master test plan including a series of systematic test procedures to achieve them

Applications Development

Level 3

Development and Implementation

Develop basic applications with secure features, run routine application tests, and conduct debugging to resolve errors

Applications Integration

Level 3

Development and Implementation

Integrate data and functions across application programs, and perform follow up tests to verify proper functioning

Applications Support and Enhancement

Level 3

Operations and User Support

Analyse application performance statistics and user feedback, resolving bugs as required, and review application change requests

Configuration Tracking

Level 3

Development and Implementation

Develop and update a configuration management plan, determining systems and techniques to track changes and revisions

Customer Experience Management

Level 3

Sales and Marketing

Analyse implications of customer profiles, requirements and buying patterns on organisation's marketing strategy, and propose customer engagement initiatives

Cyber and Data Breach Incident Management

Level 3

Operations and User Support

Troubleshoot incidents, escalate alerts to relevant stakeholder, and analyse root causes and implications of incidents

Process Improvement and Optimisation

Level 3

Business and Project Management

Identify and Implement the adoption of process improvement and optimisation methods

Problem Management

Level 3

Operations and User Support

Handle specific problems from diagnosis and prioritisation to the identification and implementation of solutions

Procurement

Level 3

Stakeholder and Contract Management

Prepare Requests for Proposals (RFP), and assess them against selection criteria and technical specifications, implementing security due diligence review in the vendor selection process

Software Configuration

Level 3

Development and Implementation

Identify appropriate scripts and tools, and configure software products to run effectively on various platforms

Software Testing

Level 3

Development and Implementation

Design test scenarios and implement new or complex tests, investigating issues or gaps between actual and expected results

European Skills Framework

ESCO

Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.

Essential

engineering principlescomputer programmingtechnical drawingsICT debugging toolsproject managementintegrated development environment softwareweb servicesuse an application-specific interfacedevelop automated migration methodsidentify customer requirementsutilise computer-aided software engineering toolsdebug softwareuse software design patternsperform scientific researchuse technical drawing softwaremanage engineering projectdevelop software prototypeuse software librariescreate flowchart diagraminterpret technical requirementsdefine technical requirementsanalyse software specifications

Career Paths from Applications Support Engineer

Explore related roles in Infocomm Technology that share similar skill requirements.

Frontend DeveloperFull-Stack DeveloperSoftware EngineerData ScientistMobile App Developer

Will AI Threaten Your Job?

65
Low riskHigh RiskHigh risk

Most at risk

collect customer feedback on applicationsSalt (tools for software configuration management)Apache Maven

Most resilient

utilise machine learningcomputer programmingJavaScript Framework
View full AI disruption analysis →

Quick Facts

SectorInfocomm Technology
TrackOperations and Support
Core Skills4
Technical Skills14
Key Tasks33

Is Applications Support Engineer right for you?

Take the free 10-minute Career Portrait to see which career direction fits your motivations and strengths.

More in Infocomm Technology

Explore all career paths in the Infocomm Technology sector.

View all Infocomm Technology roles
Check Your Readiness