Messaging Engineer – Enterprise Technology Infrastructure

Hines•Houston, TX

About The Position

When you join Hines, you will embark on a career journey fueled by vision and guided by leaders who set the standards of our industry. Our legacy is rooted in innovation and excellence, earning us a spot on Fast Company’s esteemed annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, as well as recognition as one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For in 2024. Discover endless opportunities to grow and make your mark at Hines. As a Messaging Engineer - Enterprise Technology Infrastructure with Hines, you will support, modernize, and continuously improve our enterprise email and identity infrastructure of the firm. This role will focus on Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online and Hybrid), secure email gateways such as Cisco IronPort, and identity platforms including Entra ID (Azure AD) and on-premises Active Directory. The ideal candidate brings a strong AI-first mindset, proactively leveraging AI tools and automation to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen security posture, and elevate the end-user experience. This role is not just about maintaining systems—it’s about rethinking how work gets done through intelligent tooling, automation, and continuous optimization.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
Five or more years of experience in enterprise email/messaging environments
Strong expertise in: Microsoft 365 / Office 365 (Exchange Online)
Exchange Server (hybrid experience preferred)
Cisco IronPort (or similar email security gateways)
Experience with Entra ID (Azure AD) and on-premises Active Directory
Solid understanding of: Email protocols (SMTP, DNS, MX records)
Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Experience with PowerShell scripting for automation and administration
Proven ability to troubleshoot complex messaging and identity issues
Experience implementing or operationalizing AI tools in IT environments
Hands-on experience with Microsoft Copilot or similar AI platforms
Experience with identity governance and conditional access policies
Knowledge of compliance frameworks (e.g., eDiscovery, retention policies)
Relevant certifications (Microsoft 365, Azure, Security, etc.)

Responsibilities

Administer and optimize Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online) and hybrid Exchange environments
Manage email routing, hygiene, and security using Cisco IronPort (or similar secure email gateways)
Troubleshoot complex mail flow issues, delivery failures, and performance bottlenecks
Configure and maintain email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Manage distribution lists, shared mailboxes, and enterprise email policies
Support journaling, retention, and compliance requirements
Monitor, investigate, and respond to email-based threats (phishing, spoofing, malware)
Implement and continuously improve secure email configurations and policies
Partner with security teams on incident response, threat mitigation, and proactive risk reduction
Administer Entra ID (Azure AD), including user provisioning, SSO, and conditional access policies
Support and maintain on-premises Active Directory and synchronization (Entra Connect)
Manage identity lifecycle processes, access governance, and role-based access controls
Troubleshoot authentication, directory synchronization, and access-related issues
Apply an AI-first approach to problem solving, leveraging tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and AI-assisted scripting to accelerate analysis and resolution
Design and implement automation solutions to reduce manual effort and improve reliability (PowerShell, workflows, orchestration tools)
Use AI to enhance troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and system optimization
Identify and lead opportunities to embed AI across messaging, identity, and security operations
Stay current on emerging AI capabilities within Microsoft 365, Azure, and enterprise IT ecosystems, and translate them into practical use cases
Create and maintain clear, structured technical documentation for systems, processes, and configurations
Develop architecture and process diagrams using tools such as Microsoft Visio (or similar) to illustrate messaging and identity workflows
Ensure documentation reflects current-state and future-state designs to support scalability and knowledge transfer
Contribute to internal knowledge bases and operational runbook
Work cross-functionally with security, infrastructure, and application teams
Proactively identify opportunities for system optimization, cost reduction, and performance improvement
Participate in on-call support rotation as needed