Director of Engineering & Planning

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership & Architecture

• Executive Vision: Provide strategic vision for network architecture and long-term planning across voice, transport, routing, OSP, and managed services.
• Infrastructure Evolution: Oversee the design and evolution of core elements, including IP/MPLS routing, optical transport (DWDM/OTN), voice platforms (VoIP, SIP), and fiber-optic OSP infrastructure.
• Innovation & Automation: Champion automation initiatives and SDN/NFV-based virtualization to enable efficient provisioning and management of the network.
• Cloud Strategy: Direct cloud engineering and operations, including infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, cost optimization, and disaster recovery.

Network Operations & Engineering

• Performance Optimization: Develop and implement strategies to optimize the performance, scalability, and reliability of the network infrastructure.
• Deployment & Maintenance: Oversee the timely design, deployment, and maintenance of network equipment while adhering to industry best practices.
• Monitoring & Incident Response: Implement proactive monitoring tools and lead troubleshooting efforts for outages, performing root cause analysis to prevent recurrence.
• Security & Compliance: Enforce network security policies and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (e.g., CALEA, FCC, SOC 2).

Team & Business Management

• Direct Supervision: Manage and mentor cross-functional teams, including department managers for Fiber Operations, Switching, Digital Video, and Packet Networks.
• Financial Oversight: Develop and manage network operations and capital budgets (CAPEX/OPEX), ensuring cost optimization and alignment with business growth.
• Vendor & Partner Relations: Evaluate vendor proposals, negotiate contracts, and collaborate with affiliated companies and consultants to ensure network compatibility.
• Client Engagement: Partner with sales and product teams to define managed services offerings, contribute to RFPs, and ensure service delivery meets client expectations.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Electronic, or Communications Engineering, Computer Science, or Business Management. (Master’s or MBA preferred).
• At least 10 years of experience in telecommunications network management, with a minimum of 5 years leading large groups of technical professionals.
• Comprehensive knowledge of transmission network design (copper and fiber) and traffic engineering (TDM and Packet).
• Proven expertise in IP routing (BGP, OSPF, MPLS), voice services, and OSP infrastructure.
• Hands-on experience with cloud engineering (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and automation/DevOps practices.
• Strong financial and business acumen with experience in economic analysis and budget management.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills; ability to build relationships with senior leaders and customers

Preferred

• Certificate of Professional Engineering (PE), or advanced credentials such as CCIE, AWS/Azure Professional, or MEF SDN/NFV.
• Advanced accounting and financial analysis skills.
• Experience with managed services (EDR/MDR), optical transport planning tools, and monitoring platforms (e.g., ELK, Prometheus).

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Excellent interpersonal skills to establish and maintain effective relationships with customers, employees, superiors and business contacts in a professional, timely and courteous manner
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong relationship builder and communicator with experience leading diverse work teams
• Ability to perform a variety of tasks, often changing assignments on short notice
• Must be able to work independently with little or no direct supervision and contribute to a team environment.
• Ability to make sound decisions using the information at hand
• Strong trouble resolution and problem solving skills
• Able to think at a strategic level by viewing things from a broader perspective than day-to-day operations
• Deals effectively with unexpected situations and issues and is able to be an effective change agent within the company
• Must possess a strong financial and business acumen
• Required to have very strong work ethic
• Ability to develop absolute trust and respect of their staff and other senior leaders
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy

TOOLS, EQUIPMENT, AND SOFTWARE:

• Demonstrated knowledge of personal computer applications Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Outlook.
• Experience and proficiency with CAD programs, Visio, PowerPoint, and mapping software

WORKING CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Primarily indoor work primarily in office environment
• Frequent utilization of manual dexterity and visualizing of computer screen
• No unusual physical requirements
• Frequent travel by vehicle and some by air, with some overnights (if applicable).
• Frequent extended hours required in order to meet deadlines and respond to issues. Includes availability after normal business hours and on weekends
• Work environment will be unstructured and with little, if any, direct supervision