Datacenter Fiber/OTDR Engineer (HYBRID)

Remote but needs to live close to Milwaukee, WI.

• Fluent on operating test equipment, whether that's an OTDR power meter.

• Prefer date center background with splicing

• High school diploma or equivalent with 3 years supporting fiber optic networks or large-scale deployments.

• Ability to pass background checks as required.

• Strong knowledge of fiber optics, dark and lit fiber networks, OTDR testing, and fiber maintenance.

• Experience in fiber splicing, testing, and documentation in field service environments.

• Understanding of data center infrastructure, including servers, networking, and racks.

• Proficiency with fiber testing tools such as fusion splicers, OTDRs, power meters, and fiber identifiers.

• Ability to read and interpret fiber optic maps, schematics, and test results.

• Willingness to travel and respond to fiber-related issues as needed.

• Bachelor s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, Business Management, or related field.

• 10 years in mission-critical fiber operations within large-scale environments.

• Experience with dark and lit fiber providers, aerial and underground fiber delivery.

• 5 years in OSP and ISP fiber installation, management, and maintenance.

• Expertise in fiber splicing, troubleshooting, and documentation.

• Background in fiber network design, construction, and best practices.

• Knowledge of fiber supply chain, asset management, and logistics.

• Experience with IT service operations, ITIL, MOF, SLA/OLA frameworks.

• Familiarity with cloud platforms such as Azure or Office 365.

1. Fiber Management & Maintenance

• Prevent fiber cuts, degradation, and outages through proactive monitoring and maintenance.

• Perform regular fiber inspections, cleaning, and testing to ensure operational integrity.

• Educate and coach full-time employees on fiber maintenance best practices.

• Collaborate with suppliers, partners, technicians, and customers to coordinate fiber delivery and management.

• Oversee leased and owned fiber to ensure defect-free and on-time delivery.

• Plan and manage fiber logistics, infrastructure, and resources for new data center expansions.

• Manage vendor/partner relationships, contracts, and SLAs for fiber operations.

• Provide root cause analysis (RCA), lessons learned, and recommendations to improve operations.

2. Fiber Deployment & Testing

• Conduct end-to-end fiber testing for new installations and troubleshooting.

• Perform optical loss testing, OTDR analysis, insertion loss, reflectance, and return loss evaluations.

• Ensure all fiber test equipment is calibrated and certified within 12 months.

• Generate detailed fiber test reports for engineering teams.

• Conduct fiber splicing to support break-fix operations and deployments (bulk splicing excluded).

• Serve as a remote hands expert for engineering teams and third-party providers.

3. Data Center Hygiene & Compliance

• Inspect fiber paths, patch panels, racks, and ports for cleanliness and organization.

• Perform remediation tasks such as cable management, labeling updates, and quality assurance.

• Trace optical jumpers to verify quality and prevent congestion or damage.

• Ensure adherence to industry safety codes, regulations, and best practices.

4. Change Management & Troubleshooting

• Support fiber-related change management, including testing and validation.

• Act as a subject matter expert (SME) for fiber-related changes in carrier hotels, meet-me rooms, and leased facilities.

• Troubleshoot and restore fiber outages, working closely with remote engineering teams.

• Implement disaster recovery procedures for fiber-related incidents.

The Datacenter Fiber Specialist is responsible for ensuring the integrity, performance, and security of the fiber optic network within datacenter operations. Key focus areas include fiber delivery, troubleshooting, maintenance, and testing to support critical deployments, break-fix operations, and network expansion. The specialist will provide up to 40 hours per week during regular business hours, collaborating with engineering teams, third-party fiber providers, and internal deployment teams.