Director, Long Haul OSP Deployment (East)

Director, Long Haul OSP Deployment (East)

Our Director, Long Haul OSP Deployment (East) is responsible for leading the end to end delivery of long haul OSP deployment programs in the western U.S., with a primary focus on managing 1-2 turnkey engineering and construction contractors across 5-8 simultaneous projects. These builds will be primarily greenfield, with occasional overpull components.

Our Director ensures that each contractor executes to the defined scope, schedule, budget, and quality standards by applying disciplined project management, rigorous contract oversight, and proactive risk mitigation. This role maintains strong communication with internal stakeholders, contractor leadership, permitting authorities, and customers. Our Director reports to the Head of Long Haul OSP Deployment.

NOTE: The team is open to this position working remotely within the United States - East Coast.

Key Responsibilities

Program & Contractor Management

• Lead the overall delivery of 5-8 long haul OSP projects executed by 1-2 large turnkey contractors.

• Serve as the primary operational and contractual interface with turnkey partners, ensuring compliance with all terms, milestones, deliverables, and performance metrics.

• Conduct regular contractor performance reviews focused on schedule adherence, budget performance, production rates, safety, and quality.

• Drive accountability through structured reporting, issue escalation, and corrective action planning when contractor output deviates from expectations.

Project Planning & Execution

• Validate each project's greenfield route scope, fiber counts, structure type, and constructability to ensure clear alignment between requirements and contracted deliverables.

• Oversee route feasibility and risk analysis to accurately forecast project cost, schedule, and required resources before construction begins.

• Manage and maintain project-level schedules and budgets, ensuring turnkey partners update and track progress accurately and transparently.

• Ensure timely submittal and approval of engineering packages, permitting applications, traffic control plans, and environmental/regulatory filings.

Contract Governance & Compliance

• Own the contract execution strategy, from contract kickoff through construction closeout.

• Monitor contractor compliance with unit pricing, milestone requirements, SLAs, and change-order procedures.

• Validate quantities, production reports, invoicing accuracy, and adherence to the agreed-upon schedule of values.

• Ensure change orders are justified, properly documented, and aligned with contractual terms before approval.

Material & Construction Oversight

• Oversee contractor material forecasting, ordering, receiving, and field distribution to ensure alignment with project timelines.

• Monitor field production rates and collaborate with project managers and contractors to implement recovery plans if deviations occur.

Reporting & Stakeholder Communication

• Deliver accurate, concise project reporting at both the program and executive levels, including progress summaries, risk assessments, and mitigation strategies.

• Provide timely updates to customer teams and internal partners throughout construction.

• Deliver complete and accurate asbuilt packages to GIS, network operations, and inventory teams.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and mentor a team of project managers, fostering strong execution discipline and a culture of accountability.

• Promote continuous improvement in vendor management, project controls, and long haul delivery practices.

• Support cross-functional collaboration with regional OSP teams to ensure program alignment with local initiatives and broader network strategy.

Education, Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Telecommunications, or a related technical field; equivalent work experience considered.

• Business, finance, or project management coursework or degree a plus.

• Minimum of ten (10) years of successful people leadership experience in largescale network deployment or construction environments.

• Minimum of ten (10) years managing complex, multiphase telecommunications projects, ideally involving OSP, longhaul fiber, Ethernet, or wireless networks.

• Minimum of ten (10) years of OSP construction management experience with demonstrated expertise in longhaul builds, greenfield construction, and contractor oversight.

• Extensive experience managing turnkey (EPC) contractors, including tracking deliverables, enforcing contract terms, and driving performance.

• Proven history of delivering large, multimilliondollar fiber deployment programs on schedule and within budget.

• Experience administering NTIA or similar federal program requirements (e.g., DavisBacon, BABA, environmental assessments).

• Specific experience navigating complex permitting and regulatory processes such as NEPA, Section 106, Tribal engagement, and ROW negotiations.

• Strong understanding of OSP construction standards, fiber cable specifications, and longhaul design principles.

• Working knowledge of optical network concepts, fiber testing standards, and acceptance criteria.

• Ability to read, understand, and validate fiber testing output; experience with tools such as EXFO FastReporter a plus.

• Familiarity with GISbased tools (e.g., ArcGIS/ArcView, MapInfo, Google Earth).

• Knowledge of the U.S. carrier, longhaul, and darkfiber market landscape.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and contractors in a fastpaced, highvisibility environment.

• Strong financial acumen, including budget creation, cost control, unitprice validation, and invoice verification.

• Experience developing, negotiating, and administering largescale construction and engineering contracts.

• Skilled in risk identification, mitigation planning, and escalating issues to resolution.

• Proficiency with MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and Google Workspace tools.

• Experience with project management platforms such as Sitetracker strongly preferred.

• Familiarity with Salesforce or similar CRM tools a plus.

• Exceptional problem solving and critical thinking capabilities.

• Strong communication skills with an ability to convey complex technical issues to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

• Demonstrated leadership qualities with the ability to mentor teams, build consensus, and drive high contractor accountability.

• High level of organization, urgency, and attention to detail.

• Ability to travel up to ~10% for key field visits, vendor oversight, permit meetings, and escalations.

• Must be authorized to work in the United States.