About the Role:

The Staff Manager-Network Optimization Dark Fiber position is a senior level manager of people within a highly technical engineering organization. The position will have two-fold responsibility to manage, develop and guide a team of strong technical personnel and manage a complex workload that transits across fiber, transport, ISP, OSP and contractual functions to achieve organizational goals.  

The candidate must drive their engineering team to create a runway of plans related to our initiative to consolidate and/or exit fiber IRU’s and Lease’s to achieve expense reductions in our recurring fiber expense. This will entail fiber which is aged, duplicative or less used and create plans to consolidate and/or exit those facilities. 

In tandem they will work collaboratively with peers that review network facilities that the fiber infrastructure connects and reduce and/or exit fiber that is no longer needed as those teams exit other facilities. This will require the aligning of reporting personnel’s skills to the specific demands of a given project and manage the creation of tactical plans that are then handed downstream to tactical engineers to embody the plan to reality.  The goal of the team is to create a 3-5 year running plan for consolidation and migrating out of identified locations to achieve the highest cost reductions.  This position will be filled remotely anywhere within the country.

What You’ll Do:

• Manage a team of 3-12 engineers to create long-term strategy plans which optimize IRU and Leased Fiber infrastructure to prioritize infrastructure consolidations which produce the largest and quickest cost reduction opportunities. This includes:

• Overseeing and developing the skill set of the group to ensure continued improvement of the group’s base skills
• Managing the workload across the group to ensure work/life balance while managing the defined goals of the team
• Managing people conflicts both within the group and between external departments and the direct report team
• Responsibility for all aspects related to Human Resource practices while leading the team with confidence, vision and compassion that embodies Uniti’s values.

• Layout a prioritized plan for the identified opportunity to create a workflow which reflects a two year and greater runway of cost reduction opportunities leveraging group resources
• Work across multiple lines of business and departments to develop a project scope and business case to optimize each opportunity defined by the prioritized plan
• Drive the review of real estate, fiber IRU, and customer contracts to achieve organizational goals
• Provide regular status updates to leadership regarding project milestones, deliverables, dependencies, risks and issues
• Other duties as assigned

Do You Have?

• Strong understanding of telecom infrastructure including real estate facilities, ISP, OPS, optical/TDM transport networks and fiber architectures and how each component inter-links
• Strong understanding of interdependencies between technology, operations, and business needs
• Prior management experience within a technical field

Even Better:

• Highly motivated and analytical with ability to manage large, complex data sets as well as complex and overlapping business initiatives 
• Excellent negotiating and conflict management skills
• Strong independent work habits
• Excellent contract analysis and creation skills
• Highly adaptable, motivated by challenges
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Familiarity with industry database and management systems
• People focused attitude

Minimum Requirements:

College degree in Engineering or a related field and 8+ years professional level experience with 2-3 years supervisory experience; or 12+ years professional level related Engineering/Technical experience with 2-3 years supervisory experience; or an equivalent combination of education and professional level related Engineering/Technical experience required

Notice to Non-U.S. Citizens:Uniti, as a holder of licenses granted by the Federal Communications Commission, is required to notify and to obtain approval from federal regulatory agencies prior to granting certain system/network access to any non-U.S. citizen personnel. Offers of employment extended to non-U.S. citizens are contingent upon receiving the requisite approval from agencies overseeing compliance. Non-U.S. citizens are required to provide Uniti with the personal identifying information required to obtain the necessary approval prior to accessing certain systems and/or Uniti’s network. If you are not a U.S. citizen, please notify your recruiter or email [email protected] as soon as possible for information on Uniti’s foreign personnel disclosure and approval requirements.

Notice to Applicants: Depending on the position and its job functions, offers of employment may be contingent upon successful completion of certain pre-employment screenings, including but not limited to drug-screen, motor vehicle records check, or other pre-employment screening. All such screenings will be conducted by an external third-party with the Candidate’s written consent and in accordance with federal and state law. Refusal to authorize or submit to a required pre-employment screening may disqualify the candidate from employment. Any misrepresentation during the application or interview process may result in denial of employment, withdrawal of offer, or termination.