Associate Director, AI Connect Solutions Architecture
About The Position
Verizon is building AI Connect as an intelligent fabric for the AI economy, connecting AI campuses, power-advantaged regions, and cloud on-ramps through physical fiber infrastructure. The Associate Director leads experts who develop signed, buildable, and profitable designs for Verizon’s largest strategic customers across AI Connect, dark fiber, lit fiber/wave, and edge data centers. The role leads architects and senior sales engineers who own customer designs from discovery and solution architecture through contract, engineering hand-off, construction, and service turn-up. The Associate Director is accountable for design integrity, scope control, delivery readiness, and the customer’s technical experience across a multi-billion-dollar portfolio. This mobile role is primarily based at customer or field locations, with occasional visits to a Verizon location for in-person training and meetings. The position is scheduled for 40 hours per week.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline or directly related equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of experience engineering and architecting telecom, IT, or network infrastructure.
- Deep expertise in dark fiber and the intersection of physical assets with AI/ML digital transformation.
- 3+ years leading senior architects or sales engineers, including workforce planning, coaching, and performance management.
- Experience owning complex customer solutions from design through delivery, including scope, change, and contract management.
- Experience engaging senior executives and delivering effective customer presentations.
- Demonstrated financial analysis skills, including P&L, ROI, cost analysis, and business-case development.
Nice To Haves
- MS or MBA.
- Direct experience with hyperscalers, neoclouds, or carriers.
- OSP engineering, construction, or delivery background, including ULH or metro fiber programs and contractor management.
- Knowledge of AI and GPU cluster networking and how topology drives fiber-layer requirements.
- Experience with IRUs, swaps, anchor-tenant builds, SLAs, and MSAs.
- Relevant certifications such as CCIE/CCNP, optical vendor certifications, PMP, or FOA CFOS.
Responsibilities
- Set the vision and build and execute an end-to-end customer design ownership model for AI Connect, dark fiber, lit fiber/wave, and edge data centers.
- Lead architects and sales engineers serving Verizon’s top strategic customers across a multi-billion-dollar portfolio, driving bookings and quota attainment.
- Ensure each customer has one accountable technical owner from discovery through order, hand-off, build tracking, and turn-up.
- Set design and hand-off standards to align sold scope, schedule, and cost with delivered scope and reduce rework, change orders, and time to revenue.
- Run customer-health and delivery-readiness processes and escalate issues early across Sales, Network Planning, Construction, Right-of-Way, and Operations.
- Lead opportunity teams that develop a holistic view of customer strategy, processes, and IT assets.
- Coach teams in executive presentations, technical storytelling, competitive positioning, and multi-stakeholder account strategy.
- Build business cases, ROI analyses, and cost models; ensure designs align with pricing and delivery capabilities.
- Improve efficiency through automation and off-loading low-value work so senior talent can focus on customer outcomes.
- Hire, coach, motivate, and retain architects and engineers; maintain certifications; and represent Verizon at events and customer advisory boards.
- Build a culture of empowerment, collaboration, innovation, and integrity.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
- Short- and long-term disability insurance.
- Basic and supplemental life insurance and AD&D insurance.
- Identity theft protection, pet insurance, and group home and auto insurance.
- Matched 401(k) savings plan.
- Up to 8 company-paid holidays per year and up to 6 personal days per year.
- Paid parental leave.
- Adoption assistance.
- Tuition assistance.
- Premium pay opportunities, which may include overtime, shift differential, holiday pay, and allowances, depending on the role.
- Up to 15 days of vacation per year for newly hired employees, with additional vacation accruing with service.
- Base salary, annual incentive, and long-term incentive.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
