Director of Network Engineering

Mainstream Fiber Networks • Indianapolis, IN

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Network Engineering & Operations is responsible for the design, deployment, operation, and continuous improvement of Mainstream Fiber Networks’ access, middle-mile, aggregation, core, transport, optical, and customer-facing network infrastructure. This role oversees both Network Engineering and the Network Operations Center (NOC), ensuring the network is scalable, secure, and highly reliable.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Network Engineering, Telecommunications, Optical Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years in ISP, fiber, middle-mile, or transport network operations.
• 5+ years in technical leadership.
• Strong experience with access, middle-mile, and IP networks.

Nice To Haves

• Juniper and Calix platform experience.
• DWDM, ROADM, and optical transport system experience.
• FTTH and XGS-PON architecture experience.
• JNCIS/JNCIP/CCNP or equivalent.
• Advanced routing, switching, and transport knowledge.
• Strong documentation and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end IP, access, and transport network architecture.
• Define design standards and capacity planning.
• Lead technology evaluations and upgrades.
• Approve major network designs.
• Own design and performance of FTTH and PON access networks.
• Oversee service profiles, VLANs, and subscriber provisioning.
• Ensure scalable designs for residential, business, and MDU deployments.
• Support service activation and customer experience optimization.
• Own design and capacity of middle-mile and regional transport networks.
• Develop DWDM and backbone architecture standards.
• Oversee optical power budgeting, span engineering, and amplification.
• Manage wavelength planning and capacity expansion.
• Ensure route diversity and resiliency between markets.
• Support interconnection and carrier partnerships.
• Coordinate with construction and OSP teams.
• Oversee electronics deployment and testing.
• Ensure market turn-ups meet standards.
• Lead 24/7 monitoring and escalation.
• Develop incident response and RCA processes.
• Implement operational playbooks.
• Own network uptime and SLA performance.
• Reduce MTTR and improve resiliency.
• Drive redundancy strategies.
• Recruit and develop engineering staff.
• Establish training and certification paths.
• Set performance standards.
• Manage network CAPEX and OPEX.
• Oversee vendor relationships.
• Optimize asset lifecycle.
• Partner with Sales, Construction, and Product.
• Support enterprise, wholesale, and carrier opportunities

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director