Lead Telecommunications Designer (Mission Critical/Data Center)

WSP • Troy, NY

1d • $131,000 - $180,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

WSP USA is seeking a Lead Telecommunications Designer to join their Mission Critical / Data Center Building Technology Systems (BTS) team. This role provides technical leadership and design authority for telecommunications and structured cabling systems, supporting projects from early planning through construction, commissioning, and turnover. The successful candidate will serve as a technical leader for large-scale telecommunications infrastructure programs, translating owner requirements into scalable, repeatable, and constructible solutions while supporting some of the world's most advanced hyperscale and mission-critical facilities. The position requires experience operating within owner-controlled design environments where standards, governance processes, prototypes, and quality expectations are applied consistently across multiple projects, campuses, and geographic regions.

Requirements

• 7+ years of progressively responsible telecommunications or ICT design experience, including demonstrated technical leadership of telecommunications design delivery for hyperscale, cloud, colocation, or enterprise data centers.
• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Telecommunications, Information Technology, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be substituted.
• Demonstrated responsibility for leading coordinated data center telecommunications design packages, including Revit drawings, Division 27 specifications, multidisciplinary coordination, and construction-phase technical support.
• Demonstrated ability to produce coordinated telecommunications construction documents in Revit, direct and review junior designers' production, and independently complete production tasks when project staffing requires.
• Strong technical knowledge of structured cabling, telecommunications spaces, building and campus pathways, fiber and copper distribution, rack and equipment layouts, grounding and bonding, firestopping, labeling, and installation-testing requirements.
• Demonstrated application of data center telecommunications topology, redundancy, physical-path diversity, failure-domain separation, capacity planning, maintainability, and phased deployment, including coordination with building systems and operations teams.
• Experience interpreting and applying owner-controlled data center telecommunications standards and design templates, resolving review comments, and coordinating approved requirement changes and deviations across project deliverables.
• BICSI RCDD certification
• Working knowledge of BICSI, TIA, NEC, IEEE, applicable building and fire codes, AHJ requirements, and telecommunications industry best practices.
• Excellent verbal, written, organizational, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to interface directly with owner engineering, construction, operations, commissioning, and network stakeholders.
• Ability to undertake occasional, limited travel for site surveys, client meetings, and construction or commissioning coordination.
• Demonstrated commitment to workplace safety and compliance with company policies and procedures.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading telecommunications design for hyperscale campuses or repeatable data center designs across multiple sites.
• Experience with high-count or ultra-high-count fiber systems and large campus telecommunications infrastructure.
• Experience developing or improving telecommunications design standards, specifications, standard details, review checklists, or lessons learned for reuse across projects.
• Additional industry certifications such as DCDC, OSP, RTPM, PMP, or other telecommunications, data center, mission-critical, or project delivery credentials.
• Experience supporting telecommunications installation verification, acceptance testing, commissioning, and construction issue resolution in operating data center environments.

Responsibilities

• Design data center building and campus telecommunications infrastructure, including structured cabling, telecommunications spaces, inside- and outside-plant pathways, fiber and copper distribution, wireless access point layouts, and associated underground infrastructure.
• Serve as the Division 27 technical lead for assigned projects, independently directing telecommunications design delivery from planning through construction, commissioning support, and turnover. Exercise delegated project approval authority and escalate significant scope, fee, schedule, or liability concerns to project and portfolio leadership.
• Evaluate data center telecommunications design alternatives for capacity, redundancy, physical-path diversity, failure-domain separation, maintainability, phased deployment, and commissioning readiness. Document recommendations through calculations, capacity studies, risk and constructability reviews, and basis-of-design narratives.
• Interpret and apply client telecommunications standards, identify gaps or conflicts, and develop coordinated resolutions. Document decisions, project-specific requirements, and approved deviations; coordinate changes across deliverables and escalate matters outside delegated authority.
• Coordinate telecommunications interfaces with building-design, network, operations, construction, and commissioning teams. Lead design reviews and clearly communicate technical decisions, recommendations, risks, and project status to clients and project leadership.
• Develop coordinated Revit drawings, including plans, room layouts, risers, details, elevations, and schedules, together with Division 27 specifications and basis-of-design narratives. Align deliverables with client requirements, applicable codes and industry standards, authority having jurisdiction requirements, and WSP practices.
• Use coordinated Revit models to validate equipment layouts and pathways, resolve multidisciplinary clashes, and assess constructability while following project BIM execution plans, content standards, and quality procedures.
• Perform quality reviews of your own and others' telecommunications deliverables, checking coordination among drawings, specifications, schedules, and calculations. Resolve review comments and verify conformance with project requirements and established quality procedures before issue.
• Plan, assign, and monitor telecommunications work across concurrent project activities to meet agreed scope, schedule, and fee. Communicate resource needs, changes, and delivery risks to project and portfolio leadership.
• Evaluate existing and field conditions, review contractor submittals, respond to RFIs, and resolve telecommunications design issues for new data centers and phased expansions or renovations of operating facilities within delegated project authority.
• Guide junior designers by assigning appropriate work, reviewing deliverables, providing technical feedback, and supporting progressively greater independence and professional development.

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• disability
• life
• retirement savings
• paid sick leave
• paid vacation (or other personal time)
• paid parental leave
• paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings

What This Job Offers

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