Network Engineer III

Arcadian Infracom Inc•San Ramon, CA

9d•$145,750 - $167,700

About The Position

This senior role leads the planning, engineering, and operations of the outside plant (OSP) and inside plant (ISP) for Arcadian’s greenfield long-haul fiber optic network. Built from the ground up on Nokia and Infinera optical transport equipment, the network requires an engineer who can design and document new routes and systems, set technical standards, bring sites and wavelengths into service, and keep them operating reliably—while helping shape the architecture and capacity roadmap as the network scales. The position combines hands-on optical transport and DWDM engineering with fiber-plant design and day-to-day network operations, and serves as a senior technical voice across construction, operations, vendors, and customers.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Minimum of 8 years of network engineering experience with hands-on responsibility for long-haul and/or metro optical transport networks, including direct DWDM design and operations.
Hands-on optical transport and DWDM engineering, including optical line-system and link-budget design (span loss, OSNR, chromatic and polarization-mode dispersion), ROADM/FOADM and fixed- and flex-grid architectures, coherent optics, and OTN.
Hands-on experience operating and engineering at least one major optical transport platform (for example, the Nokia 1830 family or Infinera; comparable Ciena or Cisco experience considered), including its NMS/EMS and CLI.
Working knowledge of outside-plant fiber fundamentals: route and span engineering, single-mode fiber characteristics, fusion splicing, and OTDR and optical-loss testing and acceptance.
Inside-plant and facilities knowledge, including POP and site engineering, DC power, and rack, space, and fiber management.
Demonstrated ability to build from scratch in a greenfield environment, operating with autonomy and sound judgment amid ambiguity, and acting as the senior technical voice with direct executive interaction.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with Nokia (1830 GX/PSS, ICE6/ICE7, NSP, WaveSuite) and/or Infinera (Transcend, TNMS) platforms, and relevant vendor certifications (for example, Nokia Optical Network Certification, NSP, or Service Routing Certification; Infinera technical training).
Experience in the telecommunications, fiber, or carrier industry serving hyperscaler, carrier, or enterprise backbone customers, including network inventory and records discipline.
Familiarity with GIS/KMZ route tooling and with dark-fiber economics (IRU versus lease versus wavelength) and master service agreement (MSA) terms.
Scripting and automation (for example, Python) and familiarity with IP/MPLS and routing protocols such as BGP, OSPF, and IS-IS, including IP-over-DWDM.
Optical propagation and path-modeling experience, and experience at an early- or growth-stage, venture- or infrastructure-backed company in a capital-intensive industry.

Responsibilities

Lead optical and DWDM network design for greenfield long-haul and middle-mile routes, including optical line-system layout, wavelength and capacity planning, and network topology on Nokia and Infinera platforms.
Perform optical link engineering including span and optical-budget design (span loss, OSNR, chromatic dispersion and polarization-mode dispersion), amplifier and ROADM placement, and reach and modulation selection for coherent wavelengths.
Develop engineering design packages (EDPs) and bills of materials (BoMs) that construction and operations teams can build to, and maintain the design standards, templates, and methods of procedure (MOPs) behind them.
Own the capacity and technology roadmap by forecasting growth, planning augments, and evaluating new optical engines, line systems, and architectures (for example, C+L-band and higher-baud coherent optics) to scale the network cost-effectively.
Engineer fiber routes and spans translating route designs into construction-ready optical plant, including span lengths, splice points, regeneration and amplifier siting, and fiber-count planning, in coordination with construction and permitting.
Set and verify fiber acceptance standards by reviewing OTDR traces, end-to-end optical loss, and splice quality, defining test plans, and accepting fiber from contractors against specification.
Manage dark-fiber and IRU considerations evaluating leased fiber, IRU pairs, and right-of-way constraints while maintaining accurate route, span, and splice records.
Maintain structured OSP records keeping as-builts, fiber documentation, and GIS/KMZ route and inventory data current and authoritative.
Design POP, regeneration, and amplifier sites including rack elevations, DC power and space planning, fiber management, and equipment layout for Nokia and Infinera systems.
Establish installation and grounding standards for inside-plant equipment, cabling, and fiber, ensuring consistency, safety, and maintainability across sites.
Lead build, commissioning, and turn-up of optical transport systems and wavelengths, from staging and configuration through acceptance testing and in-service hand-off.
Direct field and vendor execution by developing MOPs, coordinating smart-hands, contractors, and equipment manufacturers, and providing technical leadership during deployment and migration activities.
Verify vendor and subcontractor work reviewing acceptance documentation and as-built records for equipment deployed on the network.
Operate and assure the live network monitoring optical transport through vendor NMS/EMS and CLI (for example, Nokia NSP and WaveSuite, and Infinera Transcend and TNMS), analyzing performance trends, and optimizing the network.
Diagnose and resolve complex faults performing fault isolation across the optical and fiber layers, identifying root cause, coordinating restoration, and driving issues to resolution to protect uptime.
Define maintenance and restoration processes including monitoring, preventive maintenance, contingency and recovery plans, RMA handling, and change management, and serving as the senior escalation point in an on-call rotation.
Establish and enforce technical standards for design, configuration, naming, and acceptance across outside plant, inside plant, and transport.
Create and maintain network records including diagrams, device configurations, inventory, circuit records, and operational runbooks and user documentation for all network systems.
Drive automation and tooling improving engineering and operations workflows through scripting and process automation where it adds leverage.
Manage equipment and fiber vendors as partners including Nokia and Infinera, fiber and construction contractors, and parts and maintenance suppliers, and validate specifications, interoperability, and delivery timelines.
Partner across the business with Construction, Permitting, Procurement, Senior Directors of Engineering, and Finance to translate business needs into technical solutions and communicate trade-offs in business terms.
Serve as the senior technical voice in cross-functional planning, executive briefings, and customer-facing technical conversations, including with hyperscaler, carrier, and enterprise customers.
Lead architecture reviews for significant network changes, ensuring scalability, maintainability, and alignment with the long-term operating model rather than short-term implementation pressure.
Mentor and develop engineers and technicians building team capability and maintaining documented technical training materials.