Senior Director Infrastructure Planning

Lumen Technologies

3d • Remote

About The Position

Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up – committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress.
We’re looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future.
The Role
The Senior Director Infrastructure Planning leads a newly integrated planning domain that brings together fiber, critical infrastructure, and location planning into a single, holistically managed capability for Lumen. This role is accountable for setting national, regional, and metro-level infrastructure and location strategies, translating long-term network and technical space needs into actionable, enterprise-wide plans. The leader will establish consistent planning standards, assumptions, and governance, ensuring infrastructure decisions are grounded in data, aligned to business priorities, and scalable across legacy and growth markets.
Working across a broad and highly interdependent stakeholder landscape, this role partners closely with Finance, Corporate Real Estate, Architecture & Engineering, Network Planning, Service Delivery, Service Assurance, Product, and Sales. The Senior Director drives integrated planning for fiber routes, technical sites, and critical infrastructure—including power, cooling, space, and capacity headroom—so that network platforms are planned as a cohesive system rather than in silos. This includes balancing growth, optimization, consolidation, and risk mitigation while supporting both customer demand and operational resilience.
The Senior Director is also responsible for capital efficiency, investment prioritization, and asset monetization strategies tied to infrastructure planning outcomes. This includes aligning capacity expansion or contraction decisions to ROI targets, stewarding enterprise and legacy fiber assets, and developing strategies for real estate and site monetization opportunities. Through strong cross-functional leadership and executive-level communication, this role delivers clear, strategic recommendations that enable informed decisions and position Lumen’s infrastructure to support long-term business and network objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, or related field required; Master’s degree in Business Administration or Engineering preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of telecommunications planning experience, including at least 3 years at the managerial level leading large teams in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated expertise in tactical network planning, deployment, and optimization across power, HVAC, fiber, and technical space platforms.
• Strong capacity planning background across complex transport networks; inside and outside plant experience with in-depth knowledge of ISP/OSP equipment and designs.
• Proven ability to manage recurring budgets, optimize capital expenditure, and perform economic analysis (e.g., IRR, NPV, cost-benefit).
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills; ability to present to multiple layers of internal and external organizations.
• Experience collaborating across organizational boundaries and influencing outcomes at the executive level.
• High integrity, strong business ethics, and a passion for driving results.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills; proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Access, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Team player with a commitment to continuous improvement and talent development.
• Limited travel required.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in Business Administration or Engineering preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build, mentor, and inspire a high-performance tactical planning team; hire and retain top talent, set clear goals, delegate work, and hold direct reports accountable for results.
• Oversee tactical network deployment, optimization, harvesting, and capital forecasting for power, HVAC, fiber, and technical space.
• Develop and implement network cost savings strategies aligned with monthly and annual targets; manage assigned financial budgets and optimize capital expenditure.
• Ensure on-time delivery of projects supporting customer business needs, adhering to approved technology guidelines and standards.
• Partner with Architecture, Product Management, and Sales to ensure new products and architectures are implemented appropriately and timely; support sales and service delivery teams with network expertise and costing for individual case bases.
• Drive tactical execution in market, including capacity planning, technology decision-making, and leadership across power, HVAC, fiber, and technical space platforms.
• Prepare and present briefing materials for leadership; communicate context for business decisions and recommendations and provide timely information to stakeholders.
• Drive AI tools adoption and use to improve team efficiencies and reduce operating costs
• Foster a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and continuous improvement; encourage diverse perspectives and move the team forward through change.
• Engage employees by providing regular updates, soliciting feedback, ensuring retention and onboarding of relevant talent and skill sets.
• Remain current on industry developments, regulatory rules, and competitor products/services; analyze trends and adapt tactical plans accordingly.

Benefits

• Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing.
• Bonus Structure

What This Job Offers

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