Outside Plant Fiber (OSP) Engineer

Who We Are:

For almost 30 years, Smith Bagley, Inc. (SBi) has served the communications needs of underserved rural communities and tribal lands in the Southwest.  Our cellular division, Cellular One, is a leading regional provider of mobile technology and wireless communications service operating a network of more than 230 cell sites, covering 60,000 square miles. We also own Sunstate Technology Group, an IT Firm that serves a wide variety of organizations from Fire and EMS to healthcare and schools.  Discover our values and what makes us tick in this quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClBQVq-9y9E

What Can You Expect From SBi?

SBi offers a competitive salary range to meet you where you are today with a clear path to success where you may be rewarded with: a free cell phone account, monthly fitness and wellness reimbursements, employee assistance programs, quarterly bonuses as well as an incredible benefit package that includes: Medical/Dental/Vision/Short & Long Term Disability/ Life Insurance/401k.

What Does SBi Expect From You?

YOU are a perfect fit if you’re highly productive and good at setting goals, keeping track of progress and taking initiative to improve your work. Always ready to take the first step, you’re action-oriented, practical and focused. You take a lot of pride in practicing excellence in the ordinary and following through with the tasks that have been assigned to you or your team.

Job Description Summary:

The Outside Plant Fiber (OSP) Engineer will design the most efficient and cost effective fiber optic cable routing & fiber strand assignments for assigned projects that vary in scope, size, and complexity, and will be responsible for each phase of project construction through completion.  The OSP Fiber Engineer will ensure all aspects of Right of Way (ROW)/Permitting are approved by required permitting entities and ensure construction drawings to be used by construction contractors bidding on the project are accurate & complete.  The OSP Fiber Engineer will be responsible for the documentation of any before/after construction variances in project scope, cost, materials & assignment of fiber strands.  The OSP Fiber Engineer will work with internal & external stakeholders and vendors to facilitate project completion on-time, within budget, and with customer satisfaction.  

The OSP Fiber Engineer reports to the Fiber Development Manager to deliver regularly maintained project plans, design (routing, cost estimates, fiber assignments), ROW/Permit authorizations, construction drawings, and project completion records.

The OSP Fiber Engineer, after attending AZ811/Locator training, and upon certification, will be required to respond to tickets generated by the AZ 811 (Blue Stake).  The OSP Fiber Engineer determines if the planned digging will impact SBi’s existing fiber cable using geospatial records (GIS), or construction drawings.  The OSP Engineer is responsible to inform the AZ 811 caller via email, and/or phone call within 2-working days whether there is a conflict and when it will be marked, if no conflict – give the all clear to excavate, or inform the caller a reschedule will be required before the fiber optic cable can be marked and an excavation delay will be required. 

Responsibilities:

• Fielding: notes, sketches, photos translated into a KMZ file that reflect current/future needs and show the fiber cable route, cable size, color coded to reflect aerial/underground cable sections, & HH locations with slack loop measurements.  
• Request Engineering Quotes (RFQ): ROW/Permitting, construction drawing quotes, and estimated schedules from multiple vendors.  Review vendor quotes for accuracy & consistency and recommendation to the Fiber Development Manager.
• Conduct a site walk with the vendor selected for ROW/Permitting and construction drawings.  Upon delivery, review ROW/Permitting and construction drawings for accuracy and request any changes/revisions as required.
• Create a cost estimate per project to include labor, material, permit costs, taxes that can be converted to cost per foot.
• Request construction contractor quotes to include material ordering as an alternative to SBi ordered material.  Review the construction quotes for accuracy, adherence to the established budget and timeline, and address any material delays, questions, or concerns with each vendor.  Recommend a selection to the Fiber Development Manager.
• Work with the selected construction vendor through project completion.  Keep detailed notes to document any changes, delays, issues, or concerns, and notify the Fiber Development Manager of any aspect that may affect the project schedule, budget, or customer satisfaction.
• Collaborate with SBI employees and any project stakeholders to jointly ensure success.
• Supports the Fiber Development Manager throughout all phases of the Engineering and Construction Bid process.  May include representing SBi at Bid Meetings, and collaborating with the Manager on Bid Analysis.
• Develops proposed & actual fiber routes and establishes detailed cost estimates to support sales, grant & funding opportunities to include, but not limited to (E-rate, NM Public Regulatory Commission, CARES, RFP’s, Grant Opportunities, NTIA, FirstNet, AZ Commerce Authority and VBS initiatives).

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Requirements:

• Analyze field conditions for multiple alternative routes to determine the most efficient route in terms of time, cost, and likely to result in the least amount of issues/delays during construction, and during maintenance of the existing route.
• Determine the price of the ROW, engineering, material, construction labor to complete a project within budget.
• Experience in OSP construction principles. Aerial, buried, or underground fiber cable placement, splicing methods and understand RUS Units.
• Read, interpret & understand fiber construction plans and other utility, or architectural plans.
• Effectively manage workload for ongoing, or planned projects of different scope & complexity to meet commitments.
• Contribute to team success through active participation.

Skills:

• Ability to work collaboratively, with internal employees, 3^rd party vendors, local utilities or government agencies.
• Logical, practical, and forward thinking applied to current needs & future opportunities.
• Good communicator, can explain the rationale behind decisions to varied audiences.
• Self-motivated, detail oriented and proven record of performing at a high level.
• Ability to work with the construction crews before, during, and after construction if questions, unforeseen obstacles, or issues are encountered.
• Ability to understand, and adapt to different permitting requirements at the City, State, Federal or Tribal Land levels.

Education/Experience:

• 5 – 10 years of Telecommunications experience as an OSP Fiber Engineer, or equivalent

The above declarations are not intended to be an “All-Inclusive” list of duties and responsibilities of the job described, nor are they intended to be such a listing of the skills and abilities required to do the job.  Rather, they are intended only to describe the general nature of the job, and be a reasonable representation of its activities.

Pay: (Salary) $50,000 – $60,000 per year DOE

Generous Benefits Package: Paid Time Off, Sick Pay, Medical (PPO or HSA), Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short-Term & Long-Term Disability; 401K, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and more!