Director of Network Operations & Service Delivery

They are a registered federal vendor and defense contractor looking for a Director of Network Operations & Service Delivery to own the customer-facing service experience on the live network and to serve as a senior technical authority on network performance and issue resolution. You will lead service delivery in close collaboration with our outsourced Network Operations Center and planned outsourced customer call center, and ensure that every Enterprise and XGS-PON service inquiry has clear ownership and resolution. You will drive proactive optimization and deep troubleshooting across optical transport and XGS-PON (capacity, optical budgets, performance degradation, and complex failure modes) while building the processes, tools, and integrations that allow the majority of issues to be resolved without escalation.

This is a leadership role at a mission-driven company entering its highest-growth phase. You will have direct access to the CEO and leadership team, own both the service experience customers feel and the technical performance that underpins it, and build the operational engine that lets the company scale Enterprise and XGS-PON services without compromising quality.

Responsibilities:

Network Reliability & Collaboration with NOC

• Lead deep technical troubleshooting of complex transport and access issues (optical power, OSNR, BER, amplifier, ROADM, and XGS-PON optical budget problems) in partnership with the NOC, escalating only when internal or vendor expertise is required.
• Establish correlation between transport-layer events and XGS-PON customer impact so that the call center and NOC prioritize and resolve the highest-impact issues first.
• Define and track key metrics including availability, MTTR, first-call resolution, and escalation rates.
• Drive proactive network optimization using the Ciena and Calix tool suite, including capacity utilization, wavelength performance, and optical power management to prevent degradation before it becomes customer-impacting.
• Ensure incident, problem, and change processes produce clear root-cause analysis and corrective actions that reduce repeat failures.
• Serve as the internal owner for customer-impacting events on the XGS-PON network and for high-value institutional customers.
• Use Ciena automation and orchestration tools (Network Navigator, Blue Planet, or equivalent) for real-time visibility, alarm management, and performance monitoring of the optical transport network. Improve incident correlation, root-cause analysis, and reduction of mean time to restore.

Service Delivery & XGS-PON Ownership

• Own the order-to-activation path, ensuring clean turn-up and testing standards are met.
• Own the end-to-end service experience for the XGS-PON network and support the Enterprise network service experience. All service inquiries related to XGS-PON ultimately roll up to this role.
• Lead service delivery in collaboration with the outsourced NOC, establishing clear handoffs, escalation paths, and shared accountability for customer-impacting events.
• Monitor and optimize optical budgets, split ratios, OLT capacity, and utilization to maintain service quality as the subscriber base grows.
• Ensure acceptance and ongoing performance testing catch optical or capacity issues before services are turned over or before they generate customer tickets.
• Define and enforce service acceptance criteria (optical budgets, OTDR, end-to-end verification, customer app installation and walk-thru) before services are turned over to customers.
• Drive reductions in time-to-service and unnecessary truck rolls through better pre-turn-up quality and remote diagnostics.

Outsourced Call Center & Calix Service Cloud Integration

• Design an operating model such that only the most complex problems escalate to internal resources or the NOC.
• Lead the project to integrate Calix Service Cloud with the planned call center’s platform, giving agents the network visibility and tools required to diagnose and resolve XGS-PON issues without escalation.
• Scope, implement, and continuously improve the integration so that call center agents have accurate, real-time insight into service status, alarms, and customer premises equipment.
• Establish knowledge base content, scripts, and decision trees that enable the call center to handle routine XGS-PON inquiries independently.

Field Operations, Plant Integrity & Records

• Coordinate field technician and contractor activity for build, maintenance, repair, and customer premise work related to XGS-PON and enterprise services.
• Ensure as-built and redline data flows accurately into VETRO (system of record) so that operations, the call center, and engineering share a single source of truth.
• Support damage prevention and locate processes that protect the plant.
• Provide operational feedback to OSP Engineering on constructability, recurring field issues, and serviceability of new builds.

Team, Vendors & Operating Cadence

• Manage the performance of the outsourced call center and the contractual relationship that supports it.
• Collaborate with the NOC vendor on operational processes, tooling, and continuous improvement.
• Establish weekly, monthly, and quarterly operating reviews covering service metrics, call center performance, integration progress, and reliability.
• Identify future internal hiring needs as the XGS-PON base and service volume grow., * The mission is authentic. The company was built to solve a connectivity problem that is real and experienced every day by our customers.
• You will own the service experience for the XGS-PON network and the planned call-center model that scales with it.
• You will lead concrete, high-impact projects
• The customer set is high-stakes. Healthcare, research, public safety, defense, small businesses and everyday residents depend on the service you will run.
• The team is filled with expert operators who know their craft and have very high standards. They have built a robust network; they need leadership that keeps the customer experience at that standard as it grows.

• 10+ years in network operation and service delivery in a telecom, fiber, or critical-infrastructure environment.
• Proven track record owning service experience and resolution metrics (first-call resolution, MTTR, escalation rate), not just managing tickets.
• Experience managing an outsourced call center, NOC, or field service provider, including contract performance and continuous improvement.
• Hands-on experience with XGS-PON or GPON access networks and optical transport environments.
• Experience delivering services to enterprise, institutional, or government customers with contractual SLAs., * Demonstrated ability to diagnose and resolve complex optical transport and XGS-PON performance issues (power levels, OSNR, BER, optical budgets, capacity constraints).
• Experience using Ciena Network Navigator (or equivalent) and automation platforms such as Blue Planet for both real-time troubleshooting and longer-term network optimization.
• Calix certification (Calix Service Cloud, Calix Cloud, or equivalent Calix platform certification preferred or required within a defined period).
• Deep working knowledge of Calix Service & Operations Clouds and the ability to drive its integration with third-party call center platforms.
• Service provisioning, acceptance testing, and remote diagnostics for fiber access networks.
• Process design for incident management, escalation matrices, knowledge base development, and first-call resolution improvement.
• Working knowledge of GIS / fiber inventory systems (VETRO or equivalent) and the discipline to keep records accurate for both operations and the call center.
• Clear communication with customers, outsourced partners, and internal stakeholders during both normal operations and incidents.

Competitive base salary, annual performance bonus tied to service-delivery and reliability targets, and strong benefits package. Details shared in the first conversation.

Compensation: Based on Experience

Our client has an ultra-fast fiber optic network connecting. Businesses throughout the region depend on them as critical infrastructure.