Principal, Outside Plant (OSP) Manager

About the team

Drive OCI Gigascale Outside Plant delivery, fiber route diversity, duct bank/civil builds, permitting, and carrier/utility coordination; ensuring sites achieve readiness on time with safe, high-quality, low-risk execution.

Description

The Outside Plant (OSP) Manager is responsible for planning and delivering all OSP scope required to bring OCI gigascale data center sites to readiness, fiber route strategy and diversity, duct bank/civil infrastructure, entrance facilities, and carrier/utility coordination. This role drives schedule certainty across complex external dependencies (permitting, inspections, rights-of-way, and carrier turn-ups) and ensures field execution meets OCI standards for safety, quality, resiliency, and long-term operability.

Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

OSP Delivery & Site Readiness

• Own OSP scope delivery for assigned gigascale sites/leasing programs: conduit/innerduct, duct banks, handholes/manholes/vaults, pathways to entrance facilities, and fiber placement/splicing coordination.
• Build and maintain integrated OSP schedules aligned to data center construction milestones and service readiness dates.
• Identify critical-path risks and execute mitigation plans (alternate routes, phased releases, acceleration strategies).

Fiber Route Strategy & Resiliency

• Define diverse fiber route approaches to meet availability/resiliency objectives (path diversity, separation, redundancy).
• Coordinate design validation and field walks to confirm constructability and risk reduction.

Permitting, ROW, Utility & Municipality Coordination

• Lead permitting plans and execution for ROW access, civil work, traffic control, inspections, and closeouts.
• Manage relationships with municipalities, utilities, and inspection authorities to maintain predictable cycle times.

Carrier & Connectivity Enablement

• Coordinate with carriers and internal network teams on entrance facility readiness, demarc requirements, meet-me connectivity, and turn-up prerequisites.
• Drive readiness reviews to ensure all deliverables are complete for carrier installation and service activation.

Contractor & Vendor Management

• Manage OSP contractors and suppliers: scope definition, bid packages, execution oversight, progress tracking, change control, and acceptance.
• Ensure adherence to safety requirements, quality standards, and documentation expectations.

Quality, Documentation & Handover

• Establish quality checkpoints (trench/conduit inspections, compaction, fiber testing, splice documentation) and enforce remediation where needed.
• Deliver complete handover packages (as-builts, permits closeout, test results/OTDR, route maps, asset records) suitable for operations and ongoing maintenance.

Reporting & Governance

• Provide clear reporting on schedule, cost, risks/issues, and key decisions needed from stakeholders.
• Maintain KPI discipline across contractors and sites (productivity, quality, rework, safety, cycle time).

Qualifications (Required)

• 7+ years of experience in OSP, telecom civil/fiber deployment, utility/ROW construction, or related infrastructure programs.
• Demonstrated success delivering fiber/civil projects with heavy permitting and external dependency management.
• Strong working knowledge of OSP construction methods and standards: conduit systems, duct banks, vaults/handholes, fiber placement/splicing, testing and acceptance.
• Proven contractor management capability (field oversight, forecasting, change management, quality acceptance).
• Excellent stakeholder communication—able to align cross-functional teams and drive decisions quickly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting data centers, hyperscale infrastructure, or other mission-critical environments.
• Familiarity with route diversity/resiliency concepts and carrier service delivery processes (LOA/CFA, demarc/entrance facility coordination).
• Experience with documentation systems (GIS/CAD as-builts), project controls tools, and formal stage-gate readiness processes.
• Relevant certifications (preferred, not required): BICSI OSP Designer, OSHA 30 (or regional equivalent), telecom/fiber credentials.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Telecommunications, or related field—or equivalent practical experience.

Qualifications

15 years of experience in construction project management

OR

Bachelor's Degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or related field AND 11 years of experience in construction project management

OR

Master's Degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or related field AND 9 years of experience in construction project management

OR

Doctorate in Construction Management, Engineering, or related field AND 7 years of experience in construction project management.

Job Skills:

Same as prior level

16 years of experience in construction project management

OR

Bachelor's Degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or related field AND 12 years of experience in construction project management

OR

Master's Degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or related field AND 10 years of experience in construction project management

OR

Doctorate in Construction Management, Engineering, or related field AND 8 years of experience in construction project management.

2 years of experience in a leadership role with or without direct reports.

4 years of experience working with operating budgets and/or project financials.