Associate Director - RAN Cloud

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The Associate Director of Verizon Cloud Platform, Far Edge Planning leads a specialized team responsible for the architectural strategy, deployment, and automation of Verizon's virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) and Cloud Infrastructure (VCP). Serving as a bridge between Planning and Operations, this role oversees the lifecycle of Cloud-native RAN platforms, manages complex multi-vendor ecosystems, and drives AI-driven automation. You will lead highly technical engineers to ensure the performance, reliability, and security of our Cloud Platform, working in a fast-paced environment with cross-functional teams to deliver new network features.

• Program Leadership & Lifecycle Management: Directing end-to-end strategy and deployment of Cloud-native RAN platforms, overseeing FOA rollouts, hardware cutovers, and infrastructure upgrades across thousands of Far Edge nodes.

• Strategic Vendor Governance & Management: Serving as the primary interface for key partners (Samsung, Wind River, Ericsson, Red Hat), holding them accountable for technical roadmaps, deliverables, and SLAs through rigorous triage and patch management.

• Automation & AI Innovation: Spearheading the development and integration of AI-driven tools and internal software (e.g., Skinny OS, AI Copilots) to automate diagnostics, site pre-checking, and "Day 2" operational workflows.

• Strategic Planning & Integration: Driving vRAN roadmap planning, ensuring integration of new technologies (e.g., Granite Rapids compute) while maintaining infrastructure consistency and performance metrics.

• Operational Alignment: Facilitating cross-functional collaboration between Planning, Engineering, Maintenance Engineering (MTCE), and Operations teams to troubleshoot high-stakes production issues and maintain system stability.

• Team Leadership: Mentoring and developing team members, fostering a culture of high morale and professional excellence, while designating and grooming leads for specific workstreams (e.g., SS requirements, E/// requirements).

• Advanced Troubleshooting: Directing high-stakes technical troubleshooting for complex production issues, including kernel crashes, PTP synchronization failures, and driver-level conflicts (Intel ICE drivers). Utilize advanced diagnostic tools like so-crates (site debug tool/TCPFlow) to isolate packet-level issues and expedite resolution during outages.

• Process Improvement: Identifying opportunities for process improvement and driving efficiencies to simplify repeatable tasks.

• Operational Incident Management: Providing coverage for any operational issues. Ensuring platform outages are handled in accordance with predefined guidelines for ticket management, prioritization, documentation, escalation, and resolution.

• Team Performance Management: Ensuring that the performance of the entire staff is maximized by establishing individual and group objectives, providing routine feedback and counseling (when necessary), and conducting yearly performance appraisals.

• Automation Strategy: Identifying opportunities for operational and management automation while performing as a subject matter expert for the technology.

What we're looking for...

The position will provide technical leadership and/or business-related subject matter expertise on highly visible projects and communicate status and/or updates to executive leadership.

You'll need to have:

• Bachelor's degree or four or more years of work experience.

• Eight or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training.

• Experience in Cloud Infrastructure, OpenShift (CaaS), and vRAN architecture, with experience in RHEL, Linux kernel fine-tuning, and CaaS resource management.

• Experience in managing external technology relationships, articulating firm technical requirements, and leading high-stakes escalations to meet aggressive delivery timelines.

Even better if you have one or more of the following:

• A degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields.

• Ability to analyze issues and solve complex problems with innovative solutions.

• Technical leadership and experience in one or more of the following areas: Telecommunications, Networking, IT systems & Virtualization/Cloud technologies.

• Proven ability to make clear-headed, decisive actions under high-pressure scenarios, particularly regarding infrastructure cutovers and production troubleshooting.

• Demonstrable history of effective partnership and empathy across diverse organizations (MTCE, Operations, Engineering) to solve complex problems and manage executive escalations.

• Ability to effectively articulate technical requirements to vendors and provide clear, strategic updates to executive leadership.

• Automation Mindset: Experience in driving the transition from manual processes to AI-driven, automated network workflows.

• Experience with deploying and managing applications running in a virtualized or containerized environment.

• Completion of an undergraduate degree and an MBA to complement technical expertise with strong business acumen.

• Rotational experience or familiarity with lateral domains such as RAN or Transport to widen technical scope.

• Experience in developing or deploying AI-driven agents or custom scripts for log analysis, configuration management, and predictive network resilience.

• Experience transitioning initiatives from successful FOA/Pilot phases to full-scale enterprise rollout (100-500+ sites).

If Verizon and this role sound like a fit for you, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every "even better" qualification listed above.

Verizon is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to veteran status, disability or other legally protected characteristics.

Our benefits are designed to help you move forward in your career, and in areas of your life outside of Verizon. From health and wellness benefit options including: medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, AD&D insurance, identity theft protection, pet insurance and group home & auto insurance. We also offer a matched 401(k) savings plan, up to 8 company paid holidays per year and up to 6 personal days per year, paid parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition assistance, plus other incentives, we've got you covered with our award-winning total rewards package. Depending on the role, employees have the opportunity to receive compensation in the form of premium pay such as overtime, shift differential, holiday pay, allowances, etc. Newly hired employees receive up to 15 days of vacation per year, which grows with additional service. For part-timers, your coverage will vary as you may be eligible for some of these benefits depending on your individual circumstances.