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As a Principal Engineer on the AI Connect team reporting to the Associate Director of Franchise & Right of Way (ROW), you will serve as the lead individual contributor and authoritative subject matter expert (SME) in public franchise acquisition, municipal regulatory strategy, private ROW easements, and end-to-end Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM). In this technical leadership role, you will guide the legal, regulatory, and property rights frameworks required to construct, protect, and maintain long-haul fiber optic cables and associated network infrastructure.
You will provide advanced governance, mentorship, and quality control across external vendor partners and cross-functional teams without direct people-management responsibilities, establishing the standards, playbooks, and negotiation parameters that ensure rapid, legally sound, and compliant network deployment. In this role, you will:
Serve as Lead Franchise & ROW SME: Direct end-to-end acquisition, regulatory evaluation, and due diligence frameworks for public franchise agreements, municipal encroachment authorizations, and private/commercial easements.
Lead Complex & High-Stakes Negotiations: Structure and negotiate complex, non-standard terms with Local Franchise Authorities (LFAs), state DOTs, commercial property owners, and government entities (e.g., BLM land grants), safeguarding key corporate interests such as relocation reimbursements, non-discriminatory fee parity, and termination rights.
Drive Full Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM): Govern every stage of the contract lifecycle—Request, Generate, Negotiate, Approval, Execute, Capture, Comply, Report & Audit, Review & Amend, and Renewal—ensuring all terms comply with statutory requirements and internal standards.
Lead Municipal & Competitor Parity Strategy: Develop outreach strategies for LFAs, advance "permit-only" advocacy to expedite deployment schedules, and lead competitive agreement audits via FOIA/public records to prevent discriminatory conditions.
Cross-Functional Term Alignment: Serve as the central hub routing and consolidating contract redlines across Legal, Risk Management, OSP Engineering, Finance, and Tax to produce optimized master agreements.
Oversee Due Diligence & Technical Quality: Set technical standards and review deliverables for centerline surveys, 30-to-50-year title searches, environmental assessments, and county recording filings to guarantee clean property rights.
Vendor Governance & Process Standardization: Establish playbooks, standardized templates, and quality control mechanisms for turnkey ROW vendor partners, holding them accountable to operational guidelines, linear-foot price benchmarks, and sourcing timeline SLAs.
Uphold the "Be BOLD" Standard: Solve complex regulatory and property challenges with agility, provide thoughtful candor during strategic evaluations, and take ownership of delivering high-impact, compliant infrastructure outcomes.
This role can be located in any US based Verizon hub location.
You'll need to have:
Bachelor’s degree or four or more years of work experience.
Six or more years of relevant work experience as an individual contributor in public utility franchise acquisition, telecom right-of-way (ROW), municipal regulatory affairs, or commercial real estate law.
Deep subject matter expertise navigating municipal codes, state franchise statutes, and public rights-of-way regulations.
Extensive hands-on experience negotiating complex franchise agreements, private utility easements, and railroad/DOT encroachment permits.
Demonstrated mastery of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) processes, from drafting and internal stage-gate approvals to post-execution compliance and renewal.
Thorough understanding of real estate title examination (30–50 year chain of title), boundary and centerline surveys, and recording requirements.
Willingness to travel up to approximately 10% of the time.
A valid driver’s license.
Even better if you have one or more of the following:
Juris Doctor (JD), Master’s degree, or Senior Right of Way Professional (SR/WA) designation.
Direct experience securing franchises and private easements along long-haul fiber routes or outside plant (OSP) telecommunications networks.
Proven track record conducting FOIA/open records requests and competitive parity analyses with local governments.
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent credentials.
Background in establishing standard operating procedures, price guidelines, and compliance tracking playbooks for large-scale infrastructure deployments.
Experience presenting at city council hearings, planning commissions, or regulatory proceedings.
Exceptional negotiation, legal redlining, analytical, and executive communication skills.
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.
The salary will vary depending on your location and confirmed job-related skills and experience. This is an incentive based position with the potential to earn more. For part-time roles, your compensation will be adjusted to reflect your hours.The annual salary range for the location(s) listed on this job requisition based on a full-time schedule is: $107,000.00 - $205,000.00.