Principal / Senior Telecom Engineer

Microsoft Corp.; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO&CI) Datacenter Engineering seeks a Principal / Senior Telecom Engineer to lead telecom infrastructure for Microsoft's global datacenters, with a focus on AI/GPU readiness. You will guide design standards, OSP, fiber, and campus fiber distribution while coordinating with cross-functional teams.

You will manage Basis of Design to IFC, oversee construction administration, review telecom designs, drive issue resolution, and ensure quality and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Telecom Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related field with advanced technical experience or a Bachelor's degree in the same fields with extensive experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading large capital projects, datacenters, or other complex infrastructure environments.
• Strong understanding of telecom infrastructure including copper, structured cabling, fiber optic networks, OSP/ISP, and campus distribution.
• Experience managing A/E firms through design development, review cycles, and construction administration.
• Experience leading infrastructure design for GPU-based computing environments and telecoms architecture.
• Experience with outside plant (OSP) infrastructure including utility coordination and space planning.
• Experience coordinating telecom requirements with civil, site development, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience with Bluebeam, AutoCAD, Revit, BIM tools.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with customers and partners to oversee telecom design from Basis of Design to IFC and manage Construction Administration through handover for new DC projects.
• Support telecom design and oversee multiple concurrent datacenter solutions aligned with scope, schedule, budget, and quality.
• Manage A/E firms and consultants through design development, reviews, and construction administration support.
• Drive consultant accountability and timely resolution of telecom design comments and issues.
• Review ISP, SCS, and OSP designs for alignment with Microsoft requirements and operational needs.
• Identify risks, gaps, and coordination issues and drive timely resolutions with stakeholders.
• Support remote construction teams and participate in site visits to ensure quality and progress.
• Identify opportunities to improve delivery processes, design coordination, and project execution consistency.

Skills

Technical leadership

Telecommunications infrastructure

Project management

A/E firm management

Construction administration

Education

Master's Degree in Telecom/Electrical/Computer Engineering

Bachelor's Degree in Telecom/Electrical/Computer Engineering

Tools

Bluebeam

AutoCAD

Revit

BIM tools

Job description

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO&CI) is the team behind the cloud. Within CO&CI, the Datacenter Engineering (DCE) team is responsible for delivering core datacenter infrastructure for Microsoft's cloud business. The MS portfolio consists of complex, multi-disciplinary, large scale, multi-year datacenter construction and lease projects. We are looking for a passionate, high-energy individual to help build the cloud datacenters that power the world's largest online services. In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day. The Principal / Senior Telecom Engineer is responsible for providing technical leadership for telecommunications infrastructure supporting Microsoft's global datacenter portfolio, with focus on AI/GPU. This role serves as a recognized subject matter expert for telecommunications design, outside plant (OSP) infrastructure, structured cabling systems, and campus-scale telecommunications planning supporting both current and future datacenter growth. The successful candidate will lead complex telecommunications initiatives across multiple datacenter and campus projects while influencing design standards, infrastructure strategies, and engineering practices. This role will work closely with engineering, construction, operations, site development, utility, network, and supplier partners to ensure telecommunications infrastructure solutions support reliability, scalability, constructability, and long-term operational objectives.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal and external customers and partners, utilizing Base of Design documentation, to oversee the creation of the datacenter telecommunication designs from established Basis of Design (BOD) to Issue for Constructions (IFC). Candidate will also collaboratively manage the Construction Administration phase of datacenter until handover for new DC project buildouts, special projects and / or network upgrades with other discipline leads and partners.
• Support project-specific telecom technical design and oversee delivery of multiple concurrent datacenter design solutions aligned with project scopes, schedules, budgets, and quality expectations.
• Manage A/E firms and consultants through design development, review cycles, comment resolution, and construction administration support.
• Drive consultant accountability, package completion, and timely resolution of telecom design comments and project issues.
• Review ISP, SCS, and OSP telecommunications designs for alignment with Microsoft requirements, project scope, constructability, and operational needs.
• Identify technical risks, execution gaps, and coordination issues, and help drive timely resolution with project stakeholders.
• Support remote construction teams and participate in site visits, in person or virtually as needed, to review project progress and help ensure quality is maintained.
• Identify opportunities to improve delivery processes, design coordination, consultant performance, and project execution consistency.
  Master's Degree in Telecom Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related field AND advanced technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Telecom Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related field AND extensive technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience
• Demonstrated experience leading large capital projects, mission-critical facilities, datacenters, healthcare, utility, transportation, industrial, higher education, government, theme park, or other complex infrastructure environments.
• Strong understanding of telecommunications infrastructure including copper, structured cabling systems, fiber optic infrastructure, ISP, OSP, underground telecommunications infrastructure, pathway systems, and campus fiber distribution networks as well as knowledge of industry standards, building codes, safety standards and building codes.
• Experience managing A/E firms through design development, design review, construction administration, and project delivery activities. And leading multiple concurrent engineering projects with competing priorities, schedules, and stakeholder requirements., Experience leading infrastructure design and deployment for GPU-based computer environments, including telecoms architecture, physical layer connectivity, fibre optic networks, structured cabling systems, and infrastructure scalability requirements.
• Experience with outside plant (OSP) telecommunications infrastructure including utility coordination, pathway planning, telecommunications space planning, and infrastructure scalability considerations.
• Experience coordinating telecommunications requirements with civil, utility, site development, construction, operations, and multidisciplinary engineering teams for supporting greenfield and brownfield development projects.
• Experience with Bluebeam, AutoCAD, Revit, BIM tools, or comparable engineering and construction coordination platforms.
• Background Check Requirements: Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.