Field Technician

Actalent; Mississippi; On-site; USD 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a Field Technician / OSP Inspector for FTTH construction in rural markets. You will provide on-site oversight to ensure builds align with engineering designs, permits, and standards, serving as the field liaison with contractors and documenting as-built records.

You will inspect various construction activities, review drawings, and verify proper installations while driving field safety, quality, and accurate project documentation.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2+ years of experience inspecting telecommunications, utility, or fiber optic construction projects.

Responsibilities

• Inspect FTTH construction activities in the field across aerial, underground, trenching and fiber placement.
• Monitor contractor performance for safety, permits, and quality.
• Review engineering drawings, GIS designs, permits before work begins.

Skills

FTTH inspection

Aerial/underground fiber

Read engineering drawings

Coordinate with contractors

Documentation & GIS

Tablet/digital tools

Job description

Job Description

Job Title: Field Technician / OSP Inspector – Fiber Construction

Job Description

This role focuses on providing on-site oversight of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) construction in rural markets, ensuring that new fiber routes are built safely, accurately, and in accordance with engineering designs, permits, and industry standards. You serve as the field representative, working side by side with construction contractors to verify that what has been designed is constructible in the real world, documenting any changes and supporting the creation of accurate as-built records for long-term broadband infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Inspect FTTH construction activities in the field, including aerial, underground, directional boring, trenching, plowing, and fiber placement.
• Monitor contractor performance to ensure adherence to project specifications, safety requirements, permits, and quality standards.
• Review engineering drawings, GIS designs, utility maps, permits, and construction packages before work begins to understand the planned fiber route.
• Walk job sites with construction crews while referencing designs on a tablet to verify constructability and identify discrepancies between plans and actual conditions.
• Verify proper installation of fiber optic facilities, including handholes, pedestals, conduit systems, vaults, aerial attachments, and access point installations.
• Conduct field audits and quality inspections throughout the construction process to confirm compliance with FTTH network construction methods and outside plant infrastructure requirements.
• Ensure restoration of work areas meets local municipality requirements and customer expectations, including backfill, surface restoration, and site clean-up.
• Document daily construction activity, including production quantities, workforce counts, locations of installed facilities, and overall project progress.
• Identify deficiencies, safety concerns, and non-compliant work and clearly communicate required corrective actions to contractors.
• Perform verification of buried and aerial construction practices, including depth checks, grounding, splicing activities, handhole and pedestal placement, and restoration activities.
• Maintain detailed photo documentation, red-line markups, and inspection records using the provided tablet and other tools.
• Update GIS-based designs with real-time field modifications to support accurate as-built documentation for final project records.
• Coordinate regularly with project managers, engineers, utility companies, municipal agencies, and permitting authorities to address field issues and permit requirements.
• Review and verify contractor invoices, production reports, and as-built documentation to confirm quantities and work performed.
• Attend contractor meetings, provide status updates to project stakeholders, and act as the eyes and ears of the engineering and in-house construction teams in the field.
• Visit multiple job sites within your assigned market cluster, typically 3–5 sites per week, to track crew progress and document what has been placed and where.
• Interact professionally with work crews and forepersons, providing oversight of boring, splicing, and other construction activities while maintaining a non-directive, inspection-focused role.
• Support project closeout activities, including final acceptance inspections and confirmation that construction matches approved designs and permits.

Essential Skills

• Minimum 2+ years of experience inspecting telecommunications, utility, or fiber optic construction projects.
• Solid knowledge of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network construction methods and outside plant infrastructure.
• Understanding of both aerial and underground fiber deployment practices, including conduit installation and depth requirements.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GIS-based designs, utility maps, permits, and construction plans.
• Experience working directly with construction contractors and utility customers in a field environment.
• Basic inspection skills, including measuring depths and verifying that installations comply with permits and specifications.
• General construction knowledge related to conduit placement, splicing, grounding, and restoration practices.
• Strong organizational skills to track crew progress, document daily activities, and maintain accurate records.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills to interact with crews, engineers, and project stakeholders.
• Comfort using tablets and digital tools for field red-lining, photo documentation, and GIS updates.
• Ability to