Network Develoment Manager

Meta; Tallahassee (FL); On-site; USD 135,000 - 191,000; Full time

Job summary

Meta's Network Investments team is seeking an experienced Network Development Manager to own the commercial development and delivery of fiber network capacity across North American production. You will lead provider engagements, oversee route development, and drive negotiation strategy from IRU to leases.

This role requires cross-functional leadership, strong data analysis, and the ability to deliver against milestones and budgets while mentoring junior NDMs and shaping multi-year capacity plans

Qualifications

• 5+ years in network development, telecom, or fiber infrastructure
• Experience owning vendor/provider relationships and commercial outcomes
• Experience leading commercial negotiations (IRU, dark fiber lease, MSA/SLA) from strategy through execution
• Knowledge of fiber optic concepts including route design and delivery lifecycle
• Experience leading cross-functional programs with engineering, finance, legal, and sourcing stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Own strategic relationships with a portfolio of telecommunications providers; manage performance and strategy
• Lead identification and evaluation of new fiber routes and capacity solutions
• Define requirements with Network Planning/engineering; advise build-vs-buy decisions
• Lead commercial negotiations for IRU agreements, dark fiber leases, and related contracts from strategy to execution
• Drive alignment across NIE, Network Planning, Finance, Legal, Sourcing, Data Center teams

Skills

Vendor relationships

Commercial negotiations

Cross-functional leadership

Fiber route development

Data analysis

Project management

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Business / related field

Job description

Summary:

Meta's Network Investments team is responsible for the strategic planning, commercial development, and delivery of one of the world's largest and fastest-growing fiber optic backbone networks. We partner with telecommunications providers and infrastructure vendors to design, source, and deploy critical network capacity that powers Meta's family of applications and AI infrastructure.We are seeking an experienced Network Development Manager (NDM) to own the commercial development and delivery of fiber network capacity across the North American production environment. In this role you will independently lead provider engagements and complex fiber route development, lead commercial negotiations end to end, and own delivery outcomes for a portfolio of routes/providers — setting strategy with cross-functional partners and mentoring less-experienced NDMs to ensure Meta's network capacity stays ahead of demand growth.

Required Skills:

Network Development Manager Responsibilities:

1. Own strategic relationships with a portfolio of telecommunications providers, including performance management, escalation ownership, and provider strategy
2. Lead identification and evaluation of new fiber routes and capacity solutions
3. define requirements with Network Planning and engineering and make build-vs-buy / route selection recommendations
4. Lead commercial negotiations for fiber IRU agreements, dark fiber leases, and related infrastructure contracts, owning negotiation strategy, business case, and approval narrative through execution
5. Drive alignment across Network Implementation Engineering (NIE), Network Planning, Finance, Legal, Sourcing, and Data Center teams
6. resolve cross-team conflicts and own clean handoffs from development through implementation
7. Own delivery accountability against contractual milestones and SLAs for the assigned portfolio
8. proactively drive risk mitigation with providers and internal partners
9. Define reporting and tracking standards that give leadership visibility into delivery status and provider performance
10. ensure network data integrity in internal tools
11. Lead process and tooling improvements across the team, author best practices and SOPs, and mentor/onboard less-experienced NDMs
12. Influence multi-year regional capacity strategy in partnership with Planning and Finance

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience
2. 5+ years of experience in network development, telecommunications, fiber optic infrastructure, or a related field (commercial, technical, or project management)
3. Experience owning vendor/provider relationships and commercial outcomes in a telecommunications or infrastructure context
4. Demonstrated experience leading commercial negotiations (IRU, dark fiber lease, MSA/SLA) from strategy through execution
5. Knowledge of fiber optic network concepts including route design, IRU/lease structures, and the full delivery lifecycle
6. Experience leading cross-functional programs and driving alignment among engineering, finance, legal, and sourcing stakeholders
7. Experience communicating status, risk, and recommendations to senior/leadership audiences
8. Experience with data analysis, spreadsheets, and building business cases
9. Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Telecommunications, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Demonstrated ongoing AI skill development (e.g., prompt/context engineering, agent orchestration) and staying current with emerging AI technologies
2. Experience adhering to and implementing responsible, ethical AI practices (e.g., risk assessment, bias mitigation, quality and accuracy reviews)
3. Experience at a hyperscale technology company, major telecommunications carrier, or infrastructure provider
4. Knowledge of network planning and capacity forecasting fundamentals
5. Demonstrated ability to integrate AI tools to optimize/redesign workflows and drive measurable impact (e.g., efficiency gains, quality improvements)
6. Experience with contract management including IRU agreements, MSAs, and SLAs
7. Experience with data analysis tools, dashboards, or automation
8. Experience with backbone/long-haul fiber networks and metro fiber infrastructure
9. Experience mentoring or coaching less-experienced team members

Public Compensation:

$135,000/year to $191,000/year + bonus + equity + benefits

Industry:

Internet

Equal Opportunity:

Meta is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Aff… we do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Meta participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. Please note that Meta may leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in connection with applications for employment.

Accommodations:

Meta is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].