Principal Engineer

Description

When you join the company

You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely — even if they’re daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At the company, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love — driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together — lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the VTeamLife.

What you’ll be doing…

As a Principal Real Estate Engineer on the AI Connect team reporting to the Associate Director of Real Estate, you will serve as the lead individual contributor and authoritative subject matter expert (SME) in site acquisition, land leasing, complex contract negotiations, and full-lifecycle regulatory, environmental, and zoning compliance. In this high-impact technical role, you will lead the due diligence, acquisition, and regulatory strategy required to secure critical real estate—specifically Inline Light Amplification Station (ILA) facilities —enabling next-generation AI infrastructure.

You will provide technical leadership, mentorship, and governance across external vendors and internal project teams without direct people-management responsibilities, setting the operational and regulatory standards that ensure rapid, compliant network deployments.

In this role, you will:

Serve as Lead Acquisition SME: Drive end-to-end site acquisition, due diligence, and execution for fee-simple land purchases and ground leases for ILA facilities along long-haul routes.

Lead Complex Negotiations: Structure and negotiate complex, large-scale real estate agreements, ground leases, purchase contracts, and easement access directly with private landowners, commercial entities, and municipalities.

Drive Environmental & Zoning Governance: Direct comprehensive environmental due diligence (NEPA, Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments, SHPO/tribal reviews) and navigate municipal zoning, land-use planning, and special/conditional use permits.

Manage Regulatory Approvals & Filings: Analyze, interpret, and monitor federal, state, and local regulatory requirements; prepare, review, and track applications with regulatory bodies and local building departments.

Lead Municipal & Community Engagement: Represent the company in discussions with local municipalities, planning commissions, and civic authorities; develop and execute community outreach strategies to educate stakeholders on facility impact and secure land-use approvals.

Oversee Technical Execution & Vendors: Provide oversight and quality control for turnkey site acquisition firms, environmental consultants, surveyors, and title companies to ensure deliverables adhere to engineering requirements and project timelines.

Standardize Processes & Frameworks: Establish best-in-class workflows, templates, and compliance guidelines for network real estate acquisitions and regulatory processes to mitigate business risk and accelerate build cycles.

Uphold the "Be BOLD" Standard: Solve technical and real estate obstacles with agility, provide thoughtful candor during project reviews, and take ownership of delivering high-quality, compliant infrastructure outcomes.

This role can be located in any US based the company hub location.

Requirements

• 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 network real estate, telecom site acquisition, land negotiations, or regulatory compliance.
• Deep subject matter expertise in commercial real estate contract negotiation, title clearance, land purchases, and long-term ground leases.
• Extensive hands-on experience navigating municipal zoning codes, land-use approvals, variance boards, and conditional use permitting processes.
• Thorough technical understanding of environmental compliance, including NEPA, Phase I/Phase II ESAs, wetlands/floodplain assessments, and SHPO reviews as needed.
• Demonstrated experience preparing, submitting, and tracking applications with regulatory authorities.
• Willingness to travel up to approximately 25% of the time.
• A valid driver’s license.
• Even better if you have one or more of the following:
• Master’s degree or specialized professional real estate/planning credential.
• Direct experience securing real estate, ILA, or point-of-presence (PoP) sites along long-haul fiber routes or outside plant (OSP) corridors.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent credentials.
• Strong background in managing outside legal, site acquisition, and environmental vendor partners on multi-regional infrastructure projects.
• Experience presenting at public hearings, zoning boards of adjustment, and municipal city council meetings.
• Demonstrated ability to create standard operating procedures, compliance checklists, and risk mitigation frameworks for large-scale engineering rollouts.
• Exceptional negotiation, analytical, and written/verbal communication skills.
• If the company 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.
• Where you’ll be working
• In this hybrid role, you'll have a defined work location that includes working from home and a minimum of three days per week in the office, which will be set by your manager. Employees are responsible for maintaining compliance with hybrid work policies.
• Scheduled Weekly Hours
• 40

Benefits

• Our benefits are designed to help you move forward in your career, and in areas of your life outside of the company. 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.