Senior Director of Construction

About Essentia

Essentia Inc. is a leading telecommunications engineering and infrastructure firm specializing in FTTH, Metro, and Long-Haul fiber network design, engineering, and deployment. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, we serve Telecom Carriers, Hyperscalers, Cable MSOs, Electric Utilities, and forward-thinking Enterprises across the U.S.

Our Tech-Enabled Infrastructure Solutions—powered by our proprietary eSpeed™ Technology Platform—enable scalable, intelligent construction delivery. We merge field execution with digital precision using tools like D8Acapture, our mobile and drone-based data capture platform, to ensure real-time visibility, enhanced productivity, and faster fiber deployment.

Our mission is to connect everyone, everywhere—by making broadband deployment faster, smarter, and more resilient.

Why Essentia | Where Field Rigor Meets Innovation

At Essentia, we don't just build networks—we build trust. Our mission is to deliver rapid, reliable telecom infrastructure through a culture that values character, transparency, and engineering rigor.

We are a 5-time Great Place to Work® certified company, with an Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of 69, and recently ranked #9 Best Places to Work in North Carolina. Our workplace culture is values-driven, innovation-led, and performance-focused.

As Senior Director of Construction, you'll be the connective leadership layer between Essentia's national construction strategy and the Directors of Construction who run it in the field—turning vision into standardized, repeatable execution across multiple markets at once.

The Opportunity | Build What's Next

Reporting to the Vice President of Construction (and partnering closely with Engineering, Broadband Solutions, and Customer Operations), you'll own construction execution across a portfolio of markets and programs—not a single build, and not yet the whole national footprint, but the multi-market layer in between.

You'll directly lead a team of Directors of Construction, translating the VP's national playbook into standardized, market-level execution—while owning the P&L, safety performance, and quality outcomes for every program in your portfolio. This is the role built for someone who has already run one market at a high level and is ready to run several at once, and to develop the next generation of Director-level leaders while doing it.

What You'll Build | Execution-Driven Leadership

Strategy & Regional Operations

• Translate Essentia's national construction strategy into standardized regional operating plans across multiple markets and programs.
• Own the P&L, forecasting, and margin performance for your full portfolio of markets—not a single project.
• Standardize execution, playbooks, and reporting cadence across markets so quality and pace don't vary by geography.
• Serve as the primary link between the VP of Construction's national vision and Director-level field execution.
• Build cross-functional alignment with Engineering, Broadband Solutions, and Customer Operations at the regional level.

Network Deployment & Field Execution Oversight

• Oversee execution of FTTH, Metro, and Long-Haul fiber construction across your portfolio, ensuring safety, quality, timeliness, and cost control in every market.
• Act as the escalation point for aerial and underground build issues, make-ready, permitting, and utility coordination challenges that exceed Director-level authority.
• Audit safety and QA/QC performance across markets, and drive corrective action the moment standards slip anywhere in the portfolio.
• Use dashboards and production data to benchmark markets against one another and spread what's working from one program to the rest.

Team & Talent Development

• Directly manage and develop a bench of Directors of Construction, sharpening their leadership, financial, and operational acumen.
• Identify and coach high-potential Directors into future Senior Director- and VP-track leaders.
• Reinforce Essentia's five dimensions of trust across every market you own: Character, Competence, Communication, Concern, and Consistency.
• Standardize training, onboarding, and safety-certification programs so every market builds talent the same way.

Contractor & Vendor Management

• Set regional contractor strategy—capacity planning, scorecards, and performance standards across every market in your portfolio.
• Hold escalation authority for underperforming contractors when Director-level corrective action isn't enough.
• Partner with procurement on regional vendor agreements, rate structures, and cost optimization.

Process Innovation & Tool Adoption

• Champion consistent adoption of eSpeed™ and D8Acapture across every market in your region.
• Identify process improvements discovered in one market and scale them across the broader portfolio.
• Monitor KPIs across cost, cycle time, rework, and quality at the portfolio level—turning market-by-market data into a single, comparable view.

What You Bring | Skills That Match the Vision

Required Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of experience in telecom construction, fiber network deployment, or related infrastructure sectors.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing Directors, Construction Managers, or other multi-market field leaders—not individual crews alone.
• Proven track record running two or more markets or major programs simultaneously, representing $30M–$75M+ in combined annual construction volume.
• Strong expertise in aerial and underground fiber construction, permitting coordination, and utility partnerships.
• Direct P&L ownership across a region or multi-market portfolio, with a track record of improving margin, not just hitting schedule.
• Demonstrated success developing Director-level leaders and building bench strength for future growth.
• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

Preferred Extras

• Experience running construction across multiple states or regions simultaneously.
• Experience supporting hyperscaler deployments, data center connectivity, or mega-scale infrastructure projects.
• Familiarity with federal broadband programs (BEAD, RDOF, CAF II).
• Experience with electric utility construction and joint-use agreements.
• Familiarity with GIS-based construction tools and real-time project reporting software.

What Sets You Apart | Traits We Value

• You translate strategy into standardized execution—without flattening the local nuance each market needs.
• You develop leaders, not just projects; your Directors get better because you're the one leading them.
• You spot the pattern across markets that a single-market leader would miss.
• You're the calm, credible voice between corporate vision and field reality—trusted by executives and crews alike.
• You build trust through Character, Competence, Communication, Concern, and Consistency.

Ready to Lead the Bridge Between Strategy and Field Execution?

We're offering a highly competitive compensation package, including a strong base salary and a short-term incentive opportunity. You'll help shape the infrastructure backbone of tomorrow—today.