Passive Network Development Engineer

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by our job advert.

We’re Community Fibre and our mission is to bring better internet to everyone. You won’t find any old and slow copper technology here. Our network, which we own and have built, is 100% full fibre. We install it directly into our business customer’s premises and into our consumer’s homes. We provide market leading broadband speeds, at the best prices with a real focus on customer experience - we are consistently the No1 Internet Service Provider on Trustpilot as rated by customers. And as a result we are growing fast.

We are passionate and love working with local communities … the clue is in our name. We want to bridge the digital divide in society and make Gigafast internet accessible to all. We also love it when local residents become team members of Community Fibre - over 20% of our talent is from communities that we serve.

We are not the new kid on the block, we were established in 2013 and have been disrupting the Broadband industry in London since then. Some recent key achievements include:

• We raised £400m investment in 2020 from large institutions to secure our ambitious growth plans.
• We have acquired over 650,000 wayleaves across Local Authorities, Housing Associations and Private Landlords in London to support that growth.
• We have deployed our 100% full fibre network to over 400,000 premises to deliver the growth, which is rapidly moving towards 2.2 million by the end of 2024.

We’re proud of our achievements so far, but we are not complacent and definitely not stopping here. To help us get to our future, we’re looking for forward thinkers, people with big ideas, people passionate about technology and most importantly hard working team players to join us and be a part of our growing business.

Job purpose:

The Passive Network Development Engineer role sits within the Technical Design Office and is ultimately responsible for developing, managing, and maintaining products and solutions used in the construction of our network.

What you’ll be doing:

As a Passive Network Development Engineer, you will help develop passive product and process designs for internal and external stakeholders through assessing, developing and evolving passive infrastructure and fibre optic design principles and standards. As well as producing fibre designs that seamlessly combine physical considerations to meet the capacity, technology and product requirements for any network size and complexity.

As part of the technical design team, you will provide technical knowledge for ensuring that passive technical products and standards align with the organisations requirements and that these standards can be delivered in a high quality yet cost-effective manner. You’ll work alongside your colleagues within the technical team on development projects, field testing, and will visit field engineering teams and build partners on site to better understand how passive network equipment is utilised and identify any improvements and efficiencies that may be achieved through development or redesign.

The experience we’re looking for you to bring:

• Carrying out reviews of current passive network design and build processes with a view to designing and developing network efficiencies.
• The creation and documentation of passive network technical specifications and documentation with a particular focus on GPON and P2P fibre optic networks.
• Passive network product design and development with a particular focus on GPON and P2P fibre optic networks.
• Designing, overseeing, and undertaking proof of concept projects on a range of products, including fibre optic cables, and supporting components.
• Designing, overseeing, and undertaking proof of concept (POC) projects on a range of new and innovative products to enhance fibre optic network testing and monitoring.
• Data collection, report writing and undertaking product design and testing in line with industry standards, company standards and procedures.
• Liaising with manufacturers and suppliers to source fibre optic cables and supporting components.
• Designing, overseeing, and monitoring on site fibre optic installation, testing and live field trials.
• Documenting and recording POC, product tests and field trial results and feeding information back to the technology team.
• Helping to develop, record and maintain the internal library of technical standards and specifications for passive products within the scope of the company.
• Liaising with internal engineering teams and contractors to ensure that technical specifications are communicated, understood, and followed in the field.

Key Skills and Qualifications:

• City & Guilds Communications Cabling and Networks unit 3667 units 2 & 3 or industry equivalent.
• Openreach accreditations and PIA certification.
• Knowledge of optical fibre testing techniques and fibre optic characteristics (e.g. OTDR, ILM, PMD and CD)
• Possess an excellent understanding of FT Tx architectures, including core, distribution and access networks
• Have a strong understanding of fibre to the home (FTTH/FTTP) network design, architecture, and construction approaches.
• Knowledge of the underground and overhead Openreach fibre optic network with particular reference to the PIA product.
• Knowledge of the Openreach fibre optic engineering principles. and associated network specifications.
• Fibre optic network technical skills combined with the ability to assess, design, and implement technical processes.
• The ability to develop and create and document technical network specifications with a particular focus on fibre optic networks.
• Experiencing liaising with manufacturer and supplier technical departments to source network products.
• Experiencing liaising with manufacturer and supplier technical departments to design network products.
• Experience in the designing project management and implementation of technical proof of concepts and technical field trials.
• The ability to conceptualise and design fibre optic network products and infrastructure to increase network capacity.
• The ability to conceptualise and design fibre optic network products and infrastructure to develop and enhance FTTx customer network solutions.
• Have experience of engineering programmes, R&D projects, or other exposure to complex engineering works.

While it’s not a requirement it would be beneficial if you had experience in or around:

• Computer aided design (CAD) and drawing tools, such as Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360, Solid works, or Sketchup
• Fibre optic engineering, including but not limited to fusion splicing, testing (optical time-domain reflectometry, loss measurement, return loss measurement), and an understanding of cable construction and installation methods
• Understanding of fibre to the home (FTTH/FTTP) network design, architecture, and construction approaches
• Experience with underground and overhead cabling design, installation, or planning of structures
• Civil engineering for underground utilities, including but not limited to an understanding of relevant legislation (New Roads and Street Works Act, etc) and experience of designing or planning underground utility works
• Cabling work in buildings or underground, including an understanding of cable pulling techniques
• Awareness of health and safety legislation, responsibilities, and best practices
• Previous experience in an engineering, design, or specification management role

Why join us:

• You get to work with some of the best technology in the market
• Be part of an exciting scale up business where you can bring your ideas, bring your knowledge, we value your contribution
• We all love time off whether that’s going on an exotic holiday or a staycation, you’ll get 25 days holiday to enjoy, increasing by 1 day for each year of service up to 28 days
• Birthday leave, our treat to you
• Keen cyclist, join our cycle to work scheme
• Flexible WFH policy
• Enjoy the perks of Vitality health
• You get to work with an amazing bunch of people

What happens next:

You’ve done your bit so sit back and relax, we will review your application and come back to you.

If we think you’re not quite right for the role you have applied for but may be a better fit for another, we’ll definitely let you know.

Want to know more about a career at CFL, check out our careers page: https://communityfibre.co.uk/jobs

We are an Armed Forces friendly organisation.

We are an equal opportunities employer that values diversity in our team, we welcome applications from all backgrounds.