Principal Product Manager, Data Center Networks

Lumen Technologies is a connectivity company providing secure, high-performance network infrastructure for cloud, edge, and AI workloads. The Principal Product Manager will shape the architecture and expansion strategy for data center metro networks, own internal network product roadmaps, evaluate investments, and lead cross-functional delivery programs.

Responsibilities:

• Own the product strategy, requirements, and multi-year architectural roadmap for data center metro network solutions and expansion programs
• Translate topology, diversity, capacity, transport, optical-layer, and point-of-presence decisions into repeatable configurations and reference designs
• Lead cross-functional expansion programs from evaluation through delivery, coordinating teams, dependencies, milestones, risks, and executive status reporting
• Evaluate proposed network investments using demand, utilization, capital efficiency, revenue potential, and return-on-investment analysis
• Establish a consistent framework for prioritizing, approving, deferring, or redesigning metro network upgrades and expansion efforts
• Build demand models that combine contracted demand, pipeline, market signals, customer architecture plans, and forecast scenarios
• Assess whether existing internal products and architectural solutions remain the right platforms for future growth, including lower-cost alternatives and associated trade-offs
• Partner with Product, Network Planning, Engineering, Finance, Operations, Service Delivery, and Sales to drive decisions and execution

Requirements:

• 8-10+ years of experience in product management, program management, network planning, or network engineering
• 3+ years of experience supporting metro, data center, optical, packet transport, or related network infrastructure
• Strong knowledge of metro network architecture, including ring and mesh topologies, route and fiber diversity, point-of-presence and colocation siting, and protection and restoration strategies
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional technical programs through planning, decision-making, and delivery
• Ability to build and defend quantitative demand, investment, and return-on-investment models using incomplete or evolving data
• Understanding of capital economics, including capital and operating expense trade-offs, payback, internal rate of return, utilization, and unit cost
• Experience translating complex technical and financial analysis into concise, decision-ready recommendations for senior leaders
• Ability to influence across Product, Engineering, Planning, Finance, Operations, and Sales in a matrixed environment
• This is a remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the U.S
• Experience with metro fiber, conduit builds, data center expansion programs, or carrier network infrastructure
• Familiarity with hyperscaler, neocloud, cloud, or AI infrastructure demand patterns
• Experience evaluating internal network platforms that support the development and delivery of external services
• Advanced modeling experience in Excel and experience with Power BI, SQL, Python, or another analytical or visualization environment
• Knowledge of reliability engineering, availability targets, failure-mode analysis, and service-level design requirements
• Experience developing product roadmaps, reference architectures, lifecycle policies, and investment prioritization frameworks
• MBA, engineering degree, or an equivalent combination of technical and commercial experience