Sr Solutions Engineer

Position Summary

Essentia, Inc. is a telecommunications infrastructure firm specializing in the engineering, design, and deployment of fiber optic networks for broadband providers, municipalities, utilities, and enterprise customers throughout North America.

The Senior Solutions Engineer is a senior technical contributor serving as the lead Sales Engineer for both the Sales team and the Quotes & Proposals (Q&P) department. This role is primarily focused on engineering and permitting estimation, technical scope development, and GIS-based route analysis — providing the deep OSP expertise that underpins competitive, accurate proposals for complex fiber network pursuits.

This individual works closely with Sales throughout the pursuit lifecycle — engaging with existing clients and prospects to define requirements, develop optimized route strategies, and support technical presentations. Within Q&P, this role functions as a peer to the Estimator and works under the direction of the Proposal Manager, together forming the core technical and commercial capacity of the department.

The ideal candidate brings proven hands-on experience in outside plant engineering, permitting, and cost estimation, combined with the communication skills to engage clients and Sales effectively. They are comfortable owning complex, non-standard bids from scope definition through final submission and are proficient with the AI-enabled tools that are increasingly central to how Q&P operates.

Key Responsibilities

1. Engineering & Permitting Estimation

• Serve as the lead estimator for engineering and permitting costs across all bid types — FTTH, FTTx, backbone, middle-mile, EPC, turnkey, and municipal broadband deployments.

• Develop detailed, defensible engineering cost estimates including OSP design, fielding, make-ready engineering, permitting, utility coordination, GIS data development, drafting, QA/QC, and project management activities.

• Build and maintain Engineering Unit (EU) rate databases, productivity benchmarks, and estimating models.

• Perform route-based quantity analysis using GIS platforms (ArcGIS, QGIS, 3GIS, Katapult, IQGeo, or equivalent), aerial imagery, and customer-supplied datasets.

• Evaluate project complexity factors including jurisdictional requirements, utility coordination, pole ownership structures, permitting challenges, traffic control, restoration requirements, and geographic constraints.

• Build bottom-up pricing models for bids that fall outside the standard unit price library — long-haul routes, rock or blasting conditions, river crossings, and other non-standard scopes.

• Maintain historical cost data and continuously refine estimating methodology based on actual project outcomes and post-mortem findings.

2. Lead Sales Engineering — Sales & Q&P

• Act as the primary Sales Engineer supporting both the Sales team and Q&P — serving as the technical authority throughout the pursuit lifecycle from initial client engagement through proposal submission.

• Engage directly with existing clients and new prospects to understand project requirements, evaluate route options, and develop technically optimized solutions.

• Support Sales in client meetings, technical presentations, and pre-bid discovery sessions — translating customer objectives into defined, priced engineering approaches.

• Partner with Account Executives during opportunity qualification to assess technical feasibility, identify scope risks, and develop preliminary cost frameworks before formal bid work begins.

• Help identify opportunities for expanded scope or additional service offerings based on route analysis and client engagement.

• Serve as the Q&P department's technical subject matter expert during internal proposal review and approval gates.

3. Technical Scope Development

• Own scope of work (SOW) development for RFP and unsolicited proposals from first draft through final submission.

• Define RACI assignments, schedule assumptions, construction methodologies, risk registers, and assumptions/exclusions as part of standard bid preparation.

• Develop and maintain reusable SOW templates, assumptions libraries, exclusions language, and standard technical narratives that reduce bid cycle time.

• Produce bid prep inputs that enable the Estimator to complete material and labor pricing accurately and without gaps.

• Review solicitation documents to identify risks, scope gaps, compliance requirements, and items that require clarification prior to pricing.

4. GIS Analysis & Route Feasibility

• Perform independent route analysis and feasibility assessments using GIS tools prior to pricing — identifying constructability risks, permitting complexity, and cost drivers.

• Develop preliminary network layouts and route strategies to support both proposal development and client-facing discussions with Sales.

• Translate GIS outputs into quantity takeoffs and cost inputs that feed directly into the bid prep package.

• Support O-Calc, VETRO, Katapult, or equivalent pole attachment and make-ready analysis as required.

5. Subcontractor Pricing Coordination

• Develop subcontractor scope packages for construction, permitting, and specialty work as part of bid preparation.

• Evaluate subcontractor pricing against project requirements and historical performance data and make final recommendations for inclusion in the bid.

• Coordinate as needed with the Estimator, who owns material and labor takeoffs and maintains vendor pricing relationships, to ensure subcontractor inputs are complete and consistent with the overall bid.

• Flag subcontractor risk or pricing anomalies during bid preparation so they are resolved before the approval process begins.

6. Proposal Quality & Stage-Gate Support

• Produce technically accurate proposal content including scope narratives, technical approaches, assumptions, exclusions, and engineering execution descriptions.

• Ensure all bid prep packages are complete and technically defensible before the Proposal Manager initiates the gated approval routing — this role is the final technical checkpoint before the approval sequence begins.

• Support proposal review processes and contribute to gate review documentation so reviewers at each gate have the context needed to approve efficiently.

• Contribute to the Q&P bid performance scorecard by maintaining time-per-bid and cost-per-bid data for complex scope types.

• Participate in post-mortem reviews to capture lessons learned from wins and losses and translate them into updated estimating benchmarks and scope templates.

7. AI-Enabled Workflow Adoption

• Act as an active adopter of Essentia's AI-enabled proposal and estimating tools as they are deployed — contributing to and benefiting from the proposal library, scope template extraction, and AI-assisted SOW generation workflows.

• Use AI-powered tools, including leading LLM platforms, to accelerate route analysis, quantity development, scope drafting, and estimating model maintenance.

• Develop and maintain reusable technical content in SharePoint in a format that is accessible to and usable by Essentia's AI knowledge systems.

• Provide feedback to the Proposal Manager and CRO on where AI tooling reduces effort or introduces gaps in complex scope scenarios.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, GIS, Construction Management, or related technical discipline; equivalent hands-on industry experience considered.

• Minimum 7 years of experience in OSP engineering, fiber network design, broadband estimation, solutions engineering, or a directly related technical field.

• Demonstrated experience on fiber network projects including FTTH, FTTx, backbone, middle-mile, and enterprise or municipal broadband deployments.

• Proven ability to develop independent engineering and permitting cost estimates, including bottom-up cost modeling for non-standard scopes.

• Strong working knowledge of OSP construction methods, permitting workflows, traffic control requirements, utility coordination, and pole attachment processes across multiple U.S. markets.

• Experience performing GIS-based route analysis and quantity takeoffs using ArcGIS, QGIS, Katapult, 3GIS, IQGeo, or equivalent platforms.

• Advanced Excel proficiency for cost modeling, scenario analysis, and estimating model maintenance.

• Demonstrated ability to interpret and respond to RFPs, RFQs, and technical specifications independently.

• Strong written communication skills — capable of producing clear, complete scope narratives, SOWs, and technical proposal content without heavy editorial support.

• Ability to communicate technical solutions clearly to both engineering peers and non-technical commercial audiences including Sales teams, leadership, and clients.

• Proficiency with leading AI and LLM productivity tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, or equivalent) as part of day-to-day workflow — this is a required capability, not a nice-to-have.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineering (PE) license or Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certification.

• Experience with VETRO, O-Calc, or equivalent make-ready and pole attachment analysis tools.

• Knowledge of FCC BEAD, E-Rate, RDOF, municipal broadband programs, and utility-funded broadband funding structures.

• Background in technical sales, pre-sales solutions engineering, or client-facing consulting for telecom or broadband infrastructure projects.

• Experience supporting government, cooperative, utility, or large enterprise telecom clients.

• Familiarity with NESC, NEC, utility attachment requirements, and broadband infrastructure regulations across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.

• Exposure to proposal operations, bid management workflows, or a structured Q&P function.