Anthropic is building Anternet—a private, global dark‑fiber backbone connecting our data centers, cloud regions, and partners. We’re looking for a Staff Fiber Network Engineer to own the physical layer of this network end‑to‑end. This foundational role builds the fiber program from the ground up, defining inventory systems, setting acceptance standards, and establishing vendor relationships. The engineer works closely with optical/transport engineers, backbone routing, and data center planning teams to deliver high‑performance fiber infrastructure across key US metros.
Staff Fiber Network Engineer at Anthropic
Remote - San Francisco, CA, New York City, NY
More jobs at AnthropicSalary
USD 320,000 - 405,000
Requirements
Skills
- Experience in OSP/fiber planning or network delivery at a carrier, hyperscaler, dark-fiber provider, or large enterprise backbone
- Demonstrated experience taking long-haul or metro dark-fiber routes from design through acceptance, including OTDR trace reading and vendor splice quality engagement
- Solid working knowledge of the vendor landscape, conduit availability, IRU vs lease vs wavelength pricing, and MSA negotiability
- Proficiency with GIS/KMZ tooling for route design and structured inventory data maintenance
- Sufficient understanding of optical transport (DWDM, amplifier spacing, span loss, CD/PMD) to design fiber usable by line-system engineers
- Ability to serve as the single accountable owner for physical delivery across many concurrent builds
- 8+ years of OSP/fiber planning or network delivery experience
- Experience standing up a fiber program from near-zero, including building inventory system, acceptance standards, and vendor bench
- Familiarity with permitting, ROW, and make-ready processes in US metro markets
- Scripting or light tooling experience (Python, Go, SQL, or similar) for inventory and reporting workflows
- Comfort with occasional travel for site surveys, CLS/ILA walks, and vendor meetings
Responsibilities
- Route engineering and design – plan terrestrial fiber routes between Anternet PoPs and data centers, evaluate diversity, latency, and OSNR/loss budgets, and produce route KMZs, splice diagrams, and as-built documentation
- Fiber acquisition – source and qualify dark fiber, IRU, and wavelength options from carriers and infrastructure providers, run RFPs, compare bids on cost, route quality, diversity, and MTTR, and drive contracts to signature alongside legal and procurement
- Vendor and delivery management – own the build from PO to acceptance, track splicing, lateral construction, building entries, meet‑me‑room cross‑connects, and CLS access, hold vendors to schedule and SLA, and serve as escalation point for late or failed spans
- Acceptance and characterization – define and enforce fiber acceptance criteria (OTDR bi‑directional, IL/ORL, CD/PMD where relevant), review test results, reject substandard spans, and sign off on handover to the optical team
- Capacity and lifecycle management – maintain the source‑of‑truth fiber inventory, forecast fiber needs against PoP and capacity roadmap, and monitor degradation and quality over time
- Operations – partner with NOC and field‑ops on fiber cuts, locates, and repairs, drive root‑cause analysis with vendors, and feed lessons back into route‑diversity decisions
Technologies
GISKMZOTDRDWDMAmplifier spacingSpan lossCD/PMDPythonGoSQL
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