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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wireless Program Supervisor

💰 $95,000 - $150,000

TelecommunicationsWirelessProgram ManagementNetwork Deployment

🎯 Role Definition

The Wireless Program Supervisor is a hands-on leader responsible for planning, coordinating, and supervising multi-site wireless network deployments and ongoing field operations. This role acts as the primary point of contact between operations teams, vendors, engineering, local authorities, and corporate stakeholders to deliver quality, on-time and on-budget site builds, upgrades and maintenance for macro sites, small cells, DAS and fiber-fed nodes. Success requires deep understanding of RF commissioning, construction practices, permitting/ROW, contractor management, safety compliance, and program-level reporting.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Field Technician / Tower Technician (RF Technician)
  • Construction or Site Acquisition Coordinator
  • Project Coordinator or Junior Program Manager (Telecom rollouts)

Advancement To:

  • Wireless Program Manager / Senior Program Manager
  • Director of Wireless Operations or Network Deployment
  • Head of Field Operations / VP of Network Implementation

Lateral Moves:

  • Network Implementation Manager
  • Site Acquisition Manager
  • Construction Manager (Telecom)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and supervise daily field operations for multiple wireless deployment programs (macro sites, small cells, DAS, fiber-fed nodes), ensuring schedules are met and projects progress according to the program plan.
  • Manage and coordinate cross-functional teams including RF engineers, civil contractors, tower crews, fiber technicians, and third-party vendors to execute site builds, upgrades and decommissioning with minimal rework.
  • Own program-level schedules and resource allocation: create, maintain and optimize master schedules, workback plans and crew assignments to meet aggressive LTE/5G deployment timelines.
  • Oversee vendor procurement, onboarding, performance management and contract compliance; negotiate scopes, change orders and ensure vendors deliver per SLAs, safety requirements and quality standards.
  • Serve as the escalation point for site issues — resolve construction delays, permitting obstacles, material shortages, and technical conflicts by coordinating internal and external stakeholders.
  • Ensure all sites pass pre-commissioning and site acceptance testing (SAT); coordinate RF commissioning, drive testing, power and backhaul verification, and document acceptance with engineering teams.
  • Manage program budgets and forecast spend: track P&L impacts, change order spend, labor hours, and material costs; provide variance analysis and recommendations to program leadership.
  • Develop and maintain accurate program documentation: as-built drawings, site files, permit records, change logs, test reports and sign-offs in the document management system.
  • Lead permitting and local authority coordination for right-of-way (ROW), zoning approvals, utility access and municipal agreements; prepare and submit permit packages and follow through to approval.
  • Implement and enforce safety programs and regulatory compliance (OSHA, local safety codes, FCC/FAA where applicable); conduct site audits, toolbox talks, incident investigations and corrective action tracking.
  • Drive continuous improvement by establishing standard operating procedures (SOPs), lessons-learned sessions, playbooks for repeatable builds, and cost/time reduction initiatives for deployment activities.
  • Coordinate materials management and logistics: manage BOMs, inventory, material staging, equipment deliveries, and return logistics to prevent schedule slippage.
  • Prepare and deliver program status reporting and executive-level dashboards: KPIs (on-time completion, cost variance, quality metrics), risk registers, mitigation plans and weekly/monthly executive updates.
  • Facilitate scope and design reviews with RF, structural, and civil engineers to validate buildability, RF performance and safety for each site prior to construction start.
  • Supervise training, mentoring and performance reviews for field leads and technicians; set productivity goals and foster a culture of accountability and safety.
  • Control quality assurance and inspection processes: perform field audits, punch-list management, and ensure handoff packages meet acceptance criteria before turnover to operations.
  • Manage relationships with landlords, property managers and carrier partners; ensure lease compliance, access agreements and site-specific requirements are met.
  • Coordinate with supply chain and procurement to expedite critical path materials and long-lead items (antennas, radios, fiber splice enclosures) and manage vendor lead times.
  • Lead incident response and outage recovery coordination across operations and engineering teams, ensuring timely restoration and post-incident corrective actions.
  • Track regulatory and technology changes (5G NR, CBRS, DAS architectures) and incorporate required updates into program standards and training.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist with audit preparation, regulatory compliance documentation and provide evidence during internal and external audits.
  • Provide input to forecasting and capacity planning for field labor and equipment to align resource availability with program demand.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Program and project management (MS Project, Primavera, Smartsheet) — ability to create and manage multi-site master schedules and milestones.
  • Wireless network technical knowledge: 5G NR, LTE, small cell, DAS architectures, macro cell builds and RF fundamentals.
  • RF commissioning and acceptance testing — familiarity with drive testing, sweep testing, OTDR, site acceptance checklists and RF performance validation.
  • Construction and civil coordination — understanding of structural analysis, anchoring, grounding, cable routing, and tower/site build techniques.
  • Permitting, zoning and right-of-way management — experience preparing permit applications and managing municipal approvals.
  • Vendor and contractor management — RFP/RFI/RFQ processes, SOW creation, change order management and contractor performance metrics.
  • Budgeting, cost tracking and financial reporting for programs; proficiency with cost control tools and basic P&L awareness.
  • Safety and regulatory compliance — OSHA, FCC and local safety codes; incident reporting and corrective action tracking.
  • Technical documentation and as-built deliverables — proficiency with document management systems and CAD/BIM basics.
  • Hands-on familiarity with fiber and backhaul technologies, splice coordination, and basic fiber testing (OTDR).
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel pivot tables, PowerPoint), ERP tools (SAP/Oracle) and project collaboration platforms (SharePoint, Jira, Confluence).
  • Quality assurance and inspection protocols — ability to develop checklists and run inspections to enforce workmanship standards.
  • Knowledge of logistics, materials staging and inventory control for field deployments.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people management — ability to motivate, mentor, and hold field teams accountable.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication — concise reporting to executives, clear direction to field crews, effective vendor negotiation.
  • Problem solving and critical thinking — rapid root cause analysis and pragmatic mitigation planning under schedule pressure.
  • Stakeholder management and diplomacy — manage expectations across internal teams, carriers, landlords and municipalities.
  • Time management and prioritization — manage competing priorities across concurrent site builds.
  • Adaptability and resilience — navigate changing technical requirements and dynamic field conditions.
  • Coaching and development — provide clear feedback and create development plans for technicians and leads.
  • Attention to detail — ensure documentation accuracy and compliance to reduce rework and permit delays.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, Construction Management, Civil Engineering, or related technical discipline; or equivalent military/field experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s plus certifications (PMP, PMI-ACP) or Master’s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications Management or Business Administration.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Telecommunications / Wireless Engineering
  • Civil / Structural Engineering
  • Construction Management
  • Project Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10 years of progressive experience in wireless network deployment, field operations or construction supervision, with at least 2–3 years leading teams or programs.

Preferred: 7+ years of direct experience managing large-scale wireless rollouts (small cell, DAS, macro/5G), demonstrated vendor management, permitting and budget ownership, and prior supervisory responsibility. PMP or equivalent project management certification and hands-on RF commissioning experience strongly preferred.

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