[Hiring] Manager VPN with AI & Digital Operations @Lumen Technologies

Role Description

We are seeking a highly driven and results-oriented leader to manage VPN Service Delivery while also owning the strategy, ideation, and execution of AI, chat, and automation initiatives across the organization. This role is responsible for overseeing end-to-end VPN order delivery, ensuring first-time-right performance, and driving operational excellence through data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.

In addition to core service delivery responsibilities, this leader will spearhead digital transformation efforts by developing and scaling automation and AI-driven solutions, supported by disciplined delivery governance and operational analysis. The role requires a balance of hands-on execution and strategic leadership, including building and developing a high-performing team. Success will be measured by improvements in cycle time, cost efficiency, service quality, and adherence to Responsible AI and data governance standards within a fast-paced telecommunications environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum: Bachelor’s Degree and 3+ years of related business operations management experience.
• Strong discipline in maintaining a use-case backlog and governance process from intake → triage → discovery → pilot → production, including readiness across security, privacy, and data access.
• Skilled at translating ideas into clear user stories with success criteria, risk/controls, ROI modeling, and dependency mapping.
• Promotes a culture of accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• Excellent collaboration and effective listening skills.
• Strong attention to detail and superior organizational skills.
• Proven ability to present information to various levels in organizations.
• Understanding of project management.

Requirements

• Manage day-to-day VPN order delivery across multiple regions and customer segments.
• Ensure timely, accurate provisioning aligned with customer SLAs and business goals.
• Drive performance against key metrics including FTR (First Time Right), cycle time, and backlog health.
• Identify process gaps and lead initiatives to improve efficiency, quality, and scalability.
• Champion automation and simplification efforts to reduce manual work and errors.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to implement sustainable solutions.
• Establish clear performance expectations and track team productivity and quality.
• Analyze operational data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Deliver executive-level reporting with actionable insights and recommendations.
• Collaborate closely with Design/TDG, Field Operations, Offnet/Build, and Customer Experience teams.
• Act as a point of escalation for complex orders and customer-impacting issues.
• Drive alignment across teams to ensure seamless order flow and issue resolution.
• Build and maintain a prioritized AI/automation roadmap tied to business objectives.
• Run structured ideation to capture high-value chat use cases across business functions.
• Establish “value by design” for each use case and ensure measurable outcomes.
• Translate ideas into clear user stories, success criteria, and risk/controls.
• Rapidly prototype chat/agent flows and lead pilot experiments.
• Partner with Security, Compliance, and Data Governance to meet responsible AI standards.
• Build dashboards and operational scorecards to guide decisions and show value.
• Identify automation opportunities and policy/role changes needed to unlock impact.
• Lead cross-functional Kaizen/Lean sprints to remove waste and instrument processes.
• Standardize playbooks, reusable components, and reference architectures.
• Operate a tight release cadence with clear entry/exit criteria.
• Enforce quality gates and manage operational readiness.
• Publish executive-ready updates and maintain audit-ready documentation.
• Create lightweight enablement that makes chat solutions stick.
• Coordinate with Security/Legal on responsible AI standards and data classification.
• Work closely with Operations leaders, Product owners, Engineering, Security, HR, and Finance.
• Provide executive-ready updates and resolve blockers quickly and transparently.
• Lead, coach, and develop an inclusive, high-performance team.
• Set clear expectations, priorities, and performance standards aligned to business objectives.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and development planning.
• Monitor workload, capacity, and team health to ensure sustainable performance.
• Cultivate a culture of experimentation with guardrails.
• Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits.
• Additional perks that enhance physical, mental, emotional, and financial wellbeing.

Company Description

Lumen is the trusted network for the AI‑powered world, connecting people, data, and applications through our expansive fiber network and connected ecosystem. We enable secure, high‑performance connectivity across cloud, edge, and AI workloads for enterprises, governments, and communities.

At Lumen, you’ll work on infrastructure customers rely on today and build for what’s next, where performance, security, and resilience matter.

This is a high accountability environment where bold ideas drive real innovation for our customers, partners, and industry.