Permit Coordinator

About the role

The Permit Coordinator supports engineering design work for rural fiber optic deployment funded through the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Model (E-ACAM) program. This role focuses on securing and tracking right-of-way and related permits for fiber construction in rural communities across the country, ensuring that design drawings and supporting documentation meet all municipal and regulatory requirements. The position is fully remote and plays a key role in enabling high-speed broadband access in underserved areas.

Responsibilities

• Review and interpret existing fiber cable records, staking sheets, as-built and as-stake drawings, public utility easements (PUE), easement documents, and right-of-way/colocation (ROW/COLO) documentation to support permit applications.
• Draw permit polygons in DB621 and apply right-of-way and colocation experience to accurately define permit areas for fiber deployment.
• Prepare and submit complete permit application packets, including all required documents and staking sheets, to applicable permitting entities such as townships, counties, and state departments.
• Work closely with municipalities to ensure design drawings meet all requirements for permit approval, clarifying and resolving issues as needed.
• Track all permit-related information, applications, and statuses in project management and coordination systems, maintaining organized and up-to-date records.
• Store permit-related documents and records in designated tracking systems, ensuring accurate documentation and easy retrieval for project stakeholders.
• Attend DB621 training sessions, quality control review meetings, and project status meetings, providing timely updates on permit progress and issues.
• Participate in strategic planning calls and project meetings, sharing data, tracking information, and insights related to permitting activities.
• Manage multiple permit applications, documents, and processes simultaneously while maintaining a high level of detail and accuracy.
• Communicate professionally with internal teams, end customers, and municipal contacts via email and phone to obtain required information and resolve permitting questions.
• Use Excel to log, track, and report permit data, deadlines, and status updates, ensuring all information is accurate and current.
• Read and interpret design drawings to verify compliance with permitting requirements and to support the accurate preparation of permit applications.
• Maintain reliable remote work practices, including consistent attendance, meeting core online hours, and completing assigned tasks within required timelines.

Essential Skills

• Minimum of 1–3 years of experience in fiber, telecommunications, or right-of-way permitting in some capacity.
• Hands-on experience with right-of-way permitting for townships, counties, and state-level entities, including exposure to permit polygoning.
• Ability to read and interpret design drawings related to fiber and telecommunications construction.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple documents, files, applications, and processes simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail.
• Proficiency in Excel for logging, tracking, and reporting information related to permits and project status.
• Experience communicating with end customers and stakeholders via email and phone in a professional and timely manner.
• Experience obtaining required information from municipalities or similar authorities for permitting and approvals.
• Demonstrated ability to work remotely with a high degree of trust, accountability, and self-direction, including reliable communication and attendance.
• Familiarity with permitting processes for fiber, telecommunications, construction, and right-of-way activities.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with fiber permitting in the Midwest, particularly in Michigan, and also in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio is a strong plus.
• Experience in telecommunications, municipality coordination, or construction-related permitting is highly beneficial.
• Experience with colocation (colo) and ROW/COLO documentation and processes.
• Comfort working within structured project management or coordination systems for tracking permits and related documentation.
• Ability to participate effectively in training sessions, quality control reviews, and strategic planning calls.
• Strong attention to detail in gathering, reporting, and following up on information and timelines.

Work Environment

This role is 100% remote and part of a dedicated team of six coordinators and two leads supporting a long-term fiber deployment project for rural communities nationwide. Team members work a standard 40-hour work week, with core hours of 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CST when they must be online and available; additional hours can be flexed outside of this window as long as daily deadlines are met. Overtime is not expected or allowed. All necessary hardware, including computer, desktop accessories, keypad, and mouse, is provided. Work is performed in a virtual environment using permitting, project tracking, and communication tools, with regular remote meetings, training sessions, and status updates.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Madison, WI.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $25.00 – $30.00/hr. Individual compensation offered within this range will depend on qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Benefits

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)