Mark Criasia
About Mark Criasia
Mark Criasia serves as the Director of Field Engineering at Cogent Communications, where he oversees project managers and manages the installation of optical fiber infrastructure across various markets. He holds multiple degrees in Criminal Justice and Computer Information Systems and has extensive experience in telecommunications engineering and project management.
Work at Cogent Communications
Mark Criasia has been serving as the Director of Field Engineering at Cogent Communications since 2004. In this role, he conducts regional travel covering markets in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Canada, and London. He supervises a team of 21 project managers across the United States and London, focusing on site surveys, design, and construction of Points of Presence (POP) sites and building cable infrastructures. His responsibilities include overseeing the installation of single-mode and multi-mode optical fiber, as well as planning and layout of fiber optic risers in high-rise office buildings.
Education and Expertise
Mark Criasia holds multiple degrees in Criminal Justice and Computer Information Systems. He earned a Master's degree from Anna Maria College from 1997 to 1999, a Bachelor's degree from Clark University from 1992 to 1996, and an Associate's degree from Dean College from 1989 to 1991. Additionally, he completed Police Officer Recruit Training at the Worcester Police Academy in 1985. His technical expertise includes DWDM, OADM, CWDM, MSTP, and various Cisco systems such as Cisco 15454, Cisco 4900, and Cisco ASR9000.
Background
Before his current role at Cogent Communications, Mark Criasia worked as the N.E. Regional Installation & HUB Operations Manager at Cogent from 2001 to 2004. He also served as the N.E. Regional Project Manager at Cypress Communications from 1999 to 2001. His extensive experience in the telecommunications field has equipped him with a strong foundation in project management and engineering.
Achievements
In his role as Director of Field Engineering, Mark Criasia is responsible for ordering, tracking, and supervising the construction of dark fiber lateral installations. He manages competitive bid processing and project budgeting for construction management projects. His skills include troubleshooting equipment configuration and using tools such as Power Meters and Visual Fault Indicator testers. He is also experienced in using Visio and AutoCAD for reviewing and editing as-built drawings.