Title: Director of Engineering
Company: Essentia Inc.
Location: Petersburg, Tennessee, United States
Gurden G. “Jerry” Stevens Jr., Director of Engineering at Essentia Inc., has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Engineers for dedication, achievements and leadership in Engineering.
Mr. Stevens is recognized for his extensive career in the telecommunications and engineering sectors, marked by a series of progressive leadership roles and significant contributions to the industry. As the director of engineering at Essentia Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2025, he manages profit and loss to ensure alignment with organizational expectations. His responsibilities include spearheading fiber-to-the-home projects, overseeing hyperscale efforts, such as constructing large-scale data centers and power company builds, and leveraging existing infrastructure, like utility poles, for broadband expansion. Mr. Stevens also plays a pivotal role in broadening the organization’s engineering and construction opportunities by introducing Essentia Inc. to companies with which he has previously collaborated.
Before joining Essentia Inc., Mr. Stevens served as the director of fiber, fiber-to-home and FTTx at unWired Broadband from 2023 to 2025. In this capacity, he led initiatives focused on managing all operations, from engineering and construction to maintenance and restoration of underground infrastructure for residential and commercial clients. Mr. Stevens’s expertise in managing complex projects contributed to the company’s growth in the competitive broadband market.
In 2023, Mr. Stevens briefly worked as an engineering professional through freelance consulting. Earlier, from 2017 to 2023, he was affiliated with United Communications as a manager of OSP planning and engineering, overseeing outside plant planning and engineering operations and playing a key role in the company’s significant growth.
Between 2016 and 2017, Mr. Stevens served as the market operations manager for the Google Fiber Nashville Project at Genesis Networks Enterprises. This newly formed position was designed to enable him to effectively turn around a struggling project. Mr. Stevens managed operational aspects of the project, contributing to the rollout of high-speed internet services in the Nashville area.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Stevens excelled at Awesome Engineering LLC between 2011 and 2016. Initially hired as a project manager, he transitioned into the role of principal and lead ISP/OSP project manager in 2014.
Among his most notable achievements during his tenure in the industry was his leadership of the Tidewater project while serving as the prime engineering contractor for Lumos Networks, which T-Mobile now owns. The initiative involved constructing over 850 miles of infrastructure and more than 265 cell towers to introduce T-Mobile as a third provider alongside Verizon and AT&T in the Hampton Roads region, which was lauded as a significant breakthrough for local connectivity. Despite skepticism regarding the ambitious timeline, Mr. Stevens’s firm secured all necessary permits within 10 months and completed the project within 18 months. This accomplishment enabled Lumos Networks to expand fiber-to-the-home services across cities such as Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Hampton and Norfolk, laying a foundation for future growth.
Following high school, Mr. Stevens completed coursework at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in New Brunswick, which provided foundational knowledge that supported his technical expertise throughout his career. He is an active member of the Project Management Institute Inc., reflecting his commitment to professional development within his field.
Outside his professional endeavors, Mr. Stevens resides on a farm in Middle Tennessee, where he manages cattle and chickens and cultivates a large garden each year. He oversees all aspects of farming, including hay production and equipment operation, as he strives for self-sufficiency for himself and his family by growing his own food and maintaining independence within modern society.
Mr. Stevens attributes his success to a strong passion for helping others achieve their goals and a deep commitment to the telecommunications industry, a field he has served for nearly 30 years. He believes that access to affordable high-quality broadband is a powerful equalizer that unlocks opportunities for individuals everywhere. Looking ahead, Mr. Stevens aspires for his company to become a leading force in connecting hyperscale data centers, contributing to national leadership in artificial intelligence, and remaining steadfast in expanding fiber-to-the-home initiatives so that everyone can benefit from transformative broadband access, regardless of location or circumstance.
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