10 Lumen engineering leaders
Rafi Tzadikario, Senior Vice President, Engineering and AI, opens this list of Lumen engineering leaders, who include vice presidents, senior directors and directors in network engineering, application engineering, cloud platforms and CDN engineering. A reader can learn how engineering leaders work at Lumen from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Andi Parker
LinkedInExperience: Vice President of Engineering · Lumen Technologies
Andi Parker was Vice President of Engineering at Lumen Technologies from February 2025 to March 2026 and has been Chief Technology Officer at Alethia Intelligence since November 2025. Andi Parker was Senior Director Of Engineering - NFV at Cisco from 2016 to 2024, CTO - Multi Platform Distribution at Cisco from 2013 to 2024 and CTO, Videoscape, EMEAR & APAC at Cisco from 2012 to 2016.
Coons Leon
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering Custom Network Solutions · Lumen Technologies
Coons Leon has been Director of Engineering Custom Network Solutions at Lumen Technologies since July 2024, based in Portland, Oregon. Coons Leon was Sr. Manager NP&I Critical Infrastructure at CenturyLink from 2017 to 2024, Sr Manager NP&I at Level 3 Communications from 2014 to 2017 and Director of Engineering - Critical Systems at tw telecom from 2001 to 2014.
Crystal Dowds
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Architecture, Engineering and Technology · Lumen Technologies
Crystal Dowds has been Vice President Architecture, Engineering and Technology at Lumen Technologies since December 2022 and was Director of Product Management there from 2020 to 2022. Crystal Dowds was Sr Manager Operational Support at CenturyLink from 2019 to 2020 and Director of Systems & Process Excellence - Consumer at CenturyLink from 2017 to 2018, based in Portland, Oregon.
Gary Sidhu
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Lumen Platform Applications Engineering · Lumen Technologies
Gary Sidhu was Vice President, Lumen Platform Applications Engineering at Lumen Technologies from 2021 to 2024, engineering platform applications and third-party applications on Lumen Marketplace, and has been Senior Vice President at GTT since January 2024. Gary Sidhu was Sr Director, Application Engineering - Public Sector at Lumen Technologies from 2020 to 2021.
Matt Newman
LinkedInExperience: Director of Network Engineering · Lumen Technologies
Matt Newman has been Director of Network Engineering at Lumen Technologies since March 2023, based in Minneapolis, and was Senior Manager there from 2018 to 2023. Matt Newman was Senior Lead Architect at CenturyLink from 2016 to 2017, Lead Architect at CenturyLink from 2010 to 2016 and Senior Lab Engineer at CenturyLink from 2004 to 2010.
Rafi Tzadikario
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, Engineering and AI · Lumen Technologies
Rafi Tzadikario has been Senior Vice President, Engineering and AI at Lumen Technologies since September 2025, leading engineering across the US and India. Rafi Tzadikario was Senior Vice President, HPE GreenLake Cloud Platform at Hewlett Packard Enterprise from 2021 to 2025, VP of Software Engineering, Switching at HPE Aruba Networking from 2013 to 2020 and Senior Director, SW Engineering at Cisco from 2007 to 2013.
Rama Sreedhara
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Application Engineering · Lumen Technologies
Rama Sreedhara has been Vice President, Application Engineering at Lumen Technologies since July 2025 and also lists Senior Director, Application Engineering there since 2023. Rama Sreedhara was Director Of Application Engineering at Lumen Technologies from 2019 to 2023, Principal SDE at CenturyLink from 2011 to 2019 and IS Technical team lead at CenturyTel from 2008 to 2011.
Ranga Chakravarthula
LinkedInExperience: VP Cloud Infrastructure & Platforms · Lumen Technologies
Ranga Chakravarthula has been VP Cloud Infrastructure & Platforms at Lumen Technologies since March 2025 and was Sr Director - Software Engineering there from 2021 to 2025. Ranga Chakravarthula was Director - Software Engineering at Lumen Technologies from 2020 to 2021, Director Technical Product Management there from 2016 to 2020 and Director Product Engineering there from 2013 to 2016.
Robert Nance
LinkedInExperience: Sr Dir, Global CDN Engineering & Development · Lumen Technologies
Robert Nance has been Sr Dir, Global CDN Engineering & Development at Lumen Technologies since March 2022, with a headline of VP, Global Voice & Vyvx Engineering, and was Sr Dir, CDN Engineering at CenturyLink from 2016 to 2022. Robert Nance was Sr Dir, Voice Network Engineering at Level 3 Communications from 2011 to 2016 and VP, Converged Network Development at Global Crossing from 2007 to 2011.
Tim White
LinkedInExperience: Vice President - Network Implementation · Lumen Technologies
Tim White has been Vice President - Network Implementation at Lumen Technologies since May 2022, with a headline of SVP - Engineering Construction and Operations, and was Vice President Operations there from 2014 to 2022. Tim White was Vice President / General Manager at Lumen Technologies from 2011 to 2014, based in Waukee, Iowa.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's area, such as network engineering, software and application engineering, cloud platforms or network implementation, to the decision you face. Check whether the engineering role is current or ended, and when, to judge how recent their view is.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What did you change first when you took on your current engineering role, and why?
- 02How do you decide which legacy network or software systems to rebuild and which to keep running?
- 03What has your own work taught you about moving network functions onto software-driven platforms?
Reaching Lumen engineering leaders
How can I contact one of these Lumen engineering leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: Lumen Technologies, based on profile data retrieved on October 24, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Lumen engineering leaders?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. The offer is what the person receives, and Instant Expert's fee is added on top, so a $100 offer costs you $125. The fee is 20% of what you pay. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these Lumen engineering leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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