Core Network Engineer, 3GPP Wireless

Role overview A satellite-direct-to-mobile connectivity program is building a 3GPP core network team and needs a senior engineer to deploy, integrate, and validate 4G LTE EPC and 5G Standalone Core elements that link orbiting assets with standard handsets. The work spans hands-on configuration, vendor integration, and rigorous testing for a unique non-terrestrial network serving both commercial and government connectivity gaps. This is a deeply technical individual-contributor role with cross-functional influence over architecture, automation, and operations.

Responsibilities - Engineer, integrate, and deploy core network functions spanning EPC nodes (MME, SGW, DRA) and 5G SA components (AMF, UPF, SMF, SEPP) across virtualized and cloud-native platforms. - Translate architectural designs into detailed configurations covering signaling interfaces such as S1-AP, NAS, GTP-C/U, Diameter, HTTP/2, SCTP, PFCP, and the N1–N15 service-based interfaces. - Build automation pipelines with Python, Ansible, Terraform, and Bash to streamline deployments and recurring operational tasks. - Run FAT, SIT, and UAT campaigns, including functional, regression, interoperability, performance, and stress testing of core services. - Drive root-cause analysis for production incidents and recommend KPI-driven optimizations for capacity, throughput, and reliability. - Produce and maintain engineering artifacts such as configuration guides, Method of Procedure documents, test reports, and as-built network diagrams.

Requirements - Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a closely related field. - 10+ years of hands-on telecom engineering experience focused on 3GPP wireless core build, integration, configuration, and test. - Demonstrated track record on large-scale LTE EPC and/or 5G Standalone Core rollouts, ideally with major vendor stacks such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, or Mavenir. - Operational command of VNF/CNF environments on Kubernetes, OpenShift, OpenStack, and VMware, plus strong IP networking fundamentals including BGP, OSPF, and QoS. - Working knowledge of roaming, Diameter signaling, and inter-PLMN connectivity. - Proficiency with protocol analyzers like Wireshark and with public-cloud networking concepts across AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Nice to have - Exposure to Direct-to-Device, Non-Terrestrial Networks, satellite connectivity, or other emerging wireless technologies.