Telecommunications Merit Reviewer

Corner Alliance•Washington, DC

3d•Remote

About The Position

As a Merit Reviewer supporting our Federal government client, you will be trusted to serve as a Merit Reviewer for a program that aims to foster competition and innovation across the global telecommunications ecosystem, lower costs for consumers and network operators, and strengthen the 5G supply chain. Its objectives include unlocking opportunities for innovative companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, to compete in a market historically dominated by a few suppliers.

Requirements

Demonstrated expertise evaluating cloud-native architectures (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS), data platforms, and distributed systems, including cost/performance tradeoffs.
Demonstrated understanding of compute sizing and placement for AI-native wireless (edge-to-cloud partitioning, accelerators, orchestration, data movement, latency/jitter/energy constraints).
Demonstrated experience evaluating modern software engineering practices: API/SDK quality, UI/UX for operators and developers, CI/CD and continuous testing, repository/artifact management, data lake/lakehouse management, and release governance.
Familiarity with secure software supply chain practices (SBOMs, vulnerability management, secure build pipelines, third-party risk).
Demonstrated expertise in interoperability and conformance testing (interface validation, test harnesses, integration environments, plugfest-style readiness).
Demonstrated experience with systems engineering and SDLC rigor, including evaluation of architecture/design maturity through PDR/CDR, interface specifications, verification/validation strategy, and test plan quality.
Demonstrated ability to assess commercial viability (unit economics, pricing/packaging, go-to-market, channels/partners, adoption barriers) for platform and ecosystem plays.
Demonstrated expertise in AI/ML engineering (training vs inference, MLOps, model lifecycle) and translating technical approach into measurable outcomes.
Demonstrated ability to evaluate AI assurance (robustness, drift, adversarial ML risks) and appropriate lifecycle controls for operational networks.
Demonstrated expertise in security-by-design for distributed networks (threat modeling, zero trust, IAM, key management, secure telemetry/logging, resilience against disruption and breaches).
Working knowledge of data governance and privacy (data rights/provenance, retention, access controls, cross-tenant isolation) in distributed AI systems.
Working knowledge of 3GPP architectures/standards and the ability to judge credible standards contribution roadmaps and timelines.
Working knowledge of O-RAN (Open RAN) architectures/interfaces and the ability to assess openness, interoperability, and multi-vendor integration feasibility.
Demonstrated experience with mobile/Open RAN deployments or integrations (RU/DU/CU, transport dependencies, operability) and carrier-grade requirements (availability, observability, fault management, SLAs).
Demonstrated ability to evaluate program execution realism for multi-party efforts (teaming structure, governance, milestone quality, risk/dependency management).
Bachelor’s degree
10+ years of professional experience
US citizenship and the ability to pass public trust clearance or suitability

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with AI for telecom (e.g., RIC applications, network optimization, anomaly detection, intrusion detection in RAN/core)
Program or project management experience within telecommunications that gives the reviewer a background in management, financial performance, and/or other topics concerning project success.
Coachability
Unflappable in navigating challenges
Resourcefulness in learning new skills
Innovation in challenging the status quo
Excellent writing skills
Analytical thinking
Skilled in prioritization
Rapport building with clients and colleagues

Responsibilities

Serve as a Merit Reviewer for a program fostering competition and innovation in the global telecommunications ecosystem.
Evaluate applications based on pre-established criteria by persons knowledgeable in the field of endeavor for which support is requested.
Conduct impartial, objective, and unbiased reviews with requisite expertise, knowledge, and experience in technical fields.
Assess proposals for their value, quality, and likelihood of success.
Reveal any conflicts of interest (real or apparent) prior to conducting a merit review.