Director of Network Operations

AST SpaceMobile•Dallas, TX

About The Position

AST SpaceMobile is building SpaceMobile, a space-based cellular broadband network designed to provide 4G/5G connectivity through standard smartphones around the world, including on land, at sea and in flight. The Director of Network Operations leads the 24/7 network operations organization within Telco Service Assurance and reports to the VP Telco Service Assurance. The role owns Tier 1 and Tier 2 support across all technologies and oversees escalation, troubleshooting and resolution of complex incidents throughout the end-to-end Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), including RAN, satellite gateways, transport and core. The Director sets network operations strategy, operating models and standards; manages managers, team leads and senior technical staff; and works with executive leadership, engineering and external partners to ensure network reliability, service quality and operational excellence. The organization includes the Partner Success Desk and Tier 1 team, which serve as the entry point for partners, MNOs and internal groups, as well as Tier 2 specialist teams for ground station (RF/Satcom and TT&C) and telco (RAN, network/infrastructure and core). Teams are located in the US, India and Argentina. Incident Management and Change, Governance & Compliance are separate Service Assurance organizations with which the role works closely.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field.
15+ years of experience in telecom network operations.
At least 7 years of management experience and 3 years leading managers or multi-team operations organizations.
Broad technical knowledge of mobile networks (4G LTE, 5G NR), transport, IP and core network architecture.
Proven track record running 24/7 multi-tier operations centers and achieving availability and SLA targets.
Extensive experience leading major incident management at the executive level.
Expert knowledge of ITIL and operational governance frameworks.
Demonstrated experience with budgeting, headcount planning, vendor management and contract negotiation.
Strong strategic thinking, leadership and organizational development skills.
Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management skills, including with partner MNOs and key customers.
Ability to lead calmly and decisively during critical and network-wide outages.
Ability to lead and align teams across the US, India and Argentina and across several functions.
Ability to work in a standard office environment and use a computer for extended periods.
Ability to be reached outside business hours as the executive escalation point for critical outages.
Ability to travel periodically to gateway sites, partner MNOs and regional teams.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree and an MBA are preferred.
Experience with satellite networks, ground segment operations or Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), including direct-to-device services.
Experience building, scaling or transforming NOC organizations in a high-growth environment.
Background in automation, AIOps and observability platforms such as Grafana, Prometheus and OSS/NMS suites.
Experience working with multiple partner MNOs and multi-vendor environments across international regions.
Certifications such as ITIL v4 Strategic Leader, PMP or executive leadership training.

Responsibilities

Define the vision, strategy and operating model for Tier 1 and Tier 2 network operations in alignment with company objectives and growth plans.
Lead and develop managers, team leads and senior engineers across Partner Success, Tier 1, ground station and telco teams in the US, India and Argentina, ensuring 24/7 coverage and no single points of failure.
Own end-to-end network availability, service quality and SLA performance, and ensure contractual, regulatory and partner commitments are met.
Operate the Partner Success Desk as the single entry point for partners, MNOs and internal groups to assign incidents to the NOC.
Establish boundaries and handoffs between Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, engineering and vendor support, including escalation paths, acknowledgment timeframes and response targets.
Serve as the executive escalation point for critical and network-wide outages, directing incident response and leading communication with senior leadership, partner MNOs and key customers.
Ensure incidents are created and tracked end to end; partner with Incident Management on escalations, communications, daily pass failure reviews, root cause analysis and defects to reduce repeat incidents and improve resilience.
Partner with Change, Governance & Compliance to ensure network changes are risk-assessed, approved and executed safely.
Define and report organizational KPIs, including availability, MTTR, escalation rates, repeat incidents and SLA compliance, to executive leadership.
Drive automation, AIOps, observability and tool strategy, including NetCTRL, the Gateway Dashboard and Jira Service Management, to improve detection, diagnosis and resolution times.
Ensure operational readiness for new technologies, sites and services, including acceptance criteria before handover from engineering and service delivery.
Manage the department budget, headcount planning, vendor contracts and support agreements.
Build strong partnerships with engineering, service delivery, security, satellite operations and external partners.
Develop talent through training programs, career paths and succession planning, and foster accountability and continuous improvement.