Network Engineer - NASA Lunar Surface Analogue Field Testing

METECS • Houston, TX

49d

About The Position

We are seeking a talented Network Engineer with experience in traditional TCP/IP networking and especially in wireless 3GPP cellular networking to join a small team working on challenging and unique (primarily wireless) network test environments. These wireless networks are intended to be deployed around NASA Johnson Space Center as well as "Lunar Surface"-like remote environments in the United States and abroad. This role will have you acting as a secondary (but independently capable) subject matter expert on the design, development, and integration of 3GPP (4G, 5G cellular), Wi-Fi, satellite Internet, and wired networking technologies in support of NASA's Joint Extravehicular Activity & Human Surface Mobility Test Team (JETT). Candidates with experience in wireless networking, Linux, scripting, and troubleshooting in unique, challenging environments are encouraged to apply. For traditional network engineers who are willing to travel periodically and deploy networks in non-traditional environments, this is an opportunity to adapt your expertise to the unique challenges of space missions. For experienced junior engineers with a strong drive for self-learning, this is a chance to learn about niche, difficult wireless networking problems and technologies for use in a location where 'the Internet' as we know it might not exist.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, capable of interacting with stakeholders in all roles and levels of the organization.
• Experience in independent, unsupervised management and maintenance of wireless networks, particularly in challenging, possibly internet-disconnected environments
• Experience in headless Linux environments, strong command line skills needed
• Citizenship or lawful permanent resident required due to federal position.

Nice To Haves

• Hands on experience with any of the following:
• Nokia RAN
• Airspan RAN
• Druid Raemis core
• Any enterprise Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) deployment/management experience
• Any 3GPP RAN/core experience
• Wi-Fi network site surveying, design, and deployment
• Networking and routing in hierarchical networks
• Bash command line interface experience and management of systems over SSH
• Networking technologies such as: VLANs, QoS, QCI/5QI, routing, and subnetting
• Comfort in working in potentially difficult environments and semi-frequent travel
• You will be asked to support NASA JETT tests as a field engineer, these tests can be in sandy, hot environments as well as cold, rough environments

Responsibilities

• Maintain an existing 5G-SA cellular network using a variety of COTS equipment
• Work with a senior engineer on designing and deploying a variety of different 3GPP, Wi-Fi, and wired network architectures as needed to support NASA's JETT testing
• Travel 4-5 times per year in support of NASA JETT tests: Travel may range from days to weeks, both CONUS and OCONUS
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for research, development, and verification of wireless networking, both on the infrastructure side as well as wireless nodes/endpoints (Wi-Fi stations, 3GPP UEs, etc.)
• Maintain and improve on existing Linux SBC wireless clients that function as Wi-Fi stations, 3GPP UEs, and wireless hotspots
• Collaborate with additional NASA partners to ensure network requirements for successful field tests
• Develop scripts and implement automation to handle disaster recovery, network failover, and redundancy
• Stay current with the newest wireless technologies, Linux single board computers, and especially 3GPP-related software/hardware

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees