Principal 4G/5G Core Engineer
About The Position
We are seeking an experienced Principal Core Engineer with deep expertise in 4G/5G Core networks to support both the deployment and long-term operation of cloud-based Core infrastructure at Iridium. In this role, you will lead and contribute to greenfield deployments of the Mavenir 4G/5G Core, while helping shape and mature Core operations over time. You will serve as a technical leader for complex network incidents, providing escalation support and ensuring stability, performance, and rapid service restoration across IMS, EPC, and 5GC domains. This position requires hands-on troubleshooting of critical network events, including deep protocol-level analysis and root cause resolution across multi-vendor environments. You will also play a key role in supporting cloud-based Core deployments and driving continuous operational improvement. Partnering across engineering and operations teams, you will help define best practices and strengthen overall Core reliability. Success in this role requires strong technical depth, proactive ownership, and the ability to lead incident response in a 24x7 environment.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; post-graduate degree preferred
- 10+ years of experience in telecom Core network operations
- Extensive, practical experience with a 4G/5G Core
- Deep understanding of: 4G/5G Core architecture (EPC & 5GC SBA architecture) IMS core and VoLTE/VoNR call flows Diameter, SIP, GTPv2, PFCP, HTTP/2
- AWS certification (i.e., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Advanced Networking, AWS Certified AI Practitioner, etc).
- Experience working in a cloud-native/Kubernetes environment
- Experience with containerized network functions (CNFs)
- Strong Linux command-line troubleshooting skills
- Experience analyzing packet captures using Wireshark or similar tools
- Familiarity with Kafka feeds and performance monitoring integrations
- Ability to perform structured RCA and document findings clearly
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to lead technical bridges and confidently present products, deliverables, analyses, and/or issues
Nice To Haves
- Knowledge of 3GPP practices and requirements
- Kubernetes certification (CKA/CKAD)
- Experience operating 4G Core networks (Mavenir is a plus)
- Experience operating 4G Ground RAN networks (Gatehouse is a plus)
- Good understanding or working knowledge of monitoring IOT device links
- Basic understanding or working knowledge of Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) technologies
- Basic understanding or working knowledge of satellite-to-cell integration and 4/5G NTN architecture
- Hands-on experience with Grafana dashboard development and alarm correlation
- Experience with Viavi or probe-based call tracing
- Understanding of CI/CD pipelines for telecom cloud deployments
- Technical industry certification in Network+ or Linux (RedHat, CentOS, etc.)
- Experience with Core Cloud operations and best practices is highly desirable
Responsibilities
- Assist with the completion of greenfield deployment of multiple Mavenir Cores to the cloud
- Lead integration efforts and maintain connections with MNO Partners and Syniverse
- Provide escalation support for Mavenir 4G EPC and 5G Core network functions (AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, NRF, IMS, SBC)
- Define, then monitor, and later evolve our ability to maintain Core network health
- Provide advanced troubleshooting across: SIP, Diameter, GTP, HTTP/2, PFCP signaling VoLTE/VoNR call flows Data session establishment failures
- Lead Major Incident Management (MIM) calls for high-severity core outages
- Conduct deep Root Cause Analysis (RCA) using logs, traces, KPIs, and probe captures
- Correlate alarms and performance metrics to prevent false positives and reduce MTTR
- Perform cloud-native core deployments in Kubernetes and AWS-based environments
- Lead collaboration activities with RAN, Transport, and Cloud teams to resolve cross-domain issues
- Validate software upgrades, patches, and configuration changes in production
- Create and maintain SOPs, runbooks, and troubleshooting documentation
- Mentor junior engineers and provide technical training on Core network troubleshooting
- Ensure SLA/KPI compliance for availability, call success rates, and session setup times
- Participate in 24x7 on-call rotation and major incident bridge support
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
Number of Employees
11-50 employees
