Principal Gateway Engineer

AST SpaceMobile•Dallas, TX

13h

About The Position

AST SpaceMobile is building SpaceMobile, a space-based cellular broadband network intended to provide 4G/5G-speed connectivity to standard smartphones around the world. The Principal Gateway Engineer will design, deploy, optimize, and troubleshoot packet core gateway infrastructure carrying subscriber data traffic across mobile networks. The role covers the call flow lifecycle, including device registration, session establishment, mobility management, and data transfer, with a focus on reliable connectivity and service performance. As a senior technical contributor, the engineer will work closely with radio access, core network, IMS, device, platform, vendor, and partner-network teams to resolve issues affecting performance, subscriber experience, and service availability. The role also supports technical standards and network requirements, scalable and resilient core solutions, production operations, and engineering best practices. The position may include production support, on-call activities, and occasional after-hours or maintenance-window work.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Information Technology, or a related technical field; an equivalent combination of education and relevant industry experience may be considered.
3–7 years of experience in cellular core network engineering, packet core operations, telecommunications engineering, or network systems testing.
Hands-on experience supporting LTE/EPC and/or 5G Core network environments.
Experience troubleshooting signaling, subscriber connectivity, mobility, and data-session issues in production environments.
Experience performing network upgrades, change-management activities, and operational support functions.
Working knowledge of mobile network architecture and end-to-end service flows.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical issues to technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional engineering teams.
Strong organizational and time-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational environment.
Attention to detail and commitment to operational excellence.
Self-motivated, proactive approach to troubleshooting and continuous improvement.
Ability to work in a standard office environment and use a computer for extended periods.
Ability to review technical documentation, logs, packet captures, and network performance data.
Ability to participate in meetings, technical reviews, and cross-functional collaboration sessions.
Ability to remain stationary for extended periods while performing troubleshooting, analysis, and operational support.

Nice To Haves

Experience with virtualized or cloud-native core network platforms, including containerized network functions and orchestration technologies.
Experience with commercial packet core solutions from major telecommunications vendors.
Exposure to radio access network procedures and device-level troubleshooting tools.
Knowledge of IMS, VoLTE, VoNR, roaming architectures, and advanced mobile network services.
Experience supporting large-scale production network environments.
Familiarity with observability, monitoring, and analytics platforms.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automation frameworks, and infrastructure automation practices.
Relevant industry certifications, telecommunications training, or vendor-specific credentials.

Responsibilities

Configure, operate, and optimize packet core gateway functions, including subscriber connectivity, data session management, IP address management, quality-of-service policies, and charging integrations.
Analyze signaling and user-plane traces to diagnose and resolve session-establishment failures, connectivity issues, mobility events, and service disruptions.
Troubleshoot issues across gateway, radio, device, and subscriber domains by correlating relevant data.
Monitor and improve network performance indicators, including session success rates, throughput, latency, and service availability.
Support software upgrades, feature introductions, capacity expansions, and maintenance activities, including planning and validation testing.
Work with vendors to investigate defects, validate fixes, and coordinate software releases.
Support interoperability and roaming initiatives involving partner networks and multi-technology environments.
Develop automation tools and scripts for configuration validation, log analysis, auditing, and operational efficiency.
Create and maintain operational documentation, troubleshooting guides, standard operating procedures, and incident reports.
Participate in production support and on-call activities to respond to network incidents and restore services.
Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to define requirements, evaluate solutions, and improve system performance.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship while promoting engineering best practices and operational excellence.