Principal Gateway Engineer

AST SpaceMobile•Dallas, TX

About The Position

AST SpaceMobile and its global partners are building SpaceMobile, a space-based cellular broadband network intended to provide 4G/5G-speed connectivity to standard smartphones around the world, on land, at sea, and in flight. The Principal Gateway Engineer designs, deploys, optimizes, and troubleshoots 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, this engineer works with radio access, core network, IMS, device, and platform engineering teams to identify and resolve issues affecting performance, subscriber experience, and service availability. The role also contributes to technical standards, validates network requirements, and supports scalable, resilient core network solutions. The position requires expertise in LTE and 5G core technologies, hands-on troubleshooting, and a strong understanding of packet core architecture, signaling protocols, and network operations. Production support and on-call activities may be required.

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.
Minimum 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; 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; review technical documentation, logs, packet captures, and network performance data; and participate in meetings and technical reviews.
Ability to remain stationary for extended periods while performing troubleshooting, analysis, and operational support activities.

Nice To Haves

Experience with virtualized or cloud-native core network platforms, including containerized network functions and orchestration technologies.
Experience working 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 identify and resolve session establishment failures, connectivity issues, mobility events, and service disruptions.
Troubleshoot network issues across domains by correlating gateway, radio, device, and subscriber 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 implementation planning and validation testing.
Partner with vendors to investigate defects, validate fixes, and coordinate software release activities.
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 improvements.
Create and maintain operational documentation, troubleshooting guides, standard operating procedures, and incident reports.
Participate in production support and on-call activities to assist with network incident response and service restoration.
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.