Core Network Engineer, 3GPP Wireless

astspacemobile; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

astspacemobile is building a satellite-direct-to-mobile connectivity program and seeks a senior engineer to deploy, integrate, and validate 4G LTE EPC and 5G Standalone Core elements linking orbiting assets with standard handsets. This role is hands-on, deeply technical, and requires experience with virtualization, cloud-native platforms, and cross-functional collaboration.

You will own configuration, testing, and operator-facing artifacts, including design translations to detailed configs,

Qualifications

• 10+ years of hands-on telecom engineering experience with 3GPP core networks, configuration, and testing.
• Experience delivering large-scale LTE EPC and/or 5G SA core rollouts with major vendor stacks recommended.
• Operational command of VNFs/CNFs in Kubernetes/OpenShift and strong IP networking fundamentals (BGP, OSPF, QoS).

Responsibilities

• Deploy, integrate, and validate core network functions across virtualized/cloud-native platforms (EPC, AMF/UPF/SMF, SEPP).
• Translate architectures into detailed configurations for signaling interfaces (S1-AP, NAS, GTP-C/U, Diameter, HTTP/2, SCTP, PFCP).
• Build automation pipelines with Python, Ansible, Terraform, and Bash for deployments and operations.
• Run FAT/SIT/UAT campaigns including functional, regression, and performance testing of core services.
• Lead root-cause analysis of incidents and recommend KPI-driven optimizations for capacity and reliability.
• Produce engineering artifacts like configuration guides, procedures, test reports, and network diagrams.

Skills

3GPP core network

LTE EPC

5G SA Core

Kubernetes

OpenShift

VMware

BGP

OSPF

QoS

Wireshark

Cloud networking AWS/Azure/GCP

Education

Electrical Engineering

Telecommunications

Computer Science

Tools

Python

Ansible

Terraform

Bash

Kubernetes

OpenShift

OpenStack

Job description

Role overview

A satellite-direct-to-mobile connectivity program is building a 3GPP core network team and needs a senior engineer to deploy, integrate, and validate 4G LTE EPC and 5G Standalone Core elements that link orbiting assets with standard handsets. The work spans hands-on configuration, vendor integration, and rigorous testing for a unique non-terrestrial network serving both commercial and government connectivity gaps. This is a deeply technical individual-contributor role with cross-functional influence over architecture, automation, and operations.

Responsibilities

• Engineer, integrate, and deploy core network functions spanning EPC nodes (MME, SGW, DRA) and 5G SA components (AMF, UPF, SMF, SEPP) across virtualized and cloud-native platforms.
• Translate architectural designs into detailed configurations covering signaling interfaces such as S1-AP, NAS, GTP-C/U, Diameter, HTTP/2, SCTP, PFCP, and the N1-N15 service-based interfaces.
• Build automation pipelines with Python, Ansible, Terraform, and Bash to streamline deployments and recurring operational tasks.
• Run FAT, SIT, and UAT campaigns, including functional, regression, interoperability, performance, and stress testing of core services.
• Drive root-cause analysis for production incidents and recommend KPI-driven optimizations for capacity, throughput, and reliability.
• Produce and maintain engineering artifacts such as configuration guides, Method of Procedure documents, test reports, and as-built network diagrams.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a closely related field.
• 10+ years of hands-on telecom engineering experience focused on 3GPP wireless core build, integration, configuration, and test.
• Demonstrated track record on large-scale LTE EPC and/or 5G Standalone Core rollouts, ideally with major vendor stacks such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, or Mavenir.
• Operational command of VNF/CNF environments on Kubernetes, OpenShift, OpenStack, and VMware, plus strong IP networking fundamentals including BGP, OSPF, and QoS.
• Working knowledge of roaming, Diameter signaling, and inter-PLMN connectivity.
• Proficiency with protocol analyzers like Wireshark and with public-cloud networking concepts across AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Nice to have

• Exposure to Direct-to-Device, Non-Terrestrial Networks, satellite connectivity, or other emerging wireless technologies.