Customer Support Engineer / CORE – 4G/5G Packet Core | SWI US | Oak Brook, IL

SWI US; Oak Brook (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

SWI US seeks an experienced Customer Support Engineer specializing in 4G/5G Packet Core to join the Oak Brook, IL team onsite. You will own end-to-end support, perform deep investigations, and drive rapid incident resolution for Nokia core solutions, CNFs, EPC, 5GC, and IMS architectures.

The role requires a strong background in Nokia core nodes, CNFs orchestration with Kubernetes, and readiness for deployment in Illinois. Collaboration with R&D and operator engineers is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of professional telecommunications experience with 4G/5G Packet Core operations or support.
• Deep operational mastery of Nokia Packet Core solutions, EPC, and 5GC architectures.
• Availability for full-time onsite in Oak Brook, IL (contact email provided).

Responsibilities

• Provide expert-level technical customer support and troubleshooting for 4G/5G Packet Core networks and Nokia solutions.
• Investigate and resolve complex CSRs involving EPC, 5GC, IMS, and CNF network functions.
• Troubleshoot signaling protocols and call flows across S1-MME, S5/S8, SGi, N1, N2, N3, and SBf interfaces.
• Monitor and manage CNFs on Kubernetes; coordinate incident response and crisis management.
• Develop and maintain troubleshooting guides and knowledge bases; ensure SLA adherence.

Skills

Nokia Packet Core

Kubernetes CNFs

IMS VoLTE/VoNR

Wireshark analysis

Incident leadership

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Telecommunication/EE/CS

Job description

Position Summary:

SWI US is seeking an experienced, highly technical, and accomplished Customer Support Engineer specializing in 4G and 5G Packet Core networks to join our enterprise technical support organization on a full-time onsite basis in Oak Brook, IL. In this specialized telecommunications support role, you will spearhead delivering advanced technical assistance, complex fault isolation, and incident resolution for Nokia packet core solutions, cloud-native network functions (CNFs), Evolved Packet Core (EPC), 5G Core (5GC), and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architectures. You will work closely with tier-1 mobile network operators, global engineering squads, and cross-functional support teams to ensure uncompromising network availability, low latency, and high service reliability. Ideal candidates bring a robust academic degree in electrical engineering, telecommunications, or computer science, deep practical mastery of Nokia core nodes, Kubernetes container orchestration, and immediate availability for deployment in Illinois.

Detailed Job Description:

As a Customer Support Engineer / CORE at SWI US in Oak Brook, IL, you will take full ownership of end-to-end customer support delivery, emergency handling, escalation management, and deep technical investigations across complex 4G EPC and 5G standalone/non-standalone core networks. Your day-to-day responsibilities encompass troubleshooting session management anomalies, analyzing call flows (S1-MME, GTP-C, GTP-U, Diameter, HTTP/2), managing Kubernetes/CNF container clusters, and coordinating emergency restoration procedures during critical outages. You will collaborate proactively with R&D, product management, and operator engineering teams to resolve high-priority trouble tickets and implement robust workarounds. Working in a fast-paced telecommunications technology environment, you will drive operational excellence, system stability, and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide expert-level technical customer support and troubleshooting for 4G/5G Packet Core networks and Nokia solutions.
• Investigate and resolve complex customer service requests (CSRs) involving EPC, 5GC, IMS, and CNF network functions.
• Troubleshoot signaling protocols and call flows across S1-MME, S5/S8, SGi, N1, N2, N3, and SBf interfaces.
• Monitor, manage, and troubleshoot cloud-native network functions (CNFs) deployed on Kubernetes and containerized virtualization stacks.
• Provide technical leadership and rapid incident response during major network outages, escalations, and crisis situations.
• Collaborate proactively with mobile operator engineering teams, global support squads, and vendor R&D divisions.
• Analyze network logs, core traces, and performance statistics to execute precise root-cause analysis (RCA).
• Develop, test, and deploy software patches, maintenance updates, and configuration workarounds in live carrier environments.
• Create and maintain comprehensive technical troubleshooting guides, known error databases, and knowledge base articles.
• Ensure strict adherence to service level agreements (SLAs), operational security baselines, and quality standards.

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 5+ years of professional telecommunications experience with direct hands-on expertise in 4G/5G Packet Core operations or support.
• Deep operational mastery of Nokia Packet Core solutions, Evolved Packet Core (EPC), and 5G Core (5GC) architectures.
• Strong expertise in cloud-native network functions (CNFs), Kubernetes, Docker, and containerized microservices orchestration.
• Solid understanding of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Session Border Controllers (SBC), and voice-over-LTE/NR (VoLTE/VoNR) call flows.
• Strong troubleshooting, fault-finding, root-cause analysis, and signaling trace analysis skills (Wireshark, Tshark, protocol analyzers).
• Excellent understanding of IP networking, routing protocols, BGP, OSPF, VLANs, and firewall security configurations.
• Professional availability for full-time employment onsite in Oak Brook, IL (Application email: [e-mail]).

Nice-to-Have Skills:

• Professional certifications such as Nokia Certified Network Professional (NCNP), Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), or AWS Certified Solutions Architect.
• Hands-on experience with automated network testing scripts in Python or Bash.
• Prior working experience in tier-1 mobile telecommunications operator networks or telecom equipment vendor support centers.
• Advanced performance tuning experience for high-throughput packet gateway user planes (UPF/PGW).
• Bilingual proficiency in English and additional regional languages.

Salary: Competitive market rate commensurate with experience. Deadline: Open until filled. Notice Period: Immediate to short notice preferred. Contract Duration: Permanent / Full-Time Onsite (Oak Brook, IL).

Recruitment Pro Tip:

When applying for senior 4G/5G packet core support roles in the US, ensure your resume explicitly highlights your Nokia core troubleshooting depth, Kubernetes CNF experience, and major incident leadership track record.