Principal Gateway Engineer

Employer description

AST SpaceMobile and our global partners are building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network to be accessible by standard smartphones. Called SpaceMobile, this ultra-powerful network is being designed to provide connectivity at 4G/5G speeds everywhere on the planet – on land, at sea and in flight.

Position Overview

We're looking for a Principal Gateway Engineer to help design, deploy, optimize, and troubleshoot packet core gateway infrastructure that carries subscriber data traffic across mobile networks. This role will work across the full call flow lifecycle, from initial device registration and session establishment through mobility management and data transfer, ensuring reliable connectivity and service performance.

As a senior technical contributor, you will partner closely with radio access, core network, IMS, device, and platform engineering teams to identify and resolve issues impacting network performance, subscriber experience, and service availability. You will play a key role in developing technical standards, validating network requirements, and supporting the deployment of scalable and resilient core network solutions.

The ideal candidate brings strong expertise in LTE and 5G core technologies, hands-on troubleshooting experience, and a deep understanding of packet core architecture, signaling protocols, and network operations.

Key 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 multiple domains by correlating gateway, radio, device, and subscriber data
• Monitor and improve key 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 overall system performance
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship while promoting engineering best practices and operational excellence

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Information Technology, or a related technical field
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant industry experience may be considered

Experience:

• 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

Preferred Qualifications:

• 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

Soft Skills:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to communicate complex technical issues to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Proven 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 with a proactive approach to troubleshooting and continuous improvement

Technology Stack:

• LTE EPC and 5G Core technologies
• GTP, Diameter, PFCP, SIP, and related telecommunications protocols
• Wireshark and network protocol analysis tools
• Python, Bash, or other scripting languages
• IP networking technologies including routing, NAT, VLANs, and network services
• Virtualization and cloud-native platforms
• Kubernetes and container technologies
• Grafana, Prometheus, Splunk, ELK, or similar monitoring solutions
• CI/CD and automation frameworks
• Microsoft Office Suite and engineering collaboration platforms

Physical Requirements:

• 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
• May require occasional after-hours support, maintenance window participation, or on-call responsibilities
• Ability to remain stationary for extended periods while performing troubleshooting, analysis, and operational support activities

This job description may not be inclusive to the duties and responsibilities listed. Additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time or the scope of the job may change as needed by business demands.

AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.