Principal Gateway Engineer

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.