Principal Telecom Cloud Operations Engineer

Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world. For over 20 years, Iridium's unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.

At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed. Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions. Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world. Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves. We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.

Iridium is seeking a Principal Telecom Cloud Engineer who will be a key member of the Systems Engineering team and be responsible for the operation and management of advanced network infrastructure, including 4G/5G Core and OpenRAN (O-RAN) systems, with a strong emphasis on automation, security, and system reliability. This position requires deep expertise in AWS Cloud, AWS Networking, Linux environments, CI/CD architecture, Terraform, CloudFormation, and system analysis. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to manage complex technical assignments, contribute to integration and testing efforts, and the overall operations and management of the Iridium Telco Cloud.

Work collaboratively with vendors, subcontractors, and consultants to resolve outstanding issues
• Maintain cloud based telecom subsystems and services
• Be responsible for administration and maintenance of the remote monitoring and management system: update agent scripts, respond to alerts, monitor dashboards, and perform periodic system reviews
• Identify, detect, investigate and resolve Iridium Telecom Cloud issues
• Provide Telecom Cloud consultant services to the organization
• Develop and maintain network infrastructure, including automation and security
• Manage Linux and/or Debian GNU/Linux environments
• Define, develop, and maintain CI/CD pipelines and process to automate infrastructure deployments, configuration changes, and software upgrades
• Develop and maintain Terraform scripts, CloudFormation templates, and Helm charts
• Deploy, manage, and operate multiple AWS Elastic Kubernetes and Container (ECS) services
• Design, deploy, and manage cloud-based network systems and related infrastructure
• Manage backups and Disaster Recovery processes
• Prepare and maintain technical documentation
• Manage the coordination and delivery of multiple or complex technical assignments designed with end goals in mind, including managing shifting priorities
• Demonstrate the ability to understand how complex issues are affecting project operations and identify and design the formation of innovative solutions from concept through to completion

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science or equivalent experience with Network and Systems Engineering and integration of Telco-grade carrier networks
• 10+ years' related experience in SysOps and/or DevOps for complex technical projects
• Extensive experience designing, implementing, and maintaining Telco-Grade IP networks and systems, including cloud and hardware-based routers, switches, VPN appliances, and firewalls
• Proficient in Git, CI/CD, containerization, IaaC: GitLab, Harbor, Helm, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible
• Proficient in Linux and/or Debian GNU/Linux operating systems, including overall administration and kernel optimizations
• Proficient with monitoring tools and log servers (e.g., Elasticsearch, Prometheus, Splunk)
• Extensive experience on cloud-based network system deployments and operations, preferrable in AWS, consisting of VPC's, Firewalls, Transit Gateways, Direct Connects, SR-IOV network interfaces, and VPNs
• Extensive experience with troubleshooting and resolution of catastrophic network outages
• Expertise in one or more scripting languages, such as Bash, Python, Ansible, Terraform, etc.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in the deployment, administration, and maintenance of Kubernetes Clusters and Container based services
• Experience with network diagnostic tools (i.e. Wireshark, IrisView, Netscout, etc.)
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey products, deliverables, analyses, and/or issues clearly and confidently, and recognize and adapt to different communication techniques
• Innate ability to analyze complex situations or problems, generate effective solutions, and see those solutions through to completion
• Thrives in a dynamic environment by handling multiple tasks and managing shifting priorities

• AWS Certified Solution Architect - Professional or Associate Level
• AWS Certified Advanced Network - Specialty
• Expert level knowledge in IP network engineering, development, integration, and testing is strongly desired
• Experience engineering and operating a cloud native 4G/5G Core or RAN systems
• Experience engineering and maintaining SMSC network integrations with external short message entities (ESME's)
• Experience with implementing and supporting 4G roaming services using an IPX carrier (i.e. Syniverse, BICS, etc.)
• NB-IoT or LTE CAT-M experience

• Be able to travel up to 25%
• This position directly performs under, supports, or is exposed to a U.S. government contract. To comply with the requirements of that U.S. government contract, applicants for this position must be U.S. citizens
• Ability to obtain a U.S government issued security clearance

This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer.

Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.