Packet Core Engineer

Dice is the leading career destination for tech experts at every stage of their careers. Our client, Decision Six Inc., is seeking the following. Apply via Dice today!We are seeking a highly skilled Packet Core Engineer to join our Wireless Core Engineering team. In this role, you will be a technical lead responsible for the stability, performance, and evolution of our Hybrid MNO and 5G Standalone (SA) network. You will manage complex troubleshooting, lead major incident responses, and drive the deployment of cloud native network functions within AWS and Kubernetes environments. The ideal candidate possesses deep end to end knowledge of the Hybrid MNO and 5G ecosystem and a proven track record of reducing MTTR through advanced analytics and rigorous root cause analysis.Technical Operations & SupportEscalation Leadership: Provide lead for deployment and support for complex technical issues and serve as the primary escalation point for Hybrid MNO and 5G Standalone Core Network functions, including AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, NRF, BSF, SEPP, SCP and Nokia NCOM for Life Cycle Management.Cross Domain Support: Support IMS and Messaging domains to ensure seamless service delivery.Incident Management: Lead Major Incident Management (MIM) calls for high severity core outages, coordinating cross functional teams to restore service rapidly.Vendor Management: Proactively engage and escalate issues with vendors when critical or time sensitive resolution is required.Cloud Native Integration: Perform core deployments and lifecycle management within Kubernetes and AWS based environments.Validation & Testing: Validate software upgrades, patches, and configuration changes within the production environment to ensure network integrity.Service Assurance: Develop key metrics for performance monitoring and define strategies to maintain and evolve Core network health.Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Conduct deep dive RCAs using logs, signaling traces, KPIs, and probe captures to prevent recurrence of issues.Metric Correlation: Correlate alarms and performance data to filter false positives and reduce Mean Time to Repair (MTTR).Process Improvement: Create and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), runbooks, and troubleshooting documentation to improve team efficiency.Skills And QualificationsExpertise: Strong end to end (E2E) knowledge of 5G/4G Packet Core and IMS architecture and call flows.Tools: Advanced troubleshooting experience with network packet captures and protocol analysis.Platforms: Hands on experience with Nokia or Oracle Core implementation and Rakuten and RADCOM for observability is a significant advantage.Data Literacy: Ability to analyze high volumes of technical data and telemetry to make informed decisions in a fast paced environment.Soft Skills: Exceptional problem solving, analytical, and time management skills, with the ability to lead under pressure during network emergencies. AI driven automation or analytics in a telecommunication industry is highly preferred.Education And ExperienceEducation: Bachelor s or master s degree in electrical, Electronics, Computer Science, or Telecommunications Engineering.Experience: * Minimum of 10+ years of professional experience in the Wireless 5G Core CSP industry.Direct experience working on either the carrier/operator or network vendor side.