Senior Staff Engineer, RAN Operations (NTN/IoT)

Skylo is a global Non-Terrestrial Network service provider based in Mountain View, CA, offering a service that allows smartphone and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites. Skylo’s direct-to-device service is now live on millions of activated devices across five continents, with more than 60 million square kilometers of coverage, in partnership with multiple satellite operators, mobile network operators (MNOs), Tier-1 chipset makers, and OEMs. Devices connected over satellite are managed and served by Skylo's commercial NTN vRAN, featuring a 3GPP standards-based cloud-native base station and core. Skylo provides an anywhere, anytime connectivity solution that seamlessly roams between terrestrial and satellite networks. Our focus is on enabling connected services for people outdoors and connected workflows across three main verticals: mass-market consumer devices, automotive, and industrial IoT.

This role is located in Espoo, Finland where we are onsite 3 days a week in office. 

Skylo is hiring a Senior Staff Engineer, RAN Operations (NTN/IoT) to help fulfill Skylo’s mission of making satellite connectivity available to all. As the production authority for RAN health and performance across Skylo’s NTN network, you will evolve our Network Operations from reactive monitoring to service-centric assurance. This is a live-network, SLA-protecting role focused on defining RAN KPIs, leading production optimization, and acting as the Level-3 authority during customer impacting incidents.

• RAN KPI Ownership: Define and refine service-aligned RAN KPIs (Attach success, RRC behavior, RF integrity) to ensure actionable detection for L2 teams.
• Production Optimization: Lead parameter tuning and beam-level performance improvements for the live NTN RAN, ensuring safe execution via Change Management.
• AI/ML Integration: Apply Machine Learning models to the operation and optimization of the wireless network to drive predictive maintenance and automated performance tuning.
• NTN Performance Engineering: Manage unique satellite physics, including Doppler compensation and large propagation delays, to optimize 3GPP timers and HARQ processes.
• Level 3 Technical Support: Serve as the final escalation point for production incidents, performing deep root cause analysis using eNodeB/gNodeB logs and RF telemetry.
• NetOps Enablement: Translate complex RAN behaviors into operational runbooks and mentor L2 engineers on pattern recognition and degradation indicators.
• Operational Standards: Author and maintain MOPs (Methods of Procedure) and RAN operational standards for cloud-native base stations.
  

• Education: Master’s or PhD-level degree (or equivalent professional experience) in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, or Computer Science.
•  Experience: 12+ years in RAN engineering and operations, specifically with LTE/5G (3GPP) and live production networks.
• Advanced Analytics: Proven experience with the application of Machine Learning to the operation and optimization of wireless telecom networks.
• NTN Expertise: Deep knowledge of satellite-specific challenges, including link budget sensitivity and timing/synchronization (GNSS/Octoclock).
• Cloud-Native Proficiency: Experience with containerized RAN (Kubernetes/Docker) and modern observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK).
• Systems & Tools: Proficiency in Linux, Cloud platforms (GCP preferred), and RAN protocol analysis tools.
• Global Collaboration: Proven ability to work across time zones (Silicon Valley, Nordic, and South Asia) to maintain 24/7 network integrity.