Infrastructure Engineer - NOC (Service Assurance)

AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio and designed for both commercial and government applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today’s five billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected.

Position Overview

We are seeking a NOC Infrastructure Engineer (Service Assurance) to monitor, triage, and ensure the stability of the physical network and compute layer of our telco environments. This role ensures the reliability, performance, and scalability of networks, firewalls, server hardware, racks, power, cabling, and related physical systems that support global production, lab, and test workloads, as well as satellite connectivity across signaling, routing, SIM provisioning, OSS integrations, and core-network interactions. This role handles alarms, validates routing behavior, diagnoses signaling and gateway/core issues, and coordinates closely with partner NOCs to maintain high availability across commercial and beta-grade connectivity flows. The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on experience with datacenter operations, Cisco networking, physical computer hardware, and infrastructure best practices. Reporting to the Service Assurance Manager, this role plays a critical role in 24/7 operational continuity and rapid incident response.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitor infrastructure pathways, routing behavior, SIM flows, OSS hooks, and cross-core interactions impacting network connectivity.
• Detect, acknowledge, and triage alarms from monitoring platforms, ensuring rapid response and detailed logging.
• Escalate anomalies based on severity, impact, and operational thresholds.
• Manage firmware, BIOS, and device-level updates to ensure reliability and security.
• Maintain accurate inventory of physical compute assets, spares, and components.
• Validate telco network behavior during faults or degradation events.
• Diagnose issues across physical infrastructure affecting telco connectivity.
• Perform routine datacenter health checks, environmental monitoring, and audits.
• Perform detailed event analysis, correlate logs, and support root-cause investigations with engineering teams.
• Collaborate with SRE, cloud, networking, and platform teams to support high-availability workloads.
• Troubleshoot hardware and OS-level issues (Linux/Windows) during physical interventions.
• Maintain consistent communication loops and follow defined escalation paths.
• Maintain rack elevation diagrams, cabling maps, and hardware configuration records.
• Develop and maintain SOPs for installation, decommissioning, maintenance, and emergency recovery.
• Drive improvements in reliability, performance, physical infrastructure efficiency, and operational standards.
• Maintain accurate logs, incident records, and ticket updates for internal and external teams.
• Provide shift-handover summaries, incident reports, and RCA inputs when needed.
• Track recurring issues and propose remediation actions to service assurance leadership.

Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications, Computer Science, Electronics, or a related technical field.

Experience:

• 7+ years in datacenter operations, physical compute engineering, or server hardware roles.
• Expert-level experience with Cisco networking technologies (CCNP or higher preferred).
• Proven experience with AWS networking and cloud-native networking architectures.
• Strong hands-on experience with racking/stacking servers, cabling, hardware diagnostics, and physical maintenance.
• Knowledge of enterprise server platforms (Cisco, Dell, HPE, Supermicro).
• Familiarity with Linux or Windows for basic troubleshooting.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (VLANs, LACP, routing, switching).
• Experience with virtualization platforms (VMware, Proxmox, KVM) or bare-metal orchestration tools (MAAS, Tinkerbell).
• Experience with hardware monitoring, observability, or datacenter telemetry systems.
• Knowledge of datacenter best practices, including power planning, cooling optimization, and structured cable management.
• Strong understanding of signaling (e.g., Diameter, SIP, NAS), routing fundamentals, and core-network behavior.
• Knowledge of telecom connectivity flows (SIM activation, attach procedures, mobility, authentication).
• Experience analyzing logs, traces, routing tables, and event correlations across network elements.
• Familiarity with OSS/NMS tools, alarms, KPIs, dashboards, and monitoring platforms.
• Hands-on experience with Linux, basic scripting (Python/Bash), and troubleshooting tools.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications in networking (CCNA, CCNP, JNCIA, JNCIS) or telecom operations.
• Basic understanding of satellite network components, gateways, or hybrid RAN-core flows.

Soft Skills:

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate effectively within cross-functional teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Meticulous attention to detail in documentation, configuration, and operational processes.
• Strong problem-solving and root-cause analysis skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently.
• Proven ability to work efficiently in fast-paced and physically demanding environments.

Technology Stack:

• Networking: Cisco routers, switches, firewalls, VPNs; routing protocols (BGP, OSPF).
• Cloud networking: AWS VPC, Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, Route 53, security groups.
• Hardware/Compute: Dell, Cisco UCS, HPE, Supermicro server platforms.
• Virtualization: VMware vSphere/ESXi, Proxmox, KVM.
• OS: Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS), Windows Server (basic troubleshooting).
• Monitoring/observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and OpenObserve.
• Documentation tools: rack diagrams, cabling maps, and inventory systems.
• Ticketing/ITSM tools (ServiceNow, Jira, Remedy).

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs to support racking, stacking, and physical server maintenance.
• Ability to use a computer for extended periods.
• Ability to work in a datacenter/NOC environment, including hands-on physical infrastructure maintenance.
• Ability to work in a shift-based NOC environment, including nights or weekends based on rotation.
• Ability to remain attentive during extended monitoring sessions and incident bridges.
• Occasional travel for training, partner coordination, or operational readiness 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.