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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wireless Network Engineer

💰 $ - $

TelecommunicationsNetworkingEngineering

🎯 Role Definition

The Wireless Network Engineer is responsible for the design, optimization, deployment, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management of wireless networks (4G LTE, 5G NR, Wi‑Fi/WLAN). This role delivers high-availability mobile and wireless services by applying RF engineering principles, RAN and core network knowledge, vendor-specific configurations (e.g., Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, Cisco), and industry tools (Atoll, TEMS, Keysight, Nemo, Drive Test suites). The successful candidate balances hands-on field work, lab testing, and cross-functional coordination with OSS/BSS, security, and transport teams to meet performance, capacity, and SLA targets.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • RF Technician / Field Test Engineer
  • Network Operations Engineer / NOC Engineer
  • Telecom Systems Engineer

Advancement To:

  • Senior Wireless Network Engineer / RAN Optimization Lead
  • Radio Access Network (RAN) Architect
  • Network Performance Manager / Head of Wireless Engineering
  • 5G Core or Solutions Architect

Lateral Moves:

  • Wireless Solutions Architect
  • RF Planning & Optimization Consultant
  • Field Services Manager
  • Systems Integration Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead the design and implementation of RAN configurations for 4G LTE and 5G NR sites, including parameterization, cell planning, neighbor relations, PCI planning, and spectrum allocation to ensure capacity and coverage targets are met.
  • Perform detailed RF planning and propagation modeling using Atoll, Planet, MapInfo and other planning tools to produce coverage maps, capacity forecasts, and site acquisition guidance for macro cells, small cells, and DAS deployments.
  • Execute network optimization programs (KPI-driven) to improve throughput, handover success, RRC connection rates, drop rates and latency by analyzing network traces, OSS counters, drive test data and customer experience metrics.
  • Manage end-to-end troubleshooting of complex wireless performance issues across RAN, transport (microwave/fiber), and core elements using drive test tools (TEMS, Keysight, Nemo), packet captures, and vendor logs to identify root cause and corrective actions.
  • Plan and deliver software upgrades, configuration changes and feature activations (e.g., Carrier Aggregation, MIMO, VoLTE/VoNR, EN-DC, SA/NSA migrations) coordinating change windows, rollback plans and validation testing with change control and operations teams.
  • Lead site activation activities including RF tuning, parameter setup, hardware commissioning, acceptance testing and handover to operations for new sites, site swaps, and modernization projects with cross-functional field and vendor teams.
  • Drive capacity planning and traffic forecasting using historical KPIs and business growth models; recommend cell splits, sectorization, small cell densification or spectrum refarming to meet QoS and SLAs.
  • Maintain and validate RF network models and databases to ensure accurate representation of live network for planning, optimization and predictive analytics.
  • Implement and validate SON (Self-Organizing Network) features, automation scripts and closed-loop optimization routines to reduce manual intervention and accelerate KPI improvements.
  • Coordinate vendor escalation and field vendor teams for hardware faults, RRUs, BBUs, antennas, fiber/microwave and power-related issues ensuring timely root-cause identification and resolution.
  • Conduct in-lab interoperability and multi-vendor integration testing for RAN, transport and core network interfaces, including VoLTE/IMS, Roaming, and IoT services validation.
  • Define and enforce KPI baselines, dashboards and SLA reporting processes; prepare weekly/monthly executive summaries and deep-dive reports for stakeholders and product owners.
  • Implement QoS and prioritization policies for voice, video and critical enterprise services, ensuring packet-level behavior across RAN and transport networks meets service requirements.
  • Support RF spectrum management activities including channel planning, interference hunting, coexistence analysis and mitigation measures for shared or congested bands.
  • Lead and participate in drive tests, crowd-sourced data analysis and indoor DAS/wifi integration projects to validate and improve in-building coverage and customer experience.
  • Develop and maintain runbooks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), configuration templates and site acceptance checklists to standardize deployments and reduce time-to-service.
  • Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and field technicians on RF theory, optimization techniques, drive test analysis and vendor-specific configuration.
  • Collaborate with transport, core, security and OSS/BSS teams to ensure end-to-end service integrity, including backhaul capacity planning, synchronization (PTP/GPS), and alarm handling processes.
  • Support pre-sales and solution definition activities by producing network feasibility studies, RF design guidelines, bill-of-materials estimates and deployment timelines for customer proposals.
  • Execute fault isolation across multi-vendor environments using vendor tools (Ericsson OSS, Nokia NetAct, Huawei U2020), industry protocols (SNMP, NETCONF, REST), and scripting (Python, Bash) to automate repeatable troubleshooting steps.
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory and safety requirements (RF exposure, tower safety, grounding), liaise with spectrum regulators for licensing and coordinate environmental and planning permits.
  • Participate in disaster recovery, business continuity and on-call rotations; rapidly restore services and communicate status to operations leadership during major incidents.
  • Continuously research and evaluate new wireless technologies (Wi‑Fi 6/6E, CBRS, private 5G, mmWave, Open RAN) and vendor roadmaps to recommend strategic technology adoption paths and proof-of-concept trials.

Secondary Functions

  • Support field trial planning, vendor acceptance testing and lab validation of new features, ensuring measurable test plans and success criteria.
  • Assist product and marketing teams by translating technical constraints and capabilities into customer-facing features for mobility, IoT and enterprise services.
  • Contribute to vendor selection, RFP responses and technical evaluations by documenting requirements, scoring vendor capabilities and conducting interoperability demos.
  • Provide ad-hoc network analytics and custom KPI slices to support engineering, customer success and executive stakeholders in data-driven decision making.
  • Coordinate cross-functional training sessions and knowledge transfer with operations, NOC, and partner engineering teams to ensure smooth project handovers.
  • Maintain an up-to-date inventory of network elements, capacity licenses and software versions, and support procurement and lifecycle replacement planning.
  • Participate in cost optimization initiatives by identifying opportunities to consolidate equipment, optimize spectrum usage and reduce operational overhead.
  • Assist in producing compliance documentation and audit-ready evidence for regulatory and customer audits.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • RF engineering and wireless propagation modeling (path loss, fading, link budget, ITU models) with hands-on experience using Atoll, Planet or similar planning tools.
  • Strong RAN knowledge for 4G LTE and 5G NR including PCI planning, neighbor relations, MIMO, carrier aggregation, beamforming and uplink/downlink tuning.
  • Drive test execution and analysis using TEMS, Keysight, Nemo, or equivalent platforms; experience with KPI extraction and root-cause analysis from drive data.
  • Experience with OSS/NMS tools (Ericsson OSS/NetAct, Nokia U2020, Huawei U2020, Amdocs) and familiarity with KPI counters, alarm correlation and capacity reporting.
  • Proficiency in troubleshooting RAN, transport and core interactions; familiarity with LTE/EPC and 5G core (S1/X2/NG/APIs), VoLTE/VoNR, IMS signaling and SIP.
  • Transport and backhaul knowledge (microwave, fiber, SDH/MPLS, PTP/GPS synchronization), and ability to analyze link performance and capacity constraints.
  • Hands-on experience with network protocols and management: SNMP, NETCONF, REST APIs, TCP/IP, VLANs, QoS, and network security basics.
  • Scripting and automation skills (Python, Bash, Ansible, SQL) for log parsing, KPI automation, report generation and workflow automation.
  • Familiarity with spectrum management, interference analysis, RF measurement techniques and regulatory compliance for RF exposure.
  • Experience in multi-vendor environments and vendor-specific CLI/element management systems (Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, Cisco, Juniper).
  • Knowledge of Wi‑Fi technologies (802.11ac/ax/6E), enterprise WLAN deployment, and integration of Wi‑Fi with cellular offload strategies.
  • Hands-on experience with performance monitoring tools, data visualization and BI tools to create dashboards and track network health.

Soft Skills

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail and the ability to synthesize multi-source data into actionable recommendations.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication; able to present technical findings clearly to non-technical stakeholders and prepare executive summaries.
  • Collaborative team player who coordinates effectively across vendors, field teams, product owners and operations.
  • Project management capability to own deliverables, manage timelines and prioritize competing operational tasks.
  • Customer-focused attitude with escalation management experience and ability to drive closure under SLA constraints.
  • Adaptability to fast-changing technologies (5G evolution, Open RAN) and willingness to learn new tools and methodologies.
  • Mentoring and leadership skills to coach junior engineers and build a culture of continuous improvement.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, Computer Science, or related STEM field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Telecommunications, Wireless Communications, RF Engineering, or an equivalent technical discipline.
  • Professional certifications such as CWNA/CWNP (for Wi‑Fi), Cisco CCNA/CCNP, or vendor-specific RAN certifications are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Electrical / Electronic Engineering
  • Telecommunications / Wireless Communications
  • Computer Science / Networking
  • RF Engineering / Applied Physics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of progressive experience in wireless network engineering, RF optimization, or related telecommunications roles.

Preferred: 5+ years with demonstrable experience in 4G LTE and 5G NR deployments, multi-vendor RAN environments, drive testing and network optimization projects. Experience with Wi‑Fi integration, transport/backhaul design and scripting/automation is highly desirable.

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