Senior Engineer, IVV & SW O-RAN Integration, IRIS2

The job responsibilities outlined in this document are not exhaustive and may evolve over time and be reviewed according to business needs.

PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION

IRIS² is the new European Union secure satellite communications constellation. This project is the European Union's answer to the pressing challenges of tomorrow to provide secure connectivity services and enhanced communication capacities to the EU and its Member States as well as to governmental users, private companies and European citizens while ensuring high-speed internet broadband to cope with connectivity dead zones.

SES – together with other consortium partners and core members – was selected by European Commission to build and to operate the IRIS² multi-orbit satellite constellation.

The IRIS² team enters the next project phase and there is a strong need for support for all the activities around service provisioning and products that the system can offer in the future.

ROLE DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

The IVV & SW O-RAN Integration Engineer (Feeder Link) is responsible for defining, integrating, validating, and verifying software and radio protocol functions supporting 5G NTN feeder link integration. The role focuses on O-RAN based integration activities, 5G radio protocol layers, end-to-end test strategy, and software validation across satellite, feeder link, ground gateway, and RAN lab environments.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES / KEY RESULT AREAS

General work requirements

• Define and execute IVV plans for feeder link related software integration, including test strategy, test cases, test procedures, acceptance criteria, and defect follow-up.
• Support integration of O-RAN based components and interfaces involved in the feeder link chain, including coordination with RAN, gateway, software, and system engineering teams.
• Validate 5G radio protocol behavior over NTN feeder link environments, with particular focus on PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP and RRC layers and their interaction with lower and upper layers.
• Prepare and execute functional, integration, regression, and end-to-end tests in lab and representative NTN environments, including troubleshooting and analysis of logs, traces, and KPIs.
• Contribute to technical requirements, RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluations, and acceptance test definitions for feeder link and O-RAN software integration

COMPETENCIES

• Ability to work with cross-discipline teams, including RAN experts, software developers, satellite engineers, gateway teams, IVV teams, procurement, and suppliers.
• Strong engineering discipline in documenting test results, integration status, open points, risks, defects, and supplier action plans.
• Communication skills, with the ability to explain complex integration or protocol issues to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write clear technical notes, test reports, RFP/RFQ inputs, and acceptance documents.
• Commitment to deadlines and willingness to support demanding integration, lab, and validation schedules.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Qualification Basis

• Master’s degree in engineering or science, preferably in Telecommunications, Radio Communications, Software Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience in the telecom or satellite communications industry required; for Senior Engineer, 7+ to 10+ years of relevant industry experience is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of 5G radio protocols, especially PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP and RRC with the ability to analyze protocol behavior through logs, traces, counters, and test results.
• Experience in software integration, verification, validation, and testing of telecom or radio access network systems, preferably in 5G, O-RAN, or NTN environments.

Essential experience

• Hands-on experience with IVV activities, including test planning, test case definition, test execution, anomaly reporting, root cause analysis, and acceptance evidence preparation.
• Good understanding of 5G RAN protocol stack behaviour, especially PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP and RRC functions, including segmentation, retransmission, scheduling interaction, buffering, ciphering, and header compression aspects.
• Knowledge of 5G NTN principles and radio protocol constraints introduced by satellite links, including delay, Doppler, feeder link behavior, gateway involvement, and link budget related impacts on testing.
• Experience with software integration in multi-vendor environments, including interface validation, version alignment, configuration management, and defect tracking with suppliers.
• Ability to define and apply testing principles such as requirements traceability, test coverage, regression testing, non-regression strategy, lab readiness, test automation, and formal acceptance criteria.

Highly desirable experience (several of the following):

• Experience with O-RAN architecture and interfaces, including SMO, O1, E2, near-RT RIC, non-RT RIC, and O-RAN based management or integration workflows.
• Experience with 5G-NTN or satellite communication systems, especially feeder link, gateway, payload, or gNB integration activities.
• Experience with telecom test and troubleshooting tools such as Wireshark, Keysight, Viavi, Spirent, Amarisoft, srsRAN, protocol analyzers, log correlation platforms, or CI/CD based test frameworks.
• Experience contributing to RFP and RFQ packages, including technical scope definition, supplier clarification, test and acceptance requirements, and technical evaluation of vendor responses.

OTHER KEY REQUIREMENTS / COMMENTS

• The candidate must be eligible for a “SECRET” security clearance, in accordance with the national regulations as well as EU/ESA/NATO equivalents
• Willing to work 60% onsite from office
• Travel as required for project realization purposes