Senior Engineer, RF/Performance RAN Simulation, 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 RF/Performance RAN Simulation Engineer is responsible for modelling, simulating, and assessing 5G RAN and RF performance for terrestrial and non-terrestrial network environments, with a strong focus on 5G-NTN, FR2 radio performance, beam hopping, coverage enhancement, SSB scheduling, and radio protocol call flow analysis. The role supports system design, performance trade-offs, test strategy, and technical inputs to RFP/RFQ activities.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES / KEY RESULT AREAS

• Define and develop RAN/RF performance models and simulations for 5G and 5G-NTN systems, including coverage, capacity, link budget, throughput, latency, interference, mobility, and service availability aspects.
• Analyze 5G call flows and radio procedures impacting RAN performance, including synchronization, random access, RRC connection establishment, registration support, PDU session support, mobility, and beam management procedures.
• Model and evaluate FR2 RF performance, including propagation constraints, beamforming, antenna gain, EIRP, G/T, path loss, atmospheric losses, interference, Doppler, timing advance, and link adaptation behavior.
• Contribute to beam hopping and coverage enhancement studies for 5G-NTN, including beam planning assumptions, resource allocation constraints, dwell time, service continuity, and user experience impacts.
• Support technical studies, test principles, performance validation strategy, and RFP/RFQ preparation by translating simulation results into requirements, acceptance criteria, and supplier evaluation inputs

COMPETENCIES

• Ability to work with cross-discipline teams, including RAN experts, RF engineers, satellite engineers, software teams, IVV teams, procurement, and suppliers.
• Strong engineering discipline in documenting assumptions, models, simulation results, sensitivity analyses, open points, risks, and recommended design decisions.
• Communication skills, with the ability to explain complex RAN/RF performance and simulation outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write clear technical notes, simulation reports, RFP/RFQ inputs, and performance assessment documents.
• Commitment to deadlines and willingness to support demanding study, simulation, integration, and validation schedules.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Qualification Basis

• Master’s degree in engineering or science, preferably in Telecommunications, Radio Communications, RF Engineering, Signal Processing, or a related discipline.
• Experience in the telecom, satellite communications, or radio engineering industry required; for Senior Engineer, 7+ to 10+ years of relevant industry experience is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of 3GPP 5G RAN and 5G-NTN standards, including radio access procedures, physical layer assumptions, RRC behavior, SSB scheduling, MIB/SIB broadcast principles, and radio resource management concepts.
• Proven experience in RAN/RF performance modelling and simulation, using tools such as MATLAB, Python, link-level simulators, system-level simulators, radio planning tools, or equivalent engineering environments.

Essential experience

• Hands-on experience with RAN/RF performance modelling, including call flow impacts, radio resource allocation, coverage, capacity, throughput, latency, link budget, interference, and mobility performance analysis.
• Good understanding of 5G radio protocols and procedures impacting performance, including PHY/MAC interaction, RLC, PDCP, RRC, SSB scheduling, MIB/SIB broadcasting, random access, HARQ, link adaptation, and scheduling principles.
• Experience using MATLAB or equivalent tools to build simulations, run parameter studies, analyze results, generate plots, and support technical decision-making for RAN and RF design.
• Knowledge of 5G-NTN constraints and enhancements, including satellite delay, Doppler, feeder/user link characteristics, beam management, beam hopping, coverage enhancement, and service continuity challenges.
• Ability to define and apply testing and validation principles, including requirements traceability, simulation assumptions, test coverage, performance KPIs, acceptance thresholds, and comparison between simulation and lab or field results.

Highly desirable experience (several of the following):

• Experience with FR2 RF performance analysis, including mmWave propagation, beamforming, antenna patterns, blockage, atmospheric attenuation, high-gain antennas, and RF link budget trade-offs.
• Experience with beam hopping, dynamic coverage management, energy-saving techniques, or AI/ML-based optimization for 5G RAN or 5G-NTN systems.
• Experience with 3GPP-based performance studies, including interpretation of specifications, system assumptions, KPIs, simulation campaigns, and technical contributions to design or supplier discussions.
• Experience contributing to RFP and RFQ packages, including technical requirement definition, performance model assumptions, simulation evidence, acceptance KPIs, and 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

SES is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer