5G Senior System Integration and Test Engineer (5G RAN, Radio & Core)

Job Title: 5G Senior System Integration and Test Engineer (5G RAN, Radio & Core)

Job Title : System Integration and Test Engineer

Location: San Diego, CA (Onsite)

Employment Type : Contract

Client: XCOM Labs

About the Role

XCOM Labs is seeking an experienced System Integration and Test (SIT) Engineer / Senior Engineer with strong hands-on expertise in 5G end-to-end system integration and validation across RAN, Radio, and 5G Core domains.

The role involves test planning, system-level integration and feature validation, end-to-end troubleshooting, performance characterization, and ensuring product readiness for deployment in lab and field environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and own end-to-end test plans for 5G SA integration, regression, feature validation, and characterization.
• Execute System Integration Testing (SIT) across 5G NR gNB, RAN, Radio, and 5G Core components.
• Validate end-to-end 5G call flows, including UE registration/deregistration, PDU session establishment/release, handover, and QoS flows.
• Perform L1/L2/L3 debugging across PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, F1AP, NGAP, and XnAP.
• Validate radio and system performance, including DL/UL throughput, MCS adaptation, SU/MU-MIMO, beamforming, rank adaptation, latency, and stability.
• Test O-RAN architectures, including 7.2x split and CU-DU-RU integration.
• Analyze PCAPs, QXDM/QCAT logs, protocol traces, L2/L3 logs, OAM counters, and Grafana KPIs to identify and root-cause issues.
• Troubleshoot SCTP, NGAP, and GTP-U connectivity and protocol issues across gNB and 5G Core components.
• Validate QoS, network slicing, and policy enforcement.
• Conduct throughput benchmarking, latency, stress, endurance, and stability testing.
• Collaborate with development teams to reproduce, isolate, track, and resolve defects.
• Support field deployment, interoperability, integration, and characterization activities.

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electronics & Communication, Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a related field.
• 9–15 years of experience in wireless RAN/Core integration, system testing, and validation, including 4+ years of hands-on 5G integration and validation.
• Strong knowledge of 3GPP NR protocols and procedures, including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, PHY, NGAP, XnAP, and F1AP.
• Strong understanding of 5G Core architecture and procedures, including AMF, SMF, UPF, registration, PDU sessions, mobility, QoS, and slicing.
• Good understanding of 5G Radio/PHY, including modulation, MIMO/rank adaptation, TDD configurations, beamforming, and CSI reporting.
• Strong end-to-end debugging and root-cause analysis skills across RAN, Radio, and Core.
• Hands-on experience with QXDM/QCAT, Wireshark, PCAP analysis, protocol traces, and system logs.
• Experience with iPerf, ping/traceroute, Keysight simulators, TM500, Amarisoft, and Grafana.
• Experience with Linux, shell scripting, Kubernetes, and containerized deployments.
• Hands-on experience with lab equipment such as servers, attenuators, shielded boxes, RRUs, and test UEs.
• Ability to read and interpret relevant 3GPP specifications, including TS 38.331, TS 38.413, TS 23.501 and related specifications.

Good to Have

• Experience with O-RAN and multi-vendor integration.
• Hands-on experience with MU-MIMO and industrial 5G/URLLC use cases.
• Experience with CU/DU containerized deployments using Kubernetes.
• Python/Bash automation for test execution, log collection, and analysis.
• Experience with automated regression frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-based NMS/EMS platforms.

Key Competencies

· 5G SA | RAN & Radio | 5G Core | System Integration | 3GPP | O-RAN | L1/L2/L3 Debugging | Protocol Analysis | Performance Testing | E2E Troubleshooting | Automation | Field Validation