Tech Lead, Mobile Core Network Engineering (San Francisco)

TextNow is on a mission to make communications affordable and accessible for everyone. As a full MVNO operating our own mobile core network over LTE and 5G NSA, we have the unique advantage of controlling our network infrastructure end-to-end. We operate the HSS, PGW, and other critical network functions, giving us the flexibility to innovate and deliver exceptional service to millions of users. About the Role We are looking for a hands-on Tech Lead, Mobile Core Network Engineering to own the health and evolution of our mobile core platform. Our cloud-hosted core runs in AWS, with our mobile core vendor providing managed services for day-to-day operations. This role is the critical bridge between our vendor’s Managed Services team and our internal engineering, product, and operations teams. You’ll be the technical owner of the mobile core, combining deep technical expertise with strong coordination skills. You won’t just manage vendor deliverables—you’ll dive into the technical details, challenge approaches when needed, and ensure our core network evolves to meet the demands of a growing subscriber base. This role has a clear growth path into technical and people leadership as the team scales. A note on background: We know that people who have operated a mobile core at scale are rare. If you’re a strong SRE or infrastructure engineering leader with deep networking knowledge and a track record of managing complex, vendor-operated platforms, we want to hear from you—even if you haven’t worked with 3GPP technologies before. We’ll invest in helping you build the telco-specific domain knowledge. What You'll DoOwn the Mobile Core Platform: Take end-to-end accountability for the health, performance, and evolution of TextNow's mobile core (HSS, PGW, PCRF, and related functions running in AWS). Drive capacity planning and platform evolution to support growing scale.Manage Vendor Relationships: Serve as the primary technical interface with our mobile core vendor's Managed Services team and TextNow's broader carrier partners. Review vendor-proposed changes and architectural decisions, catch errors before production, and hold partners accountable to SLAs. Oversee vendor software upgrade cycles, coordinate upgrade windows, and ensure smooth rollouts. Build AI-Driven Operational Capabilities: Design and deliver AI tooling to improve operational health, including agentic performance analysis, automated diagnostics, and accelerated root cause analysis. Continuously evolve how the team uses AI to raise the bar on operational excellence.Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Provide technical direction and mentorship across the Telecom Engineering pod, growing into people leadership as the team scales.Incident Response & On-Call Support: Participate in an on-call rotation, troubleshoot issues, and drive incident resolution to minimize downtime. Conduct post-mortems and implement corrective actions to enhance reliability.Cross-Functional Coordination: Partner with product, engineering, and other pods to prioritize and sequence network asks. Translate internal requirements into actionable work for the team and vendors. Platform Evolution: Contribute to the long-term technical roadmap for the core network. Develop and improve monitoring, alerting, and operational tooling for core network health. Evaluate new technologies and drive initiatives to reduce operational burden and increase automation. Who You Are7+ years operating highly available production infrastructure in the cloud (AWS preferred) Background in Site Reliability, Infrastructure, Platform, or Network Engineering Strong networking fundamentals and production troubleshooting: routing, DNS, load balancing, VPNs, firewalls Experience managing external vendors and their deliverables, not just working alongside them Hands-on Kubernetes experience Experience with observability platforms (Datadog, Grafana, Prometheus, or similar) Track record leading complex technical initiatives across multiple teams Comfortable owning production incident response andon-call Nice to Have Experience with Infrastructure as Code tooling (Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar) Experience with a language such as Go, Python, or similar scripting languages Experience with carrier, telecom, networking, or mobile infrastructure Why TextNow?Rare opportunity to own a mobile core network at a full MVNO—not just configure someone else’s High-impact role: your work directly affects millions of users’ connectivity Small, senior team where your decisions and leadership shape the platform’s direction Remote-friendly culture with a collaborative, low-ego engineering organization Competitive compensation, equity, and comprehensive benefits The expected base salary range for this role is: $136,300 - $273,900 a yearUnited States (All other areas not listed above): USD $123,900 - $249,000  United States (NYC, CT, NJ, Seattle, LA, San Diego): USD $136,300 - $273,900  United States (San Francisco / Bay Area): USD $148,700 - $298,800  Our total rewards package goes beyond base salary. We offer a comprehensive benefits program, an annual performance-based bonus, and equity opportunities that ensure you share in the success you help create.We know that exceptional talent doesn’t always fit neatly into a range, so if you’re passionate about our mission and think you can make a difference, we encourage you to apply, even if your compensation expectations are outside the listed range. Final compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including your skills, experience, and location.Our goal is to offer a competitive package that reflects the impact and expertise you bring to the team. Let's chat!More about TextNowOur cultureWe’re proud of the culture that we’ve built at TextNow, but one of the most common questions we hear is ‘how do you continue to sustain it as the world and the company continues to change?’ The reality is that we’re only able to keep up because each and every TextNovian contributes to our culture through being involved, by living our values, sharing feedback, embracing change and more!  Our valuesCustomer ObsessedWe strive to have a deep understanding of our customers. Do Right By Our PeopleWe treat each other with fairness, respect, and integrity. Accept the ChallengeWe adopt a Yes, We Can mindset to achieve ambitious goals. Act Like an OwnerWe treat this company like it's our own... because it is! Give a DamnWe are deeply committed and passionate about our work and achieving results. Our benefits and moreThis is a brief overview of the benefits that TextNow offers its employees. More complete details can be found in TextNow’s Benefit Guide and legal plan documents, which are available to employees on or shortly after their start date with TextNow. The benefits listed herein are for illustrative purposes only and may change from time-to-time in TextNow’s sole discretion. Free phone service Strong work life blend  Employee stock options  Unlimited vacation  12 paid holidays per year Competitive pay Health, dental, and vision benefits Short-term & long-term disability $750 annual wellness benefit or healthcare spending account RRSP matching (Canada) | 401(K) (USA) Parental leave for eligible employees Learning & Development opportunitiesWe travel a few times a year for various team events, company-wide off-sites, and more More information about our total rewards package will be available during the hiring process. Dogfooding & Customer ObsessionAt TextNow, every employee gets to actively use our app for calling and texting. Dogfooding helps us experience what customers do, to spot issues early, and drive better design, developer, and user experiences. Diversity and InclusionOur aim is to make every person who joins TextNow feel like they belong, that they’re valued, and that they’re able to be their authentic selves at work.  We’re all accountable for creating an inclusive culture and a sense of belonging for one another. By doing this together, we’ll make TextNow better for everyone.  Equal opportunityWe are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic. Applicants who require reasonable accommodation during the hiring process may contact our Talent Team. AI usage: We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact our Talent Team.TextNow Candidate PolicyBy submitting an application to TextNow, you agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with the TextNow Candidate Policy