OSS Test & Automation Engineer

OSS Test & Automation EngineerLanham, Maryland, United StatesAST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio and designed for both commercial and government applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today's five billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected.Position OverviewWe are seeking an OSS Test & Automation Engineer to join the team responsible for developing our core network platform – OSS. In this role, you will act as the primary owner of OSS workflow automation development and test engineering. Your primary focus will be to build, test, document and maintain automation processes executed within the OSS platform - covering network operations, service assurance, reporting, and partner integration workflows. At the same time, you will tightly collaborate with internal Service Assurance and Service Delivery teams to gather requirements, transfer knowledge about the developed automation processes, and receive feedback about the required improvements and changes. You are not a pure QA resource since you are an automation developer who also ensures what is built is verifiably correct and operates as expected by the end users.Key ResponsibilitiesDesign, develop, and maintain automation workflows and orchestration scripts executed within our own OSS platform, covering network operations, fault management, service assurance, reporting, and inventoryOwn and grow the automation backlog - identify manual, error-prone, or repetitive operational processes as candidates for automation, estimate effort, and drive items through to production deliveryDesign, implement, and maintain automated test suites that validate automation workflows under both nominal and fault/edge-case conditionsExecute test plans, document results, track defects, and drive resolution in collaboration with all involved internal teamsProduce clear test documentation of test plans, test cases, test reports, and coverage summariesCooperate with internal Service Assurance and Service Delivery teams by fostering knowledge transfer, gathering requirements, and jointly identifying next steps in developing new automated workflows and processesProactively identify automation failures, performance degradations, or reliability issues and drive root-cause analysis and remediationContinuously improve automation reliability, coverage, and maintainability based on operational feedback and incident learningsAct as first line contact and support line for internal Service Assurance and Service Delivery concerning OSS automated processes and workflows already introduced into productionMaintain clear, accurate documentation for all automation workflows introducedQualificationsEducation:Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, telecommunications or a related field — or equivalent professional experience.Experience & Qualifications:A minimum of 3+ years of professional experience in automation engineering, test engineering, or a combined software/QA role, preferably in telecom, network operations, or OSS/BSS systems.Proven experience designing and building automation workflows, orchestration scripts, or operational automation pipelines — not just test scriptsSolid proficiency in Python or any other scripting language and familiarity with modern test frameworks (e.g. pytest, Robot)Familiarity with at least one workflow orchestration or BPM tool (e.g. Camunda, Apache Airflow, Ansible, or similar)Ability to query and manipulate data in SQL and/or NoSQL databasesStrong command of test strategy design, test case development, test automation frameworks, and defect lifecycle managementFamiliarity with telecom OSS concepts like FCAPS, TMF eTOM framework or similar operational support system conceptsPractical exposure to network operations workflows and/or service assurance processesWorking knowledge of NETCONF/YANG, SNMP, or TMF Open APIs as integration surfaces for automation workflowsFamiliarity with OSS platforms, NMS/EMS systems, or network simulation tools used for test environment setupHands-on experience integrating automation with REST APIs and event-driven messaging systems (e.g. Kafka, RabbitMQ, SQS)Experience embedding quality gates and automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, or equivalent)Practical experience with monitoring and logging tooling (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, or equivalent) for making automated workflows observable in productionComfortable developing, deploying, and debugging automation in LinuxSoft SkillsStrong problem-solving mindset with a bias toward automation and operational efficiencyCollaborative and communicative — comfortable working in a globally distributed teamOwnership mentality - take responsibility for end-to-end reliability of systems under your careAdaptable and self-directed, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environmentMeticulous attention to detail in documentation, change management, and operational proceduresTechnology StackPython (automation, scripting, test frameworks)Camunda, Apache Airflow, Ansible, or equivalent BPM/orchestration toolingPytest, Robot Framework, or equivalentPostman, requests library, or similarGitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, ArgoCDPrometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, structured loggingREST, gRPC, Kafka, RabbitMQ, TMF Open APIs, NETCONF/YANGDatabases:PostgreSQL / MySQL (SQL)MongoDB, Cassandra, or equivalent (NoSQL)InfluxDB or similar (Time-series DBs)Docker, Kubernetes (working knowledge for deploying automation workloads)Git (GitHub / GitLab)Confluence, test case management tools (e.g. TestRail, Xray, or equivalent)Physical RequirementsAbility to work in a standard office or remote home-office environment and use a computer for extended periodsAbility to participate in occasional after-hours incident response actionsThis job description may not be inclusive to the duties and responsibilities listed. Additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time or the scope of the job may change as needed by business demands.AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. AST SpaceMobile