Director of Network Operations

AST SpaceMobile and our global partners are building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network to be accessible by standard smartphones. Called SpaceMobile, this ultra-powerful network is being designed to provide connectivity at 4G/5G speeds everywhere on the planet – on land, at sea and in flight.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Director, Network Operations to lead the 24/7 network operations organization within Telco Service Assurance, reporting to the VP Telco Service Assurance. The Director owns Tier 1 and Tier 2 support for all technologies and is responsible for the escalation, troubleshooting and resolution of complex incidents across the end-to-end Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), including RAN, satellite gateways, transport and core. The role sets the strategy, operating model and standards for network operations, manages managers, team leads and senior technical staff, and partners with executive leadership, engineering and external partners to ensure network reliability, service quality and operational excellence.

The organization includes the Partner Success Desk and Tier 1 team, which are the entry point for partners, MNOs and internal groups and cover Tier 1 activities across all technical areas, and Tier 2 specialist teams organized by competence: ground station (RF / Satcom and TT&C) and telco (RAN, Nwk / Infra and Core). The teams are located in the US, India and Argentina. Incident Management and Change, Governance & Compliance are separate Service Assurance organizations with which this role works closely.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the vision, strategy and operating model for network operations (Tier 1 and Tier 2), aligned with company objectives and growth plans.
• Lead and develop the managers, team leads and senior engineers of the Partner Success, Tier 1, ground station (RF / Satcom, TT&C) and telco (RAN, Nwk / Infra, Core) teams across the US, India and Argentina, ensuring 24/7 coverage with no single points of failure.
• Own end-to-end network availability, service quality and SLA performance; ensure contractual, regulatory and partner commitments are met.
• Operate the Partner Success Desk as the single entry point for partners, MNOs and internal groups to assign incidents to the NOC.
• Establish clear boundaries and handoffs between Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, engineering and vendor support, including escalation paths, acknowledgment timeframes and response targets.
• Serve as the executive escalation point for critical and network-wide outages, directing incident response and leading communication with senior leadership, partner MNOs and key customers.
• Ensure all incidents are created and tracked end to end, and partner with Incident Management on escalations, communication, the daily pass failure review, root cause analysis and defects, to reduce repeat incidents and improve network resilience.
• Partner with Change, Governance & Compliance to ensure network changes are risk-assessed, approved and executed safely.
• Define and report organizational KPIs (availability, MTTR, escalation rates, repeat incidents, SLA compliance) to executive leadership.
• Drive automation, AIOps, observability and tool strategy, including NetCTRL, the Gateway Dashboard and Jira Service Management, to improve detection, diagnosis and resolution times.
• Ensure operational readiness for new technologies, sites and services, including acceptance criteria before handover from engineering and service delivery.
• Manage the department budget, headcount planning, vendor contracts and support agreements.
• Build strong partnerships with engineering, service delivery, security, satellite operations and external partners.
• Develop talent through training programs, career paths and succession planning; foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field; a Master and an MBA are preferred.

Experience

• 15+ years of experience in telecom network operations, including at least 7 years in management and 3 years leading managers or multi-team operations organizations.
• Broad technical knowledge of mobile networks (4G LTE, 5G NR), transport, IP and core network architecture.
• Proven track record of running 24/7 multi-tier operations centers and achieving availability and SLA targets.
• Extensive experience leading major incident management at the executive level.
• Expert knowledge of ITIL and operational governance frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience with budgeting, headcount planning, vendor management and contract negotiation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with satellite networks, ground segment operations or Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), including direct-to-device services.
• Experience building, scaling or transforming NOC organizations in a high-growth environment.
• Background in automation, AIOps and observability platforms (Grafana, Prometheus, OSS/NMS suites).
• Experience working with multiple partner MNOs and multi-vendor environments across international regions.
• Certifications such as ITIL v4 Strategic Leader, PMP or executive leadership training.

Soft Skills

• Strong strategic thinking, leadership and organizational development skills.
• Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management skills, including with partner MNOs and key customers.
• Ability to lead calmly and decisively during critical and network-wide outages.
• Ability to lead and align teams across the US, India and Argentina and across several functions.
• A culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Technology Stack

• Jira and Jira Service Management (JSM) for incident management and dashboards.
• NetCTRL, the Gateway Dashboard and the Network Control Center (NCC), with OSS/NMS platforms.
• Observability platforms such as Grafana and Prometheus.
• Mobile network technologies: 4G LTE, 5G NR, transport, IP and core.
• Satellite ground segment systems, including RF, antenna and antenna control (ACU) systems.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in a standard office environment and use a computer for extended periods.
• Ability to be reached outside business hours to act as the executive escalation point for critical outages.
• Ability to travel periodically to gateway sites, partner MNOs and regional teams.

Benefits & Perks

At AST, we value our employees and offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, financial well-being, and work-life balance.

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Company-Paid Short-Term Disability (STD) and Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance
• Company-Paid Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Options
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Voluntary Supplemental Benefits
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Company Holidays
• Career Growth and Development Opportunities

This 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.