Telecommunications and Radio Frequency Engineer

Responsibilities The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 established the First Responder Network Authority (First Net Authority) as an independent authority within NTIA under the Department of Commerce, charging it with building, deploying, and operating a Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN). First Net provides emergency responders with a dedicated nationwide high-speed broadband network to increase collaboration between emergency responders, helping to save lives, solve crimes, and keep communities safer.

The network fulfills a fundamental need of the public safety community and a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, enabling local, state, territory, tribal, and federal emergency responders to communicate during natural disasters, security threats, or other emergencies.

This position requires telecommunications engineering and radio frequency expertise to support First Net Authority's oversight of the development, deployment, and operation of the NPSBN, a nationwide mobile broadband network comprised of 4G/LTE, and 5G technologies. This includes providing Radio Frequency Engineering Studies and Technical Analysis of Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network related data and deliverables; engineering support to the First Net Authority laboratory in Boulder, CO through live network measurement test log analysis and engineering data investigations and assessments;

and providing technical subject matter expertise for the highly technical verification and validation process specific to the evolution of the Network Core and Radio Access Network (RAN) from Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology to 5G New Radio and the enhancement and expansion of Network Coverage through targeted coverage enhancements.

• Review mobile telecommunication coverage maps, and other related documentation/statistics provided by the First Net Authority or its vendor to determine accuracy of coverage provided.
• Perform engineering assessments of NPSBN coverage and capacity data against established coverage baselines using on-air coverage reports.
• Assess drive test data collected from the field and perform statistical assessments against predicted design On-Air Coverage plots using state-of-the-art geographic information systems and tools.
• Review wireless technology and network metrics data and provide recommendations for project and program improvement.
• Analyze and provide feedback on industry standard software and systems to include, but not limited to:
  Info Vista's Planet tool, Map Info, ESRI Arc-GIS, Tableau, Microsoft Power Automate, Sharepoint and Power Apps and telecommunication drive test postprocessing tools such as Accuver's XCAL, and Rohde and Schwarz Quali Poc tools.
• Conduct various types of analyses and support development of network measurement reports on 4G LTE and 5G data including analyses on network deployment, performance, adoption, and usage data.
• Support the remediation of existing MS Applications, and the development, and creation of multiple MS applications such as but not limited to:
  SharePoint, Lists, and Forms, MS Teams Integration, and Power Platform (i.e. Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate).
• Provide SME expertise in the telecommunication field, which historically includes a detailed understanding of project management best practices and current understanding of the build, operations, and management of an interoperable nationwide wireless network. This includes knowledge of 4G and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) as well as understanding of coverage and capacity planning for a wireless network, Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) management, and Operational Support System (OSS)/Business Support System (BSS).
• Create white papers and technical papers to support informed decision making.
• Review and comment on program documents to support informed decision making.
• Engage with stakeholders at all levels across the organization which has historically included subject matter experts, business partners, vendors, and task managers.
• Review the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) data to identify trends within the NPSBN's various ecosystems. This includes the review NPSBN cellular data coverage maps and report findings to the First Net Subject Matter Expert (SME).
• Assist with the development, review, and summarization of projects, project reports, and program data.
• Review product integration and service activation test data and make recommendations for project and program and process improvements.

This position requires successful completion of a federal government suitability determination conducted by the US Federal Government's First Net Security Office. Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a government-granted suitability clearance. This will include, though may not be limited to, identity verification, fingerprinting, background investigation.

• Education and experience:
  • Bachelor's degree in relevant field…