Principal System Integration Engineer

Job description

**About the Role** Parallel Wireless is seeking a Principal System Integration Engineer to drive the integration, validation, and performance optimization of our next-generation Open RAN 5G NR base-station solutions. This hands-on technical leadership role works closely with development, product, automation, and customer-facing teams to bring new baseband (L1-L3) capabilities from design through system-level verification and deployment readiness. The position can be based at our headquarters in Nashua, New Hampshire, approximately 45 miles north of Boston; or another location with the U.S. upon agreement with the hiring manager. ### What You Will Do - Lead end-to-end system integration and testing of 5G NR RAN algorithms, radio equipment, and L1/L2/L3 features; establish priorities, test coverage, and technical acceptance criteria. - Partner with engineering teams to review designs for cellular features such as rate adaptation, power control, scheduling, and interference mitigation; challenge assumptions and recommend improvements. - Define and execute system-level test strategies to evaluate functionality, interoperability, conformance, and performance against product designs and applicable 3GPP and O-RAN specifications. - Develop and improve test methodologies, analysis workflows, and repeatable performance benchmarks; identify opportunities for automation and provide clear technical requirements to automation engineers. - Investigate and resolve complex integration and performance issues identified in internal labs and customer deployments, driving root-cause analysis and cross-functional corrective actions. - Translate product requirements and customer use cases into actionable integration plans, test scenarios, and system performance validation workflows. - Produce concise technical reports, performance metrics, and evidence-based recommendations for engineering, product, and customer teams. - Provide technical guidance and mentorship to other engineers, facilitate design and defect reviews, and help improve integration quality and execution discipline. ### What You Bring - Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship under federal law, or currently hold an active SECRET or TOP SECRET clearance. - Bachelor's or master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. - 10+ years of relevant experience in LTE and/or 5G radio access network system integration, validation, or performance engineering, including experience leading technically complex integration efforts. - Strong understanding of 5G NR and/or LTE radio protocols, RAN architecture, and L1/L2 behavior; ability to connect algorithm-level behavior with end-to-end system performance. - Hands-on experience with radio-frequency test equipment, lab-based validation, troubleshooting, and analysis of system-level performance data. - Experience with real-time software development or debugging and proficiency using Python for testing, analysis, or automation. - Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills, with demonstrated ability to lead technical investigations and guide others. ### Preferred Qualifications - Experience validating Open RAN architectures and interfaces and interpreting O-RAN Alliance specifications. - Experience with 3GPP conformance, radio performance optimization, and customer-facing issue resolution. - Experience improving CI/test automation workflows or developing reusable system integration test frameworks.