Principal System Integration Engineer

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.