Tech Lead, 3GPP OSS Standards

Why should you choose us?
Rakuten Symphony is reimagining telecom, changing supply chain norms and disrupting outmoded thinking that threatens the industry’s pursuit of rapid innovation and growth. Based on proven modern infrastructure practices, its open interface platforms make it possible to launch and operate advanced mobile services in a fraction of the time and cost of conventional approaches, with no compromise to network quality or security.
Rakuten Symphony has operations in Japan, the United States, Singapore, India, South Korea, Europe, and the Middle East Africa region. For more information, visit: https://symphony.rakuten.com.

Building on the technology Rakuten used to launch Japan’s newest mobile network, we are taking our mobile offering global.

To support our ambitions to provide an innovative cloud-native telco platform for our customers, Rakuten Symphony is looking to recruit and develop top talent from around the globe. We are looking for individuals to join our team across all functional areas of our business – from sales to engineering, support functions to product development.

Let’s build the future of mobile telecommunications together!

About Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to 2 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 30,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

Job Summary:
We are looking for a high-impact Lead – Standards, & Compliance to bridge the gap between complex telecommunications standards and cutting-edge innovation in building standards complaint world class OSS products. In this role, you will not only ensure our systems remain compliant with global standards (3GPP, O-RAN, TMF, etc.) but also build the AI Agents and automation frameworks that make compliance and operations self-healing and autonomous. You will be the technical lead responsible for embedding "Compliance-by-Design" into our AI-driven OSS/RAN orchestration platforms.

Experience: 4 to 8 years of progressive experience in telecommunications, with a significant portion focusing on AI/ML, building autonomous agents with deep knowledge on relevant ORAN and 3GPP specifications.

Key Responsibilities:
Standards Body Representation & Influence:
Actively participate and represent Rakuten Symphony in relevant working groups and committees within O-RAN Alliance, 3GPP (especially SA5), and TMF (e.g., Open Digital Architecture, Open APIs, Autonomous Networks).
Propose, contribute to, and drive the adoption of new specifications, technical reports, and white papers that align with Rakuten Symphony’s strategic objectives and product roadmap.
Influence the direction of standards development to ensure our technologies and architectural choices are well-represented and adopted.
Build and maintain strong relationships with delegates from other member companies, fostering collaboration and consensus.
Technical Expertise & Advocacy:
Serve as a subject matter expert on SMO architecture, principles, and technologies, particularly within a cloud-native and virtualized network context.
Provide in-depth technical analysis of proposed standards, identifying opportunities and potential risks for Rakuten Symphony.
Advocate for Rakuten Symphony's technical positions, presenting clear and concise arguments to standards bodies.
Standards-Driven Architecture:
Interpret and apply specifications from 3GPP SA5, ETSI MANO, O-RAN Alliance, and TMF to our product architecture.
Build AI/ML models and autonomous agents to align with industry-standard management interfaces (e.g., O1, O2, A1, E2) and automate the compliance process.
Agentic AI & Automation Engineering:
Design and develop Autonomous Agents that perform automated network configuration, fault management, and performance optimization while complying to all the relevant standards.
Build AI-driven automation pipelines within ONAP and CNCF environments to streamline compliance reporting and network operations.
Compliance-as-Code:
Innovate by building "Compliance Agents" that monitor real-time network behaviour against standards, autonomously identifying and correcting drifts.
Leverage Kubernetes (K8s) and container-native architectures to deploy scalable, compliant AI/ML services.
Innovation & Strategy:
Stay ahead of the curve in AI/ML research, specifically focusing on Large Language Models (LLMs) and Agentic frameworks to solve complex OSS/RAN operational challenges.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate "Standards" into "Automated Workflows."
Documentation & Knowledge Transfer:
Prepare and submit high-quality technical contributions, liaison statements, and formal documents to standards bodies.
Maintain comprehensive records of standards discussions, decisions, and action items.
Develop and deliver internal training and awareness sessions on relevant standards to upskill technical teams.

Required Skills & Experience:
Telecom Domain Expertise:
Deep knowledge of OSS and RAN architectures.
Hands-on experience with 3GPP SA5 (Management/Orchestration), ETSI MANO, O-RAN Alliance (SMO, xApps/rApps), and TMF Open APIs.
Experience with ONAP (Open Network Automation Platform) and CNCF cloud-native landscape.
AI/ML & Agentic AI:
Advanced proficiency in building AI/ML models and Autonomous Agents.
Experience in designing Agentic workflows (Planning, Memory, Tool Use)
Strong understanding of MLOps and the lifecycle of AI models in production.
Programming & Infrastructure:
Expert-level programming skills (Python is a must; Go or Java is a plus).
Strong experience with Kubernetes (K8s), container orchestration, and microservices design.
Experience building APIs and integrating AI agents with existing telecom management systems.
Must-Haves:
Standards Fluency: Proven ability to read, interpret, and implement technical specifications from major SDOs (3GPP/TMF/O-RAN).
Agentic AI Experience: A portfolio or demonstrated experience in building agents that perform autonomous tasks (not just chatbots, but agents that interact with systems).
Automation Mindset: A passion for replacing manual compliance checks with automated, AI-driven solutions.
Telecom OSS/RAN Background: Solid understanding of the complexities of the network management layer.

Soft Skills
Translational Ability: Ability to explain complex AI agent behavior to standards bodies and regulatory stakeholders.
Innovation-First Approach: A proactive developer who looks for "better ways" to do things rather than just following existing legacy processes.
Agile Collaboration: Ability to work in a fast-paced environment where standards and AI research evolve weekly.

Education:
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical / Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a related technical field.
PhD is a plus.

Additional Skills
Virtualization, Cloud native architectures, Kubernetes and Cloud environments.
Good understanding of Agile principles and processes.
Experience working in a fluid, start-up-like environment.

RAKUTEN SHUGI PRINCIPLES:
Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviours that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.
Always improve, always advance. Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen.
Be passionately professional. Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best.
Hypothesize - Practice - Validate - Shikumika. Use the Rakuten Cycle to success in unknown territory.
Maximize Customer Satisfaction. The greatest satisfaction for workers in a service industry is to see their customers smile.
Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! Always be conscious of time. Take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team.