IN & VAS Operations Engineer at Airtel

About the Role

• This function is expected to act as the representative of business, technical and functional requirements in IN & VAS solutions.
• The function will support in the definition of the most optimal topology and proposed technology roadmap of the IN/Charging and VAS network to meet a premium service level and architecture; To evaluate network design and define integrated planning/implementation criteria and guidelines with partners for capacity management and adequate dimensioning of the Core IN network within the acceptable guidelines; Also would evaluate delivery of IN projects to designed SLAs whilst exploring the most efficient ways to deliver any new functional requirements placed upon the Mobile/Evolved Core Network.

Responsibilities

• Planning /Operation & Maintenance for VAS, IN & Service Layer (billing) to ensure Uninterrupted Charging and delivery of value added Services
• Perform day-to-day operations & management, fix alarms and resolve incidents, prepare daily health check status in conjunction with the MS partners for all IN/VAS nodes
• Follow up with the Suppliers/Vendors about any planned network changes e.g. upgrades, S/W packages etc. as well as any network problems.
• Follow up the implementation of deployment plans and highlight delay and apply corrective actions.
• Analyze business requirements and processes before converting ideas to solution design of new services; where required research into new technology and development in Telecommunication industry with regards to Billing/Charging Systems/VAS and where required OTA services.
• Liaise with vendor partner teams, Airtel HQ and other departments to assure seamless real-time Billing for the VAS/IN services, implementation and deployment of key networks systems through the full delivery life cycle from initial design to full operational handover.
• Ensure projects are aligned with the business’ Annual Operating Program (AOP).
• Convert business ideas to solutions on prepaid/postpaid charging platform
• Ensure all IN/VAS nodes are functioning to support Enhanced/Mobile Circuit and Packet Core as per the business and network requirements in a typical GSM/UMTS/LTE/Wi-Fi/SAE/IMS/VOLTE environment. 

Detailed and Effective Documentation:

• On concept of solutions proffered and prior to implementation, documentation in the form of SD, HLD and LLD designs should be prepared to include technical functionality, platform design and platform integration with relevant network elements. 
• All Operational/Product documentation like N/W KPI & SLA, Operational Docs & daily, weekly and monthly report: AOP, Change Management, Fault Management, Incident Management, Problem Management, Software Management, New products documentation, Features & Licenses, AMC, Support Documents etc are regularly updated with unique ID and version.
• Research market trends with emphasis on new and emerging technologies for analysis. 

Capacity planning:

• Perform adequate dimensioning, of all IN/Charging Systems and VAS Nodes - in accordance with network growth and projections. 
• Daily review and track network traffic, licenses, trends and various parameters to ensure the Network elements are operating as expected. Where required, take corrective action with input from Managed Partners and Group Network Services team
• Effective understanding of Operational and Business support systems (OSS/BSS) for performance reporting, Key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring and tuning for effective end to end planning of IN/VAS services.

Expand & Evolve Core IN Network:

• Understand the business requirements and impact on the IN-network infrastructure.
• Responsible for planning all expansion of OCS nodes well in advance.
• Plan evolution of IN/VAS network to best industry practices; where possible push the technological boundaries.

Employee Engagement:

• Provide consultation services to relevant business units including Liaison with Marketing and IT for advice on new tariffs, products and services.
• Develop close working relationships with IT, Core Network and Billing Architects, Product Development team and with Vendor to ensure IN solutions meet the business's technical and business objectives.
• Hold necessary Kick off meetings with stakeholders where/when required.
• Always Maintain high Team Harmony and Engagement with both internal and external teams and stakeholders. 

Vendor/Partner Management:

• Ensuring that the MS/MC partners deliver the projects to the high quality expected first time right. 

Innovation:

• Explore new initiatives which meet business requirements by developing and delivering cost-effective delivery plans of proposed solutions.
• Explore ways to modify existing solutions in tandem with current realities by introducing innovative ideas to change status quo
• Technology assessments and POC trials (RFI/RFP/RFQ). Verification of solutions before roll-out.

Qualifications
Educational Qualifications:

• Bachelor`s / Master`s of Engineering Degree (Electrical & Electronics, Telecommunications or related fields).

Relevant Experience & Functional / Technical Skills:

• Minimum of 8 years working experience with varied experience in planning, implementation, operation and maintenance in a large Mobile Network Operator
• Vendor experience – HUAWEI, NOKIA and ERICSSON platforms and IN architectures - Including Service level configuration for data/voice/sms services.
• Good technical understanding and experience of the commercial deployment of EPC/LTE/5G (including IMS) which could include design, test and/or deployment.  Understanding of the evolution of 4G networks moving towards 5G.
• Good understanding of interrelated domains (IT/Voice/Data/Vas applications) functions and working knowledge of the underlying IP technology to facilitate E2E service flow. 
• Experience with Ericsson PS core and Huawei CS/IMS Core will be added advantage
• Experience of delivering customers facing VAS services and solutions
• Experience of deployment of key network systems through the delivery life cycle from initial design to full operational handover. This comes with good project management knowledge.
• Good understanding of scripting, Knowledge with experience of Linux environments.
• Good understanding of Cloud environment for GSM evolution
• Experience of solving end-to-end design challenges that have significant interaction between multiple systems and domains
• Experience in measuring and analyzing network KPI ‘key performance indicators’
• Analytical, Technical and Presentation skills
• A good understanding of 3GPP /ITU-T and ETSI standards with regards to OCS will be required.
• Relevant experience with Vendor OCS platforms.
• Relevant experience and hands-on technical skills with Ericsson Charging systems. 

Other requirements:

• Personal Integrity and good interpersonal relationship
• Personal tenacity to succeed
• Must have excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Highly organized, time management and good at implementation within project timelines
• Ability to innovate and deliver value to business
• Ability to manage an outsourcing partner to deliver business solution with practical troubleshooting skill for fault resolution
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills.