The Telecom Technology Transformation

The telecommunications industry is undergoing the most significant architectural transformation in its history. The shift from hardware-based, purpose-built network equipment to software-defined, cloud-native network infrastructure is not just a technology upgrade - it is a fundamental rethinking of how networks are designed, deployed, and operated. This transformation creates demand for a new kind of IT professional: someone who understands both the telecommunications domain (protocols, network functions, operations support) and modern software engineering practices (containerization, microservices, CI/CD, observability).

The talent that sits at this intersection is scarce. Traditional network engineers often lack cloud-native software skills. Cloud-native engineers often lack telecom domain knowledge. The companies winning the talent competition are those with the most compelling combination of mission, technology stack, and compensation - and a recruiting partner who knows where to find people with this rare profile.

The 5G hiring surge

North American carriers have committed to spending more than $200 billion on 5G network build-out through 2030. The majority of that spend requires IT and engineering talent - network architects, software developers, systems integrators, and data engineers who can build and operate networks at a scale the industry has never seen.

5G Rollouts and the Engineering Talent They Require

5G is not a single technology - it is a family of standards, deployment architectures, and use cases that require different engineering skills depending on the specific implementation. The major 5G deployment tracks and their talent requirements include:

Radio Access Network (RAN) Engineering

5G RAN deployment - placing and configuring cell sites, small cells, and distributed antenna systems - requires RF engineers, site acquisition specialists, and network optimization engineers who understand the propagation characteristics of mmWave and sub-6 GHz 5G frequencies. As Open RAN (O-RAN) deployments accelerate, the RAN engineering skill set is increasingly software-defined, creating demand for engineers who can work with disaggregated RAN software from vendors like Mavenir, Parallel Wireless, and Altiostar.

5G Core Network Engineering

The 5G standalone core architecture uses a service-based architecture (SBA) where network functions - the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), and others - are deployed as containerized microservices on Kubernetes. Engineers who can deploy, configure, and operate these cloud-native network functions, and who understand the signaling protocols (HTTP/2, JSON, SBI interfaces) that connect them, are among the most sought-after professionals in telecom today.

Network Slicing and Edge Computing

Network slicing - dividing the physical 5G network into multiple virtual networks optimized for different use cases - and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) are the capabilities that enable the most commercially important 5G use cases: private 5G networks for industrial IoT, ultra-low-latency gaming and AR/VR, and autonomous vehicle connectivity. Engineers who understand the interaction between network slicing, edge compute resource management, and application orchestration are in extremely high demand.

BSS and OSS Modernization

Business Support Systems (BSS) and Operations Support Systems (OSS) are the software backbones of any telecommunications company. BSS handles customer-facing functions: ordering, billing, product catalog management, customer relationship management, and revenue management. OSS handles network-facing functions: network inventory, service provisioning, fault management, and performance monitoring.

Most carriers are running BSS/OSS platforms that are years or decades old, built on monolithic architectures that cannot support the real-time, API-driven, cloud-native operating model that 5G services require. The BSS/OSS modernization programs underway at carriers represent multi-year, multi-hundred-million-dollar investments in new platforms.

Key BSS/OSS Skills in Demand

IT Roles Direcstaff Places in Telecom

5G Core Network Engineers

AMF, SMF, UPF, and PCF specialists. Cloud-native network function deployment on OpenShift and Kubernetes. Service-based architecture design.

BSS Platform Engineers

Amdocs, CSG, and Oracle Communications engineers for billing modernization, product catalog migration, and order management transformation.

Network DevOps Engineers

CI/CD pipeline engineers for network function software deployment. GitOps, Helm chart management, and network automation using Ansible and Terraform.

IoT Platform Developers

Backend engineers building device management platforms, data ingestion pipelines, and edge analytics for carrier IoT service offerings.

Network Data Engineers

Engineers building real-time network telemetry pipelines for network operations, anomaly detection, and capacity planning analytics.

Edge Computing Architects

Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) architects designing application hosting infrastructure at the network edge for low-latency use cases.

Network Security Engineers

Security engineers with experience in telecom-specific threats: SS7 vulnerabilities, Diameter protocol security, 5G N2/N3 interface protection.

Telecom IT Project Managers

PMs with carrier program delivery experience managing complex multi-vendor BSS/OSS transformations and 5G core network deployments.

IoT and the Connectivity Platform Economy

The Internet of Things is not a single market - it is a collection of vertical markets each with distinct connectivity, processing, and data management requirements. For telecommunications carriers, IoT represents both a revenue opportunity (selling connectivity and platform services to IoT deployments) and an internal operational challenge (managing millions of IoT devices on their own networks).

The connectivity platform infrastructure supporting IoT includes device management platforms (using standards like LwM2M and MQTT), SIM management systems (MVNO platforms, eSIM orchestration), edge computing nodes where data processing occurs close to the device, and data pipelines that move IoT data from edge to core cloud environments for analysis and action.

Engineers who have built or operated these IoT platform components - particularly those with experience in industrial IoT, smart grid, or connected vehicle applications - are among the most difficult to find in the telecom talent market.

Cloud-Native Network Transformation

The migration from virtual network functions (VNFs) running on virtual machines to cloud-native network functions (CNFs) running on Kubernetes is one of the defining technology programs for telecommunications companies in 2025 and 2026. This migration requires engineers who can:

How Direcstaff Sources Telecom IT Talent

Telecom is a specialized industry with a relatively contained talent pool. We have built our telecom IT network through direct engagement with professionals at carriers, equipment vendors (Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Mavenir), systems integrators specializing in telecom (Amdocs, Ericsson Services, DISH Network Technology), and the open-source telecom communities around projects like OpenStack, Kubernetes, and ONAP.

When we receive a telecom IT requirement, we match it not just against technical skills but against telecom domain familiarity. A candidate claiming to be a "network engineer" means very different things in an enterprise IT context versus a carrier context. We ask telecom candidates about their experience with specific network functions, standards bodies' specifications they have implemented, and the scale at which they have operated network infrastructure - and we can tell the difference between genuine experience and resume inflation.