Director, Incident Management

AST SpaceMobile and our global partners are building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network to be accessible by standard smartphones. Called SpaceMobile, this ultra-powerful network is being designed to provide connectivity at 4G/5G speeds everywhere on the planet – on land, at sea and in flight. Position Overview We are seeking a Director, Incident Management to establish and lead the incident management function within Telco Service Assurance, reporting to the VP Telco Service Assurance. The Director is accountable for ensuring that every incident affecting the end-to-end Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), including satellite gateways, RAN, transport and core, is created and managed in Jira and tracked to resolution within agreed timeframes. The role sets the process, standards and operating model for incident management, leads the Incident Managers and E2E Engineers, and partners with Network Operations, engineering, service delivery, partner MNOs and executive leadership to protect service quality and reliability. The team is located in the US and India and provides 24/7 coverage. Network Operations and Change, Governance & Compliance are separate Service Assurance organizations with which this role works closely. Key Responsibilities - Establish Incident Management as a formal function, defining its vision, process, operating model and standards, aligned with company objectives and growth plans. - Lead and develop the Incident Managers and E2E Engineers across the US and India, providing 24/7 coverage. - Ensure all incidents and engagements with the NOC are created and managed in Jira, moving incident management and investigation away from Teams chats. - Define the Jira Service Management (JSM) structure, including the groups responsible and accountable for troubleshooting and resolving issues for each network component, so that assignments and escalations are tracked. - Set acknowledgment and resolution timeframes for every group, and manage the escalation of missed timeframes to the respective leadership. - Ensure Incident Managers monitor the Jira dashboards and track all tickets to resolution within the agreed timeframes. - Serve as the executive escalation point for critical and network-wide outages, directing incident response and leading communication with senior leadership, partner MNOs and key customers. - Inform the NOC teams of known incidents, changes and defects that may impact services, including satellites out of service and MNO or partner changes. - Run the daily pass failure review, ensuring failed passes and issues are followed up with incidents or defects and tracked to resolution. - Define and report network and incident KPIs (availability, MTTA, MTTR, escalation rates, repeat incidents, SLA compliance) through dashboards to executive leadership. - Drive improvements to the Jira dashboards, working with Data & Reporting, and drive automation and tool strategy to improve detection and resolution times. - Partner with Network Operations, Change, Governance & Compliance, engineering, service delivery and external partners to reduce repeat incidents and improve network resilience. - Develop talent through training programs, career paths and succession planning. Qualifications Education Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field; a Master’s degree is preferred. Experience - 12+ years of experience in telecom network operations or service management, including at least 5 years in incident or problem management and 3 years leading managers or multi-team organizations. - Proven track record of running incident management for 24/7 operations and achieving availability and SLA targets. - Extensive experience leading major incident management, including escalation and executive communication. - Expert knowledge of ITIL and operational governance frameworks, and hands-on experience with Jira Service Management or a comparable ITSM tool. - Broad technical knowledge of mobile networks (4G LTE, 5G NR), transport, IP and core network architecture. - Experience defining KPIs and building dashboards for incident and network performance. - Experience managing teams across several countries and time zones. Preferred Qualifications - Experience with satellite networks, ground segment operations or Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), including direct-to-device services. - Experience building or transforming an incident management function in a high-growth environment. - Experience working with multiple partner MNOs and multi-vendor environments across international regions. - Background in automation, AIOps and observability platforms. - Certifications such as ITIL v4 Strategic Leader, PMP or executive leadership training. Soft Skills - Strong strategic thinking, leadership and organizational development skills. - Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management skills, including with partner MNOs and key customers. - Ability to lead calmly and decisively during critical and network-wide outages. - Ability to influence and hold other teams accountable without direct authority. - Strong analytical skills to turn incident data into clear priorities and actions. Technology Stack - Jira and Jira Service Management (JSM), including incident dashboards. - Gateway Pass Analysis and the Gateway Arturo Dashboard. - NetCTRL and the Gateway Dashboard. - ITIL-based incident, problem, change and defect processes. Physical Requirements - Ability to work in a standard office environment and use a computer for extended periods. - Ability to be reached outside business hours to act as the executive escalation point for critical outages. - Ability to travel periodically to gateway sites, partner MNOs and regional teams. Benefits & Perks At AST, we value our employees and offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, financial well-being, and work-life balance. - Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance - 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match - Company-Paid Short-Term Disability (STD) and Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance - Company-Paid Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance - Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Options - Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - Voluntary Supplemental Benefits - Paid Time Off (PTO) and Company Holidays - Career Growth and Development Opportunities This job description may not be inclusive to the duties and responsibilities listed. Additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time or the scope of the job may change as needed by business demands. AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.