Engineer - IP at MTN Nigeria

MTN Nigeria is part of the MTN Group, Africa\'s leading cellular telecommunications company. On May 16, 2001, MTN became the first GSM network to make a call following the globally lauded Nigerian GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission earlier in the year. Thereafter the company launched full commercial operations beginning with Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. MTN paid $285m for one of four GSM licenses in Nigeria in January 2001. To date, in excess of US$1.8 billion has been invested building mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria. Since launch in August 2001, MTN has steadily deployed its services across Nigeria. It now provides services in 223 cities and towns, more than 10,000 villages and communities and a growing number of highways across the country, spanning the 36 states of the Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Many of these villages and communities are being connected to the world of telecommunications for the first time ever. The company\'s digital microwave transmission backbone, the 3,400 Kilometre Y\'elloBahn was commissioned by President Olusegun Obasanjo in January 2003 and is reputed to be the most extensive digital microwave transmission infrastructure in all of Africa. The Y\'elloBahn has significantly helped to enhance call quality on MTN network.

Mission/ Core purpose of the Job

The Principal IP Engineer will form a part of a highly skilled group of technical and management experts who are responsible of the technical overview of the MTN Infraco global fixed connectivity infrastructure as well as to support other business units with the utilization of the assets. The role will oversee implementation of a secure Global IP/MPLS network to support Bayobab Services and/or service provider environment  

Responsibilities

Key Performance Areas: Core, essential responsibilities / outputs of the position (KPA's)

The Principal IP Engineer will be accountable to achieve the following objectives:

• Conduct the operation and maintenance on Bayobab IP MPLS and IP transit nodes.  
• Develop and maintain an IP address management strategy across the OpCos and Global Network  
• Support the implementation of new product and services  
• Ensure the proper implementation of high- and Low-Level Design submit by Planning department  
• Align the Quality of Services definition and KPI across the Global and OpCo IP/MPLS networks
• Developing policies and procedures for the Global IP/MPLS network
• Maintain the service assurance at/above the service level agreement signed with customers.  
• Perform automated off-line MPLS traffic engineering, leveraging exclusive algorithms that optimize resource utilization and ensure service survivability
• Be proactive in recommending improvements to the Global and OpCo IP/MPLS network infrastructure in the drive for best-in-class service availability and reliability
• Support SLAs and customer-specific reporting of this service, both internal (OpCos) and external end customers
• Provide higher technical support to Global NOC and OpCo operations teams with regards to IP/MPLS infrastructure and escalate to vendors the major issues
• Act as an interface between the engineering team and internal / external customers and provide all parties with expert engineering support
• Define and update the existing installed base of networks & products across MTN Group as part of a product catalogue
• Manage vendors about maintenance agreements, incident management and software deployment and circuit provision
• Supervise IP/MPLS services’ implementation covering the installations, testing & handover

Role Deliverables

• O&M of Bayobab IP Network  
• Service assurance (incident, Change, fault, problem management)  
• Customer service satisfaction  

Job Requirements (Education, Experience and Competencies)

Education:

• Minimum 4 Year Academic Degree in Commercial/Financial and/or Technical/ Engineering Degree/Diploma or similar qualification  
• English, French and Arabic (as advantage)  

Experience:

• 8+ years in relevant experience in the international telecommunication wholesales infrastructure industry in IP/MPLS Network Solution and Architecture design, configuration and testing
• Relevant experience with managed networks, Minimum of 5 years of experience with multi-services platforms, routing platforms, routing protocols SIS/RIP/RSVP/OSPF/BGP/ IbGP/ and troubleshooting down to packet level

Competencies:

• Ability to maintain a large network with complex network technology
• Excellent TCP/ IP networking skills
• Detailed knowledge on the international telecommunication infrastructure industry in regard to latest industry trends and competitive landscape within the MTN footprint  
• Strong understanding of managed networks, with proven experience with MPLS technology including L2/L3 VPN and traffic engineering  
• Effectively manage processes and solutions to maximize efficient work within the business unit
• Desire to provide inputs for new product development and management
• High communication and presentation skills to efficiently manage partners, customers an colleagues within MTN Infraco business units  
• Strong analytical skills to be able to execute market analysis, competitor landscape reports and customer monitoring
• Understanding the connectivity infrastructure wholesales landscape with a focus of emerging markets
• Work proactively across multiple cultures and languages within the MTN footprint countries
• Strong computer literacy 

Method of Application