Network Operations Senior Advisor (Network Operations)📣 Job Ad

About Norconsult Telematics and the Role

Norconsult Telematics is seeking a Network Operations Senior Advisor to join its team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time position involves providing strategic and technical guidance to the VP of Network Operations, focusing on orchestrating operational excellence across all network domains.

Role Purpose and Scope

The Senior Advisor will serve as a principal strategic and technical sounding board to the VP of Network Operations. This role is critical in driving the transition from a complex legacy infrastructure to a future-state, zero-touch architecture, targeting TM Forum Autonomous Network Level 4 (ANL 4) maturity and a modernized, unified Network Operations Center (NOC).

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary trusted advisor to the VP of Network Operations on long-term strategy, operational risk management, and technology lifecycle investments.
• Evaluate and translate emerging technological trends (*, 6G readiness, advanced edge computing, network slicing) into actionable, high-yield operational roadmaps.
• Advise on the governance of operational frameworks across the entirety of the operator’s footprint to ensure alignment with global standards and corporate KPIs.
• Provide strategic direction and operational efficiency oversight across core domains including Mobile Network, Fixed Network, Transport Network, Core & Cloud Network, IT Operations, Cybersecurity, and OSS/BSS.
• Define the overarching AIOps strategy, including AI/ML roadmap formulation for Network Operations, and drive the deployment of AIOps platforms for real-time anomaly detection and predictive scaling.
• Evaluate and pilot Generative AI applications (such as LLM-powered network assistants) to accelerate troubleshooting, synthesize complex RCA logs, and automate routine configuration scripts.
• Collaborate with Chief Data Officers/IT to establish robust data pipelines, ensuring clean, structured, and real-time network telemetry data is available to train and mature AI models.
• Ensure AI/ML and closed-loop automation decisions remain auditable and explainable (XAI), preserving engineer trust and regulatory compliance as autonomy increases.
• Act as a change agent to foster an AI-first mindset across the engineering workforce, advising the VP on talent and skills gaps required to operate a cognitive network.
• Lead the transformation of the NOC from siloed monitoring into a unified command center, consolidating EMS/NMS, service assurance, and orchestration tooling across various domains.
• Define and continuously optimize the NOC’s tiered support structure, shifting resolution through automation, runbooks, and AI-assisted diagnostics.
• Drive AI/ML-based event correlation, event de-duplication, and noise reduction, ensuring NOC engineers focus exclusively on actionable, service-impacting events.
• Own the end-to-end Major Incident Management process, including rapid triage, cross-domain war-room coordination, executive communication, and post-incident root-cause and problem management.
• Ensure 24/7 operational resilience through effective staffing models, shift patterns, and escalation matrices aligned with contractual SLA commitments.
• Partner with the Cybersecurity function to align NOC monitoring and incident-response workflows with Security Operations Center (SOC) processes for unified visibility.
• Progress the NOC toward TM Forum Autonomous Network Level 4 (ANL 4) — highly autonomous, closed-loop operations — with measurable maturity targets across priority domains.
• Architect and drive the migration from manual/reactive troubleshooting to Autonomous Advanced Operations Model Level 4 (Intent-driven, highly autonomous closed-loop operations).
• Recommend, design, and champion AI/ML-driven initiatives to achieve predictive maintenance, automated anomaly detection, and automated root-cause analysis (RCA) to enable a self-healing infrastructure.
• Identify structural inefficiencies across domains and execute modernization programs that significantly reduce operational costs while boosting Network Quality of Experience (QoE).
• Drive AI-based optimization of RAN and site power usage to cut energy cost, reduce emissions, and improve operational efficiency.
• Align all operational transformation workflows, information models, and open APIs with TM Forum Open Digital Architecture (ODA) — including eTOM, SID, and the Functional Framework.
• Enforce and mature the FCAPS (Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security) model through modern, automated tooling.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of 20 years of progressive experience within the Telecommunications or closely related ICT sector.
• At least 5 years in a similar executive advisory capacity, or a senior management role within a Tier-1 telecom operator.
• Documented history of leading large-scale network transformation, automation, or modernization initiatives that yielded measurable OPEX savings or reliability gains.
• Deep understanding of complex network ecosystems (Fixed, Mobile, Transport, Core, IT, Cyber).
• Demonstrated experience leading or transforming a large-scale, 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC), including tiered escalation models, major incident management, and modern NOC tooling (EMS/NMS, ITSM/ticketing, alarm correlation, AIOps platforms).
• Comprehensive knowledge of TM Forum Open Digital Architecture (ODA) — including eTOM, SID, and the Functional Framework — and traditional FCAPS infrastructure management.
• Comprehensive knowledge of AI/ML applications in telecom operations (AIOps), network virtualization (NFV/SDN), and orchestration engines.

Essential Skills

• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to distill highly technical, fragmented architectural issues into clear, risk-managed business cases for C-suite executives and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to balance immediate operational fire-fighting with the long-term vision of proactive and zero-touch autonomy.
• Strong adaptability and a drive for continual improvement.
• Experience in time management and task prioritization.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to perform under pressure without compromising quality.

Work Environment and Location

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The role requires a commitment to driving innovation and operational excellence within a dynamic telecommunications environment.