Forward Deployment Engineer – Expert - 5G/6G/NTN - US-CA-San Diego-5G, United States
$160,110 - $266,840 USD yearly
Originally posted 13 October 2026 by the employer.
This role involves diagnosing and modifying software deep within the protocol stack (Layer 1 to Layer 3).
About the role
The Expert Forward Deployment Engineer works inside a customer's development program as a software developer, systems engineer, and deployment lead, shipping production code. This role focuses on customizing, integrating, and deploying technology into real-world production systems.
What you'll do
- Reduce broad account concepts and business strategies into structured, multi-workstream deployment projects.
- Act as the key technical lead for Department or Senior Management on complex or high-impact deployment engagements.
- Diagnose problems deep within the protocol stack (Layer 1 to Layer 3) and modify software.
- Write and modify application and protocol-stack software, plus supporting software and firmware.
- Develop and extend Python APIs that customer teams integrate against.
- Develop, validate, and deploy controlled patches, feature flags, and interim releases.
What you'll need
- 10+ years of relevant software/systems engineering experience.
- Expertise in at least one domain (PHY/L1, MAC/RLC/PDCP and L2, or RRC/NAS and L3), plus working knowledge of adjacent layers.
- Proficiency in C/C++ and Python (including API development), Linux, embedded or real-time software, and automated testing.
- Experience debugging protocol interactions through logs, traces, packet captures, call flows, and timing analysis.
- Familiarity with 3GPP specifications and the practical differences among standards compliance, interoperability, and implementation behavior.
- Experience in design and test instrumentation and test emulation tools.
- Ability to produce production-quality code that ships in a customer's build.
Skills: software developer, systems engineer, protocol stack, C/C++, Python, Linux
This role has been open 1 day — well below the 61-day median for Systems Software Engineering roles.
Systems Software Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
689
|
Median days open
61 d
|
Median salary
$217k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Keysight Technologies | All employers we track in this specialty (689 roles · 72 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 15 | 689 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 155 | 6140 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 14 d | 61 d (−47 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $217k |
Skills observed across this category: software developer, systems engineer, protocol stack, C/C++, Python, Linux
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 166 open roles · median 78 d
- NVIDIA · 137 open roles · median 47 d
- AMD · 64 open roles · median 50 d
- Mobileye · 28 open roles · median 74 d
- Broadcom · 21 open roles · median 51 d
- Arm Holdings · 20 open roles · median 112 d
How we counted: 689 open Systems Software Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 72 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 15 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.