Certification Lead

Job Title: Certification Lead 
Location: Fremont
Onsite/ Remote: Day 1 Onsite at customer location

Key Responsibilities 

Wireless Device Certification

• Own PTCRB, GCF, and carrier certification activities from planning and scope definition through submission, approval, and closure. 

• Develop and maintain certification plans, requirements matrices, schedules, milestones, risks, dependencies, and approval status. 

• Coordinate carrier certification with operators such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and other applicable carriers. 

• Work with Lab Managers to communicate certification scope, test priorities, prerequisites, milestones, and deadlines. Day-to-day lab operations, equipment, staffing, and capacity management remain with the Lab Managers. 

• Serve as the certification interface among engineering teams, Lab Managers, external laboratories, carriers, certification bodies, and chipset/vendors. 

• Track test progress, failures, retests, waivers/deviations, submissions, open questions, and certification blockers. 

• Drive certification issue resolution across modem/baseband, RF, antenna, hardware, software/telephony, system validation, and QA teams. 

• Coordinate required DUTs, software builds, SIM requirements, configurations, logs, technical documents, and test evidence through the responsible teams. 

• Assess certification impact from hardware, software, modem, RF, band, and feature changes. 

• Provide weekly status reporting and timely escalation of issues that may affect certification approvals or product launch schedules. 

• Obtain and review certification-lab quotations; coordinate SOW and PO creation or changes for authorized certification activities. 

• Review invoices against approved quotations, SOWs, POs, and completed certification activities; resolve discrepancies with Lab Managers, procurement, finance, and suppliers. 

Required Qualifications 

• 10-15 years of experience in wireless/mobile device development, testing, certification, or technical program management. 

• Minimum 5 years of direct experience in device/carrier certification or certification program management. 

• Demonstrated experience with PTCRB, GCF, and carrier certification programs. 

• Strong understanding of LTE and 5G NR, with working knowledge of RF, RRM, protocol, OTA, interoperability, and carrier-specific testing. 

• Experience working with wireless carriers, certification bodies, external laboratories, chipset/vendors, and cross-functional engineering teams. 

• Strong program management skills covering schedules, risks, issues, dependencies, actions, escalation, and stakeholder communication. 

• Experience with quotations, SOWs, POs, budgets, invoice validation, and supplier coordination. 

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Telecommunications, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Certification experience with AT&T, Verizon, and/or T-Mobile. 

• Experience with smartphones, tablets, wearables, IoT devices, CPE, modules, or other cellular-connected products. 

• Working knowledge of 3GPP specifications and Qualcomm diagnostic tools such as QXDM, QCAT, and QPST. 

• Experience managing multiple device variants or certification programs concurrently. 

Key Deliverables 

• Certification master plan and schedule; PTCRBF/carrier trackers; certification requirements matrix; issue, retest, risk, and action tracker; weekly status report; submission and approval records; and certification SOW/PO/budget/invoice tracker. 

Core Skills 

• PTCRB | GCF | Carrier Certification | LTE | 5G NR | 3GPP | RF | RRM | Protocol | OTA | Certification Program Management | Stakeholder Management | SOW | PO | Invoicing | Budget Tracking | Vendor Management