Senior Staff Research Specialist

Research & Innovation develops the concepts that shape the evolution of mobile networks and supports their adoption in international standards. We are seeking Senior Research/Standardization Specialists to strengthen our 6G RAN activities. In this role, you will develop technical concepts and contribute to 3GPP RAN3 standardization in one or more areas, including disaggregated RAN architecture, RAN internal and RAN–Core interfaces, cloud-native protocol evolution, AI-enabled RAN, quality of service, network data collection, service awareness, performance monitoring, and network slicing. You will work across research, product, and standards organizations to translate innovation into technically sound proposals, intellectual property, standards contributions, and future product capabilities. Depending on your background, the role may emphasize research and concept development or direct representation of Nokia in 3GPP RAN3.

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• Strong expertise in 5G and 6G mobile communication systems, RAN network architecture, 3GPP-defined interfaces and protocols.
• Good understanding of RAN-Core interfaces, AI use cases for RAN, network data collection, and other RAN related topics.
• Experience in technology development, research, and patent creation.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as an effective 3GPP delegate or researcher.
• Strong analytical, communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work effectively across research, engineering, product, and standards organizations in a global environment.
• Familiarity with AI-driven methodologies, including data-driven and agentic workflows.
• Experience working in multinational and cross‑cultural environments.
• Strong ability to operate in highly complex, innovation‑driven organizations.
• Proactive in scouting, assessing, and applying state‑of‑the‑art research results.
• Fluent in English, both spoken and written.

It would be nice if you also had:

• 5+ years of research experience in 6G‑relevant topics.
• Proven track record of technical leadership of research projects.
• Experience with AI-RAN and participation in relevant fora like AI-RAN Alliance.

Personal Attributes

• Humble personality with outcome-oriented behaviour. 
• Excellent networking and collaboration abilities across organizational boundaries.
• Open‑minded, adaptable, and resilient in fast‑evolving research and standardization environments.
• Analytical and structured with the ability to cut through complexity and prioritize effectively.
• Passion for continuous learning and professional growth.
• Strong willingness to take on new challenges.

• Lead and contribute to Nokia’s 6G standardization activities in 3GPP RAN3 working group in at least one of the following areas:
  • Disaggregated RAN architecture and relevant interfaces for future mobile networks deployments.
  • Evolution of RAN-Core interface and modernization towards cloud native protocols.
  • Innovative AI use cases to help optimize RAN performance and optimizing RAN to support AI traffic.
  • Quality of service (QoS) framework, service characteristics awareness in RAN, and performance monitoring.
  • Architecture and protocol enhancements enabling efficient network data collection and utilization for analytics, automation, and network optimization.
  • Evolution of network slicing in 6G. 
• Collaborate with Nokia Research, Bell Labs, product teams, and ecosystem partners to translate innovations into standards and products.
• Generate valuable intellectual property and support the adoption of Nokia innovations within industry standards.
• Influence Nokia’s technology and standards strategy in the areas of RAN architecture and 6G evolution.

Note: 

You will be acting as Nokia researcher on one of the above-mentioned areas responsible for technical contributions, concept development, numerical evaluations, and aligning standardization research with Nokia's 6G priorities. 

OR

You will be acting as Nokia’s delegate representative to 3GPP RAN3 working group, taking ownership of technical contributions, agenda shaping, consensus building, and alignment of standardization outcomes with Nokia’s 6G research and business priorities.