STEM OPT Network Operations Engineer Jobs
Network Operations Engineer roles in IT infrastructure, network monitoring, and systems reliability qualify for STEM OPT work authorization. Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, and your STEM degree unlocks a 24-month extension beyond initial OPT, giving you up to 36 months to build U.S. work experience in this field.
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Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world. For over 20 years, Iridium’s unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.
At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed. Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions. Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world. Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves. We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.
What We’re Looking For:
Iridium is seeking an entry-level Network Operations Engineer to join our Gateway Network Operations team. In this role, you will help support and maintain Iridium’s Gateway telecom and data infrastructure, providing advanced operational and escalation support for ground systems operations teams including Gateway Technical Operations, Tier 2 Customer Support, and Service Delivery. You’ll work closely with internal teams, vendors, and stakeholders to troubleshoot complex issues, improve system reliability, and support the deployment of new systems and applications aligned with business and customer needs. This role is ideal for someone who is technically curious, adaptable, collaborative, and motivated to grow within a fast-paced operational engineering environment.
What You’ll Do:
- Collaborate with vendors, subcontractors, and internal teams to troubleshoot and resolve operational issues
- Support the maintenance and administration of Gateway subsystems and services across both on-premises and cloud-based environments
- Administer and maintain remote monitoring and management systems, including updating agent scripts, responding to alerts, monitoring dashboards, and performing periodic system reviews
- Identify, investigate, and resolve operations issues and work closely with operations teams to improve maintenance procedures and provide successful troubleshooting
- Collaborate with team members to ensure high quality products are ready to deploy into production according to assigned schedule
- Assist in Investigating and resolving escalated customer and operational support tickets
- Contribute to the creation and refinement of maintenance documents for all Gateway network element systems and network infrastructure
- Provide technical support across internal teams and external partners
- Support the reliability, availability, and performance of the Iridium service suite
What You’ll Need to Succeed:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science or related field OR equivalent relevant experience in lieu of degree
- Working knowledge of installing, configuring, and maintaining Linux operating systems (Red Hat/CentOS), IP network infrastructure, SIP services, Python-based tools, and Oracle/MySQL databases
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to communicate key messages and ideas clearly and effectively
- Can cultivate meaningful relationships with your manager and members of your team, while being open and responsive to constructive feedback as they guide and mentor you
- The ability to think outside the box to help solve problems, with the humility to ask for help when needed
- Adaptability to a dynamic environment and the readiness to take on any new tasks that are handed to you
- A motivation to achieve outcomes and results
Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:
- Any AWS certification (i.e., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Advanced Networking, AWS Certified AI Practitioner, etc.)
- Knowledge of any of the following:
- Communications systems architecture development
- Circuit and packet switched voice and data communications
- TCP/IP communications
- Previous experience with IPv4 networks, GSM, Telecom, realtime systems
- Previous experience with systems software life cycle
- Previous experience in software development, especially C, C++, or tcl
- Previous experience in IP network engineering, development, integration, and testing
We’ll also need you to:
- Be on call to support major network issues
- Be able to travel up to 10%
- Be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Foreign Person not from Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia, or Belarus
Work Environment:
This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer.
We believe in-person connection drives innovation, strengthens mentorship, and builds culture, while flexibility enables employees to do their best work. Under Iridium’s Hybrid Work Policy, employees are expected to work at least three days per week (approximately 60%) in an Iridium office to support collaboration, relationship-building, and professional growth.
This job description outlines the general nature and level of work for this role and is not a comprehensive list of duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Employees may be assigned additional responsibilities as needed.
Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.
Company Overview
Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world. For over 20 years, Iridium’s unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.
At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed. Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions. Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world. Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves. We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.
What We’re Looking For:
Iridium is seeking an entry-level Network Operations Engineer to join our Gateway Network Operations team. In this role, you will help support and maintain Iridium’s Gateway telecom and data infrastructure, providing advanced operational and escalation support for ground systems operations teams including Gateway Technical Operations, Tier 2 Customer Support, and Service Delivery. You’ll work closely with internal teams, vendors, and stakeholders to troubleshoot complex issues, improve system reliability, and support the deployment of new systems and applications aligned with business and customer needs. This role is ideal for someone who is technically curious, adaptable, collaborative, and motivated to grow within a fast-paced operational engineering environment.
What You’ll Do:
- Collaborate with vendors, subcontractors, and internal teams to troubleshoot and resolve operational issues
- Support the maintenance and administration of Gateway subsystems and services across both on-premises and cloud-based environments
- Administer and maintain remote monitoring and management systems, including updating agent scripts, responding to alerts, monitoring dashboards, and performing periodic system reviews
- Identify, investigate, and resolve operations issues and work closely with operations teams to improve maintenance procedures and provide successful troubleshooting
- Collaborate with team members to ensure high quality products are ready to deploy into production according to assigned schedule
- Assist in Investigating and resolving escalated customer and operational support tickets
- Contribute to the creation and refinement of maintenance documents for all Gateway network element systems and network infrastructure
- Provide technical support across internal teams and external partners
- Support the reliability, availability, and performance of the Iridium service suite
What You’ll Need to Succeed:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science or related field OR equivalent relevant experience in lieu of degree
- Working knowledge of installing, configuring, and maintaining Linux operating systems (Red Hat/CentOS), IP network infrastructure, SIP services, Python-based tools, and Oracle/MySQL databases
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to communicate key messages and ideas clearly and effectively
- Can cultivate meaningful relationships with your manager and members of your team, while being open and responsive to constructive feedback as they guide and mentor you
- The ability to think outside the box to help solve problems, with the humility to ask for help when needed
- Adaptability to a dynamic environment and the readiness to take on any new tasks that are handed to you
- A motivation to achieve outcomes and results
Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:
- Any AWS certification (i.e., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Advanced Networking, AWS Certified AI Practitioner, etc.)
- Knowledge of any of the following:
- Communications systems architecture development
- Circuit and packet switched voice and data communications
- TCP/IP communications
- Previous experience with IPv4 networks, GSM, Telecom, realtime systems
- Previous experience with systems software life cycle
- Previous experience in software development, especially C, C++, or tcl
- Previous experience in IP network engineering, development, integration, and testing
We’ll also need you to:
- Be on call to support major network issues
- Be able to travel up to 10%
- Be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Foreign Person not from Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia, or Belarus
Work Environment:
This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer.
We believe in-person connection drives innovation, strengthens mentorship, and builds culture, while flexibility enables employees to do their best work. Under Iridium’s Hybrid Work Policy, employees are expected to work at least three days per week (approximately 60%) in an Iridium office to support collaboration, relationship-building, and professional growth.
This job description outlines the general nature and level of work for this role and is not a comprehensive list of duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Employees may be assigned additional responsibilities as needed.
Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.
See all STEM OPT Network Operations Engineer Jobs
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Network Operations Engineer
Verify your CIP code qualifies
Check that your degree's CIP code appears on the STEM Designated Degree Program List published by USCIS. Computer science, electrical engineering, and information technology CIP codes typically qualify, but some interdisciplinary programs require your DSO to confirm eligibility before you apply.
Filter employers by E-Verify status
STEM OPT employers must be enrolled in E-Verify before your training plan is filed. Ask hiring managers directly or have your recruiter confirm active enrollment. An employer who isn't yet enrolled can still hire you, but enrollment must be completed before your I-983 is submitted to your DSO.
Target network engineering teams at E-Verify-heavy industries
Federal contractors, defense primes, and healthcare systems are required by law or regulation to use E-Verify, making them structurally more likely to already be enrolled. Prioritize job applications at these employers to reduce friction during the STEM OPT authorization process.
Build your I-983 training plan around NOC responsibilities
Your I-983 must connect your daily NOC duties, such as incident response, routing protocol management, and network performance monitoring, directly to your STEM degree coursework. Generic training plan language gets flagged by DSOs. Map each job function to a specific academic skill from your transcript.
Use Migrate Mate to find STEM OPT network engineering jobs
Search Network Operations Engineer roles on Migrate Mate, which filters listings to employers with verified E-Verify enrollment so you're not wasting applications on companies that can't legally onboard a STEM OPT student without additional steps.
Negotiate your start date around OPT cap-gap timing
If your initial OPT expires while an H-1B visa petition is pending, your work authorization continues under cap-gap rules. Communicate this timeline to hiring managers early so your Network Operations Engineer role can begin or continue without a gap that triggers I-9 re-verification complications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my STEM degree qualify me for the 24-month STEM OPT extension as a Network Operations Engineer?
Your degree qualifies if its CIP code appears on the USCIS STEM Designated Degree Program List. Degrees in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, and information systems commonly qualify. If your degree is in a field like business information systems or applied technology, confirm the CIP code with your DSO before accepting a Network Operations Engineer offer, since eligibility depends on the specific program classification, not the job title.
Does my employer need to be enrolled in E-Verify before I can start as a Network Operations Engineer on STEM OPT?
Yes. E-Verify enrollment is a legal requirement for any employer hiring a STEM OPT student. The enrollment must be active before your I-983 training plan is submitted to your DSO. If the employer isn't yet enrolled, they can complete E-Verify registration before your start date. Use Migrate Mate to browse Network Operations Engineer roles at employers already verified for STEM OPT hiring.
What should my I-983 training plan include for a Network Operations Engineer role?
The I-983 must describe how your daily responsibilities connect to your STEM degree. For a Network Operations Engineer, this means mapping tasks like network monitoring, incident escalation, BGP or OSPF configuration, and infrastructure troubleshooting to specific skills from your degree curriculum. Generic descriptions don't satisfy DSO or USCIS review. Your employer's direct supervisor or HR team must sign the plan and confirm the training activities are real and ongoing.
Can I work as a Network Operations Engineer during the cap-gap period if my H-1B petition is pending?
Yes, if your STEM OPT EAD expires while a timely filed H-1B petition is pending, cap-gap rules automatically extend your work authorization through September 30 of that fiscal year. Your employer doesn't need to refile any work authorization documents, but you should carry your EAD, your H-1B receipt notice, and your I-20 reflecting the cap-gap extension whenever you travel or present employment verification.
How do I find Network Operations Engineer employers who sponsor STEM OPT students?
Sponsoring STEM OPT students requires E-Verify enrollment, a willingness to file the I-983 training plan, and semi-annual evaluations. Not every employer advertising network engineering roles has done this before. You can cross-reference DOL LCA filing history to see which employers have previously sponsored work visas, which signals familiarity with the authorization process. Migrate Mate surfaces Network Operations Engineer listings from employers already set up for STEM OPT hiring.