Product Manager (Telecom)

Product Owner/Manager

(Telecom OSS Service Assurance)

Why should you choose us

Rakuten Symphony is reimagining telecom, changing supply chain norms and disrupting outmoded thinking that threatens the industry's pursuit of rapid innovation and growth. Based on proven modern infrastructure practices, its open interface platforms make it possible to launch and operate advanced mobile services in a fraction of the time and cost of conventional approaches, with no compromise to network quality or security. Rakuten Symphony has operations in Japan, the United States, Singapore, India, South Korea, Europe, and the Middle East Africa region. For more information, visit: https://symphony.rakuten.com

Building on the technology Rakuten used to launch Japan's newest mobile network, we are taking our mobile offering global.

To support our ambitions to provide an innovative cloud-native telco platform for our customers, Rakuten Symphony is looking to recruit and develop top talent from around the globe. We are looking for individuals to join our team across all functional areas of our business – from sales to engineering, support functions to product development.

Let's build the future of mobile telecommunications together!

About Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 2 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 30,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

About the Role:

Looking for an experienced Product Owner to drive the vision, strategy, and delivery of OSS Service Assurance platform . You will own the product backlog, define use cases across fault, performance, and log management, and work closely with engineering, pre-sales, and customer teams to deliver measurable outcomes for Tier-1 and Tier-2 operators globally.

Key Responsibilities:

Product Strategy & Vision

• Own and communicate the product roadmap for Service Assurance modules

• Define quarterly and annual product goals aligned with operator needs and market trends ]

• Conduct market analysis and competitive benchmarking across vendors (Nokia, Ericsson, Netcracker, Amdocs, IBM)

Backlog & Delivery

• Own, prioritize, and groom the product backlog; translate operator requirements into detailed, sprint-ready user stories and acceptance criteria

• Define and maintain requirement documentation, use case specifications, and technical annexes for customer requirements

• Drive NPI (New Product Introduction) process end-to-end

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work directly with telecom customers (MNOs/MVNOs) to gather requirements, run workshops, and validate solution designs

• Support to Respond to RFPs/RFIs with technical solution proposals and use case documentation

• Present product demos, quarterly reviews, and roadmap sessions to CTO/CIO-level stakeholders

• Represent the product in partner and alliance discussions

Cross-functional Leadership

• Act as the bridge between business stakeholders, customers, and engineering teams

• Run sprint ceremonies — planning, review, retrospective — in an Agile/SAFe environment

• Manage dependencies across platform teams (Fault Monitor , Performance Monitor, Configuration Manager, Network Topology ,Network Inventory )

Required Skills & Experience:

Domain Knowledge

• 10+ years of experience in Telecom OSS, with at least 2 years in a Product Owner or Product Manager role
• Domain Knowledge of IPTX/ Transport , RAN , Core, Cloud & Infra
• Deep understanding of Service Assurance — Fault Management, Performance Management (PM counters, KPIs), SLA monitoring
• Hands-on knowledge of 5G RAN, Core, and Cloud-native network architectures
• Familiarity with TMF API Standards , O1 interface, 3GPP standards, TM Forum frameworks (eTOM, TAM, Open APIs)
• Experience with operator environments — NOC, zero-touch operations, AIOps

Technical Proficiency

• Familiarity with Kubernetes-based deployments and cloud-native microservices architecture
• Ability to read and contribute to HLD documents, API specs, and integration design docs
• Familiar with Java , J2EE, PL/ SQL , Python & any public Cloud

Product & Agile

• Proven experience owning a product backlog in Jira and running Agile/SAFe delivery
• Ability to write crisp user stories, acceptance criteria, and functional specs
• Experience with roadmap tools (ProductBoard, or similar)
• Strong RFP/RFI response experience — technical writing and solution architecture narratives

Good to Have

• Experience with AI/ML-based anomaly detection in network monitoring contexts
• Knowledge of GC log analysis, crash dump management, or binary log processing
• Prior experience with operator deployments across regions (APAC, Europe, North America)

Soft Skills

• Strong executive communication — able to present confidently to C-level stakeholders
• Ability to work across time zones with distributed engineering and customer teams
• Data-driven decision making — comfortable with metrics, dashboards, and usage analytics
• Comfortable with ambiguity; able to define structure in fast-moving product environments

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Telecommunications, or Engineering
• 10+ years total experience; 3+ years as PO/PM on a telecom software product
• Certifications preferred: CSPO, SAFe PO/PM, TM Forum Frameworx

This role is ideal for someone who has operated at the intersection of telecom network operations and cloud-native software delivery — someone who speaks both operator NOC and Kubernetes microservices fluently.

RAKUTEN SHUGI PRINCIPLES:

Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviours that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

• Always improve, always advance. Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen.
• Be passionately professional. Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best.
• Hypothesize - Practice - Validate - Shikumika. Use the Rakuten Cycle to success in unknown territory.
• Maximize Customer Satisfaction. The greatest satisfaction for workers in a service industry is to see their customers smile.
• Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! Always be conscious of time. Take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team.