Principal Researcher MAC Concepts

Ericsson AB Join our Team About the Opportunity  With a strong commitment to innovation, Ericsson Research drives the development of next-generation cellular technologies, including 5G Advanced and 6G. At the heart of these advancements lies the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer—a critical interface between the physical layer and higher protocol layers. The MAC layer governs dynamic scheduling, resource allocation, and link adaptation, directly influencing network throughput, latency, reliability, and energy efficiency. MAC specifications evolve with each new cellular generation, making proactive research and early concept validation essential to Ericsson’s technology leadership. Ericsson Research plays a strategic role in developing and maturing MAC innovations ahead of standardization, ensuring the company maintains its competitive edge. Our researchers collaborate across global sites and disciplines, working closely with internal stakeholders and external partners, including chipset vendors and standardization bodies. This collaborative environment fosters creativity, technical excellence, and industry influence, making Ericsson Research an ideal workplace for top talent. We are seeking a Principal Researcher to lead the research, development, and pre-standardization of innovative MAC concepts. This role involves driving early testbed implementations, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, and influencing 3GPP standardization processes to secure Ericsson’s competitive edge. What You Will Do •    Provide technical authority for MAC concepts strategy, guiding specification improvements and leading back-office standardization and testbed systemization. •    Lead, plan, and supervise comprehensive studies and technical reports on MAC layer performance, bottlenecks, and next-generation improvements. •    Develop, identify, and protect Ericsson’s intellectual property by drafting patents and fostering innovation around MAC and user-plane procedures. •    Represent Ericsson in 3GPP pre-standardization activities, collaborate with chipset partners, and showcase testbed demonstrations to influence industry standards. •    Lead work in 3GPP feature teams and collaborate with standardization delegates to ensure novel MAC layer enhancements are incorporated in specifications. •    Mentor and coach multi-site, cross-organizational teams, aligning stakeholders toward common technical goals. •    Develop and drive research strategies for MAC and related Layer-2 concepts in alignment with Ericsson’s long-term product roadmap. •    Propose novel MAC concepts and lead proof-of-concept testbed implementations to validate new ideas. •    Develop, extend, and maintain advanced simulation tools and testbeds to evaluate MAC algorithms, scheduling schemes, and link adaptation mechanisms. •    Support product engineering units in the productization process, ensuring smooth transfer of research concepts into commercial products. The Skills You Bring  •    Deep expertise in 3GPP MAC specifications and Ericsson’s MAC/user plane implementations. •    Strong understanding of L1 and L3 protocol layers relevant to MAC functionality. •    Proven experience with 10 years experience in performance evaluations and simulator development. •    Proven experience from leading multiple testbed developments and systemization including interaction with external partners.  •    Demonstrated technical leadership and ability to operate effectively across global teams.