Technical Specification: Data & Mediation Analyst

Core Role Objective

The Analyst is responsible for overseeing the ingestion, mediation, and analysis of large-scale telecommunications data. This includes configuring triggers for real-time data interception, ensuring the integrity of handover interfaces to external stakeholders, and transforming complex network protocols into structured investigative intelligence.

Technical Domain Expertise

A. Telecommunications & Network Protocols

• Protocol Analysis:
  • Deep technical knowledge of mobile and fixed-line protocols, including SIP, RTP, GTP (v1/v2), Diameter, and HTTP/2.
• Network Architecture:
  • Solid understanding of 4G/LTE and 5G Service Based Architecture (SBA), including the functions of the AMF, UPF, and SMF.
• Encapsulation & Tunnelling:
  • Experience managing and de-encapsulating traffic from VLANs, GRE, and IPsec tunnels.
• Traffic Capture:
  • Mastery of Wireshark and Tcpdump for deep packet inspection (DPI) and troubleshooting missing Data Records (DRs).

B. Data Mediation & ETL Mastery

• Format Transformation:
  • Ability to map and convert raw network data (ASN.1, Ber-encoded, or JSON) into standardized delivery formats (such as ETSI LI standards or custom CSV/XML).
• Trigger Logic:
  • Experience configuring complex "if-then" logic for real-time data filtering based on identifiers (IMSI, IMEI, MSISDN, or IP addresses).
• Throughput Optimization:
  • Skills in load balancing and managing high-bandwidth data streams to prevent packet loss during peak network congestion.

C. Database & Analytical Tooling

• Structured Querying:
  • Advanced SQL for extracting historical records from relational databases (Oracle, PostgreSQL).
• Unstructured Data:
  • Familiarity with Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana (ELK Stack) for indexing and searching massive volumes of metadata.
• Scripting:
  • Proficiency in Python (specifically libraries like Pandas or Scapy) to automate repetitive data validation tasks and reporting.

Key Responsibilities:

Provisioning

• Technical Requirement: Managing target identities and ensuring data collection triggers are accurately activated across the network core.

Interface Management

• Technical Requirement: Maintaining secure handover interfaces (HI1, HI2, HI3) ensuring encryption (TLS) and certificate management are up to date.

Data Integrity

• Technical Requirement: Conducting "End-to-End" validation to ensure the data captured at the network source is identical to the data stored in the analytics warehouse.

Compliance Auditing

• Technical Requirement: Generating rigorous access logs and ensuring data retention policies strictly follow regional legal frameworks (e.g., RICA or GDPR).

System & Infrastructure Skills

• Linux System Administration:
  • Advanced CLI skills for managing servers, managing cron jobs, and monitoring system resources (CPU/RAM) in a RHEL or Ubuntu environment.
• Virtualization:
  • Experience operating within VMware, KVM, or OpenStack environments, as modern mediation systems are almost entirely virtualized.
• Security Architecture:
  • Understanding of Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), firewall rule configuration, and secure VPN termination.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience: 4+ years in Telecommunications, specifically in Core Network Operations, Network Security, or Regulatory Compliance.
• Certification: Network+ / Security+, or specialized training in Telecommunications Intercept standards.
• Clearance: Ability to undergo a high-level security screening due to the sensitive nature of the data being handled.