Network Planning Engineer job description
A Network Planning Engineer designs where new towers, radio cells and fibre routes should go and how much capacity the network needs. The role shapes coverage and speed for a telecom operator's customers.
Why the role exists
Telecom networks must grow ahead of customer demand, and each new site is a costly decision. The Network Planning Engineer studies traffic, coverage maps and drive test data, then proposes sites, capacity upgrades and fibre routes. The role reports to a planning head or network head and works with the field survey, deployment and optimisation teams.
What the person does
- Study traffic, coverage and complaint data to find areas where capacity or signal needs improvement.
- Propose new tower sites, cell sectors and capacity upgrades using planning tools and propagation models.
- Plan fibre routes and backhaul links to connect new sites, in line with route surveys and permissions.
- Run coverage and capacity simulations, and compare the prediction with drive test results after launch.
- Work with the site acquisition and survey teams to check whether a proposed location is practical.
- Prepare site and bill-of-material lists for the deployment team, with antenna type, height and azimuth details.
- Review post-launch performance and hand findings to the optimisation team for tuning.
- Maintain the plan tracker and report rollout status and risks to the network head every week.
Skills and tools
- Radio planning basics, including propagation, link budgets, interference and frequency reuse
- Using planning tools such as Atoll, Mentum or an equivalent system, plus GIS maps
- Reading drive test and traffic data and finding weak coverage or congestion
- Fibre and microwave backhaul planning, including capacity and path checks
- Spreadsheet and basic scripting skills for large site lists and data cleaning
- Understanding of 4G and 5G network structure, spectrum bands and capacity growth
- Writing clear plan notes that survey, deployment and optimisation teams can act on
- Working with several teams and vendors to deliver sites on time
Education and experience
Preferred, never a bar: equivalent experience counts.
- Preferred: degree in electronics, telecommunications or a related engineering field, or equivalent experience.
- Preferred: two to six years in RF planning, optimisation or transport planning with an operator or vendor.
- A course or certificate in radio planning tools is useful, as is exposure to vendor equipment.
- Experience with both urban and rural coverage problems is a plus, as Indian territories differ widely.
How the work is judged
- Coverage and capacity improvement in planned areas, as measured after launch
- Accuracy of predictions compared with drive test and field results
- Quality of site proposals, judged by how few need re-planning after survey
- Timeliness of plans handed to deployment and survey teams
- Clarity and completeness of the planning documents and trackers
Where the role can lead
- Move to Senior Planning Engineer or Planning Lead for a circle or region.
- Grow into network architecture, optimisation or spectrum strategy roles.
- Progress to Network Head or Head of Planning and Engineering.
Interview questions to ask
Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order and score them against written anchors, so the decision rests on the work and not the impression.
- How do you decide between adding a new site and adding capacity to an existing one?
- A predicted coverage area comes out weaker in the field. How would you investigate?
- Describe how you plan backhaul for a new rural site with a long fibre route.
- A survey team says your proposed site is not available. What do you do next?
- How do you use complaint data along with drive tests to find coverage problems?
- Walk us through a plan you made. What did it achieve and what would you change?
Hiring tips for this role
- Give a short planning case with a map and traffic data, and ask the candidate to propose sites. The reasoning matters more than the tool they use.
- Check tool experience carefully. Many applicants list planning tools but have only used reports built by others, so ask for specific tasks they ran.
- Look for field understanding. Planners who have never joined a survey often propose sites that cannot be built.
- Be clear on the scope: urban, rural, 4G, 5G, fibre or microwave. A role described too broadly attracts candidates who fit none of it.
Questions about hiring a network planning engineer
The planner designs new sites and capacity. The optimisation engineer tunes the live network to improve quality. Both use drive test and traffic data, and they often work in the same team.
Occasionally. They may join surveys or drive tests to check assumptions. Most of the work is desk-based with planning tools, so state the expected field time clearly.
The terms overlap. RF engineer often means radio planning and optimisation. Network planning can also include transport, core and capacity. Name the domain in the job description.
GullyHR agrees the job description with you, screens candidates for planning tools and domain depth, and supports the offer on a permanent hire. You run the technical round and make the final choice.
Hiring a network planning engineer?
GullyHR runs talent acquisition for permanent roles. We agree the job description with you, find and screen candidates against it, and support the offer through to joining. We recruit permanent employees. We do not supply contract or temporary staff.