Cloud/AI/Telecommunications Merit Reviewer

As a Merit Reviewer supporting our Federal government client, you will be trusted to serve as a Merit Reviewer for a program that aims to foster competition and innovation across the global telecommunications ecosystem, lower costs for consumers and network operators, and strengthen the 5G supply chain. Its objectives include unlocking opportunities for innovative companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, to compete in a market historically dominated by a few suppliers.

Federal Agency Requirements for Merit Review:

The Department of Commerce (DOC) Grants and Cooperative Agreement Manual stipulates that the Merit Review process includes "a thorough, consistent, and independent examination of an application based on pre-established criteria by persons knowledgeable in the field of endeavor for which support is requested. A merit review must be conducted by an impartial, objective, unbiased individual with the requisite expertise, knowledge, and experience in a technical field who can evaluate or assess a proposal for its value, quality, and likelihood of success. One who conducts a merit review must not have a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, regarding any application under his or her review.", Merit Reviewers are required to reveal any conflicts of interest (real or apparent) prior to conducting a merit review. The Federal client will make assignments where there are no known conflicts of interest (real or apparent). Considerations will be given to factors such as:

• Potential conflicts (i.e., Merit Reviewers cannot review applications in the same grant program for which they have any prior work or contracting experience.)
• An appearance of impairment of objectivity (i.e., due to relationships or activities with other persons or entities, a Merit Reviewer may be unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the government.)
• Geographic location of the Merit Reviewers with respect to the location of the applications to be reviewed (i.e., a Merit Reviewer may not be allowed to review an application submitted by its home county, state, etc.)
• Merit Reviewer availability and schedules, This role will be fully remote and require approximately 40 hours per week, ideally in a 1099 contractor capacity. While the schedule offers flexibility, consistent availability for client meetings and recurring standups is expected. The anticipated engagement period is from early September through the end of October 2026.

Do you have experience in Telecommunication?, Do you have a Bachelor's degree?, Merit reviewers shall have expertise, knowledge, and experience as demonstrated by one or more of the following:

• Cloud and Compute

• (Required) Demonstrated expertise evaluating cloud-native architectures (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS), data platforms, and distributed systems, including cost/performance tradeoffs.
• Demonstrated understanding of compute sizing and placement for AI-native wireless (edge-to-cloud partitioning, accelerators, orchestration, data movement, latency/jitter/energy constraints).
• Demonstrated experience evaluating modern software engineering practices: API/SDK quality, UI/UX for operators and developers, CI/CD and continuous testing, repository/artifact management, data lake/lakehouse management, and release governance.
• Familiarity with secure software supply chain practices (SBOMs, vulnerability management, secure build pipelines, third-party risk).
• Demonstrated expertise in interoperability and conformance testing (interface validation, test harnesses, integration environments, plugfest-style readiness).
• Demonstrated experience with systems engineering and SDLC rigor, including evaluation of architecture/design maturity through PDR/CDR, interface specifications, verification/validation strategy, and test plan quality.

• Commercialization

• (Required) Demonstrated ability to assess commercial viability (unit economics, pricing/packaging, go-to-market, channels/partners, adoption barriers) for platform and ecosystem plays.

• AI/ML

• (Required) Demonstrated expertise in AI/ML engineering (training vs inference, MLOps, model lifecycle) and translating technical approach into measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate AI assurance (robustness, drift, adversarial ML risks) and appropriate lifecycle controls for operational networks.

• Security and Governance

• Demonstrated expertise in security-by-design for distributed networks (threat modeling, zero trust, IAM, key management, secure telemetry/logging, resilience against disruption and breaches).
• Working knowledge of data governance and privacy (data rights/provenance, retention, access controls, cross-tenant isolation) in distributed AI systems.

• Telecom

• (Required) Working knowledge of 3GPP architectures/standards and the ability to judge credible standards contribution roadmaps and timelines.
• (Required) Working knowledge of O-RAN (Open RAN) architectures/interfaces and the ability to assess openness, interoperability, and multi-vendor integration feasibility.
• Demonstrated experience with mobile/Open RAN deployments or integrations (RU/DU/CU, transport dependencies, operability) and carrier-grade requirements (availability, observability, fault management, SLAs).
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate program execution realism for multi-party efforts (teaming structure, governance, milestone quality, risk/dependency management).

Preferred Differentiators (nice-to-have):

• Direct experience with AI for telecom (e.g., RIC applications, network optimization, anomaly detection, intrusion detection in RAN/core)
• Program or project management experience within telecommunications that gives the reviewer a background in management, financial performance, and/or other topics concerning project success., * Bachelor's degree
• 10+ years of professional experience
• US citizenship and the ability to pass public trust clearance or suitability

Don't think you have everything for this role but are still very interested? Please don't hold back from applying because you may not have it all. You can learn and grow with us. We're looking for someone who is coachable, unflappable in navigating challenges, resourceful in learning new skills, innovative in challenging the status quo, excellent in writing, analytical in thinking, skilled in prioritization, and a rapport builder with clients and colleagues.

Pulled from the full job description

• 401(k) 4% Match
• Paid parental leave
• Parental leave
• 401(k) matching
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance

Corner Alliance is a dynamic, growing consulting firm that devotes itself to providing an enriching employee experience while working in meaningful ways to create results for the government. We are currently seeking Merit Reviewers to join our team and fully embrace our commitment to deliver, grow and thrive., Corner Alliance offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package for full-time employees including 401k matching (4%), PTO (3 weeks to start, 4 weeks (2-5 years) and 5 weeks (5 years+)), health, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, FSA accounts, 4 weeks of paid parental leave, 11 paid holidays (including your birthday off), fitness & cell phone reimbursements, monthly all hands update meetings, annual in-person all hands team building day and evening out, regular check-ins for professional growth goals, semi-monthly one on one performance manager meetings, a social team that coordinates monthly events, use of technology like Slack to keep us connected and collaborative, and overall, a company culture dedicated to a highly engaged team.