Eng. Simon graduated in 1979 from the Telecommunications Institute in Khartoum, specializing in telephone-network engineering. 

He began his career as a telecom engineer in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, where he served for four years before being transferred to Wau. He was recalled to Gedaref in 1989 to work as a network engineer and later promoted as a supervisor in the Operating Maintenance Center (OMC) now Network Operations Center (NOC) where he oversaw network performance across Sudan and Southern Sudan until 2005.

Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, he returned home on 1 April 2006 to help build South Sudan’s fledgling telecom sector, serving as the network coordinator between the Government of South Sudan and mobile operators in the Ministry of Telecom and Postal Services. 

In 2014 he was seconded with four fellow engineers to establish the National Communication Authority (NCA) and was appointed Director of Planning and Business Development in 2017. 

Among numerous regional and international engagements, Eng. Simon Philip Ali represented South Sudan in the One Network Area initiative and at ITU Telecom Day, championing the country’s rapid telecom growth. 

Notably, he spoke in Sri Lanka in 2012 on the adoption of South Sudan’s country code +211, and he later played a key role in the national numbering plan selecting the 09 mobile prefix instead of the 07 mobile prefixes being used in the region. 

His other achievements include the drafting and translation of the telecommunication act of South Sudan.

In 2024 he was appointed Advisor for Research and Planning, continuing to guide policy and technical development within the NCA.