Sr. RF Test Systems Development Engineer, Avionics Verification and Test, Amazon Leo
About the role
Amazon Leo is Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite network. Our mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet connectivity to customers beyond the reach of existing networks. From individual households to schools, hospitals, businesses, and government agencies, Amazon Leo will serve people and organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.
As an Amazon Leo Satellite Sr. RF Test Systems Development Engineer, you will own the full lifecycle of complex RF test systems for spacecraft avionics and payload sub-systems — from architecture and design through production integration and post-delivery support. You will serve as the Responsible Engineer (RE) for your test set, operating at the intersection of hardware design, test automation, and high-rate manufacturing.
You should be comfortable with a high degree of ambiguity and relish the idea of solving problems that haven't been solved at scale before. You'll have relentlessly high standards for yourself and everyone you work with, and you'll be constantly looking for ways to improve. We want individuals who want to reach beyond what is possible today. Everyone on the team needs to be entrepreneurial, wear many hats, and work in a highly collaborative environment.
Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
Key job responsibilities
- Architect, design, build, and sustain RF test systems for satellite payload and avionics units through production and on-orbit support
- Own test planning end-to-end: decompose verification requirements into testable specifications, develop test procedures, and lead test readiness reviews
- Drive cross-functional alignment with electrical, mechanical, thermal, software, firmware, and manufacturing teams on verification strategy
- Design and deliver test hardware, fixtures, and tooling that optimize throughput, yield, and fault coverage
- Build quantitative models (test coverage, reliability, throughput) to inform design trade studies and process decisions
- Automate and optimize test processes to meet production rate and first-pass yield targets
- Perform root cause analysis on test failures, lead corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement of production test systems
A day in the life
Our time is balanced between critical support/improvement of an existing factory process and designing future systems. This can be hands-on support troubleshooting test systems or working to align teams around future needs, employing engineering best practices and tools. The tasks and daily focus change rapidly, and you will often take on exciting new responsibilities to ensure project success. Expect to address complex problems by diving deep into the data, identifying the scope of the issue, and creating innovative and functional solutions.
About the team
This Interdisciplinary Engineer will be a member of the Avionics Verification & Test team working within the wider Satellite Vehicle Engineering team. This highly collaborative group of engineers has a diverse range of backgrounds and knowledge and works to build scalable and reliable test automation solutions to ensure reliable operation of satellite vehicles in space. The team's responsibilities include process development, test hardware and software development, and test execution supporting our 24/7 satellite manufacturing factory.
Basic qualifications
- Experience in developing functional specifications, design verification plans and functional test procedures
- Experience with RF measurement equipment, including: power meters, spectrum analyzers, vector signal generators, network analyzers, oscilloscopes
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
- 5+ years of experience developing and executing test plans for complex aerospace, automotive, or consumer electronics systems
- 5+ years of experience designing and integrating test systems for hardware/PCBA validation
- 3+ years of scripting or programming experience (Python, MATLAB, C, or LabVIEW)
- Demonstrated ability to work across multiple technical disciplines in a production or manufacturing environment
Preferred qualifications
- Master's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or equivalent
- Experience working with interdisciplinary teams to execute product design from concept to production
- 10+ years of experience with hands-on experience with RF sub-systems, PCBA's, power supplies, IMUs, sensors, or high-speed signal characterization
- Experience in development of test plans and protocols related to established space hardware test standards (GEVS / SMC-S-016)
- Experience bridging technical gaps across engineering disciplines and implementing data-driven process improvements
- Experience with PCB/CCA design, schematic capture, Design for Test (DFT), and Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles, hardware validation, and configuration control
- Experience with software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations
- Experience with test automation frameworks (NI, Python, C/C++, LabVIEW) and software development practices (source control, code reviews, CI/CD)
- Track record of presenting design reviews and delivering final performance data packages to internal and external stakeholders
Pay and benefits
- Base salary range: $137,300.00 - $185,700.00 USD annually (USA, WA, REDMOND)
- Sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs)
- Comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage)
- 401(k) matching
- Paid time off and parental leave