Senior RF Test Engineer

Astranis • San Francisco

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts.

Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.Astranis has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Senior RF Test Engineer

The payload team is responsible for the development of RF and mixed signal hardware. This includes but is not limited to: frequency converters, RF amplifiers, oscillators, software defined radios, and data converters. In this role you will work with hardware designers and other payload engineers to create test systems from the ground up to validate designs and qualify them for space environments. Test engineers will have the opportunity to work on systems from individual PCBs all the way up to integrated end-to-end payloads. Experienced candidates will have the opportunity to build a team and scale the test infrastructure of the payload team to increase volume and reduce test times.

Role

Develop test solutions for automated testing of RF and mixed signal hardware: frequency converters, RF amplifiers, oscillators, software defined radios, data converters, etc.
Characterize and calibrate the performance of Astranis radio subsystems (gain, nonlinearity measurements such as P1dB and IP3, phase noise, frequency drift over temperature, emissions compliance, EVM, BER, etc)
Develop and manage test plans, coordinating with hardware engineers to ensure testing validates design requirements
Develop and utilize Python libraries for interfacing with test instruments, units under test, and results processing
Validate and qualify hardware designs for space environments, interpreting results and providing feedback to the hardware designers
Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in EE, CS (or equivalent background knowledge)
6+ years of relevant experience
Experience with object oriented programming in Python (or other high-level scripting languages)
Experience taking measurements on RF and mixed signal devices with standard test equipment (network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, etc)
2+ years of experience testing communications or RF systems
Experience with test automation
Experience designing PCBs using Altium or similar

Bonus

Strong grasp of digital communications concepts
Experience with FPGAs or software defined radios (SDR)
Familiarity with test and qualification of electronics for space

What we offer:

All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.

Base pay is a single component of Astranis's total rewards package, which may also include equity in the form of incentive stock options, high quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance benefits, flexible PTO, 401(K) retirement, and free on-site catered meals.

Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.

Base Salary

$150,000—$225,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and our products are meant to connect the world and everyone in it, regardless of gender, race, creed, or any other distinction. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we encourage all people to join our team and bring their unique perspective to help make us stronger.

Apply on company site →