Project Kuiper is an initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Its mission is to bring fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world. Project Kuiper will help close the digital divide by delivering fast, affordable broadband to a wide range of customers, including consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations operating in places without reliable connectivity.
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.
As an RF Engineer you will engage with an experienced cross-disciplinary team to develop new, advanced test systems for our Digital Phased Array systems, integrating them with our existing test infrastructure. We have near field spherical scanners, robotic manipulators and advanced RF optics that account for some of the fastest antenna characterization systems in the world, but we need to keep expanding our test coverage and improve accuracy and tighten repeatability. These systems employ RF and mixed signal electronics that allow us to test antennas from 400 MHz to 40 GHz. We need to also expand coverage to V band as well as multiply the test speed and capacity.
Key job responsibilities
Your will leverage your experience in RF electronics to design new acquisition systems, and troubleshoot existing ones looking at the acquired results in both near field and far field, and thus isolate issues relative to RF circuit, test equipment, setup, array calibration and software/RF system. You will exercise pragmatism and write automation code (Python, SCPI, C/C++, Rust) to devise test setups and procedures that are simple, easy to develop and maintain, yet able to perform all requirement verification tasks. You’ll use documentation and communication skills to report test metrics and requirement pass/fail to Antenna designer, Array designers, Software team, and other teams.
Key job responsibilities
Develop our test infrastructure to measure antenna performance metrics of digital phased array systems and customer terminals in near and far field chambers, and automate the tests.
Define test plans and procedures for lab and chamber testing, ensuring the required test coverage to verify requirements and validate models
Develop automation routines to control equipment (ATE) and our custom-made antenna test system to accelerate antenna beam pattern test.
Implement, validate, and optimize lab and chamber test configurations.
Develop required post-processing to analyze test results.
Document and interpret test results, troubleshoot issues, performing root-cause analysis for any test failures.
Communicate status and issues effectively with developers and managers.
Meet with suppliers to select enabling lab technologies.
Shepherd antennas and customer terminals through test campaigns throughout the development lifecycle, from concept to implementation to integration.
About the team
The Kuiper Antenna Test Infrastructure team provides the test systems and techniques to verify Payload, CT and full satellite vehicle hardware, integrates the test automation and connects the dots between Responsible Engineers and their product's test metrics. The team is a pivotal point for a multitude of other teams and orgs, our internal customers. An it's highly multidisciplinary: SysDE, SDE, ME, Metrology, Antenna, FPGA and Lab Ops all converge in the same room.
