Radio Frequency Test Engineer

CleanTech Talent; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

CleanTech Talent is partnering with a Bristol-based engineering business to hire an RF Test Engineer. The role sits in a hands-on lab, bridging development and validation, with real hardware to bring up and verify against performance requirements.

You will design test strategies, execute RF measurements, automate tests in Python, and contribute to early-stage platform bring-up. The position is permanent with a Bristol hybrid model and SC clearance eligibility.

Qualifications

• Hands-on RF testing, validation, or characterisation experience.
• Experience using RF lab equipment: spectrum analysers, VNAs, signal generators, oscilloscopes.
• Experience in test automation or equipment control coding, preferably Python.
• Solid understanding of RF metrics: noise figure, gain, dynamic range, bandwidth.
• A methodical approach to debugging across hardware and software domains.

Responsibilities

• Build test approaches to validate RF performance across key metrics.
• Run RF tests with spectrum analysers, VNAs, signal generators, and oscilloscopes.
• Automate tests and equipment control, typically in Python.
• Support bring-up and early-stage testing of new RF platforms and feed findings back to design.
• Diagnose performance issues across analogue, mixed-signal, and digital domains.
• Work with QA and product teams to develop structured, repeatable test procedures.
• Maintain and improve lab setups and test infrastructure.

Skills

RF testing

Python automation

Lab instrumentation

Debugging

Cross-functional work

Tools

Spectrum analyser

Vector Network Analyzer

Signal generator

Oscilloscope

SCPI scripting

Job description

Bristol | Hybrid (3 days on site) | Permanent

£60,000 DOE | SC Clearance Eligibility Required

We're partnering with a fast-growing, Bristol-based engineering business working at the sharp end of defence, national security, and critical national infrastructure. They design sensing and communication systems built to perform in demanding, real-world conditions, and they're scaling their RF test and evaluation capability to match.

We're hiring an RF Test Engineer to help prove those systems out, from first hardware bring-up through to structured product validation.

The role - RF Test Engineer

This is a hands-on lab role that sits between development and validation. You'll get real hardware in front of you, work out how it behaves, and build the test approaches that show whether it's meeting its performance requirements. Some of that is a quick measurement to answer a single question. Some of it is a full, repeatable test suite that has to stay reliable across product releases.

A lot of the value is in the thinking before the testing: understanding what a system is trying to do, then working out the right way to prove it, often before requirements are fully locked down.

What you'll be doing

• Building test approaches to validate RF performance across sensitivity, dynamic range, noise figure, and bandwidth
• Running RF tests using spectrum analysers, VNAs, signal generators, and oscilloscopes
• Automating tests and equipment control, typically in Python, to keep results repeatable
• Supporting bring-up and early-stage testing of new RF platforms and feeding findings back to design
• Diagnosing performance issues across analogue, mixed-signal, and digital domains
• Working with QA and product teams to develop structured, repeatable test procedures
• Maintaining and improving lab setups and test infrastructure

What we're looking for

• Hands‑on experience testing, validating, or characterising RF systems
• Practical use of RF lab equipment (spectrum analysers, VNAs, signal generators, oscilloscopes)
• Test automation and equipment control coding, typically in Python
• Solid grasp of RF performance metrics: noise figure, gain, dynamic range, sensitivity, bandwidth
• A methodical, investigative approach to debugging
• Comfort working across hardware, software, RF, and product disciplines

Nice to have

• SDR or SDR-based platform testing
• Lab automation via SCPI or instrument APIs
• Hardware‑in‑the‑loop or automated regression setups
• Signal chain and cascade analysis
• Defence, aerospace, or secure comms background

The practicalities

• Bristol HQ, hybrid, minimum 3 days on site
• Right to work in the UK, 5 years UK residency, and eligibility for SC clearance (existing clearance not required)
• Permanent, competitive salary dependent on experience