Lead RF Test Engineer

Kratos Space Training & Cyber; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Kratos Space Training & Cyber is seeking a Lead RF Test Engineer in Colorado Springs. This role is focused on enhancing RF testing capabilities within Production Engineering, providing technical guidance, and leading troubleshooting efforts.

The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of hands-on RF test experience, understand RF performance metrics, and mentor junior engineers in resolving RF production issues. A competitive salary range of $110,000 to $160,000 is offered based on experience.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on RF test experience.
• Strong understanding of RF measurements.
• Experience scripting or programming test equipment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the RF technical lead for Production Engineering.
• Lead troubleshooting for RF production issues.
• Improve first-pass yield and reduce testing time.

Skills

RF test fundamentals

Troubleshooting RF failures

Programming test equipment

Mentoring engineers

Communication skills

Tools

Spectrum analyzers

Vector network analyzers

Oscilloscopes

Python

LabVIEW

TestStand

Job description

Readiness Delivered. Kratos builds high-performance hardware used in ground systems and space communications. Our products help communicate with satellites, spacecraft, and other mission-critical platforms. Weire hiring a Lead RF Test Engineer to serve as the RF technical lead within Production Engineering. This person will support production test for RF, modem, and wideband digitizer products including OpenSpace Edge 6500R, SpectralNet Wideband, SpectralNet Narrowband, and project-specific hardware.

This is primarily a technical coaching and strategy role for RF production test, with hands‑on troubleshooting when needed for high‑risk or high‑impact issues. The primary mission is to raise the RF technical capability of Production Engineering, not become the owner of every RF test issue. Youill help set troubleshooting direction, recommend changes to RF test methods, equipment, fixtures, procedures, automation, and test strategy, and work with the team to turn those changes into repeatable production practice.

This role reports to the Senior Production Engineering Manager and works with a Production Engineering team of roughly 10 people, along with technicians, design engineers, quality engineers, program teams, and production leadership.

This role is also intended to build technical leadership depth within Production Engineering. For the right person, it may grow into broader production engineering ownership, cross‑functional execution, team development, and people leadership over time.

The right person knows RF test equipment, understands RF performance metrics, can script or automate test equipment, and has the maturity to lead others through messy production problems when schedule pressure is real.

Success in this role means production RF issues are solved faster, first‑pass yield improves, troubleshooting time decreases, and repeat failures are driven to root cause instead of worked around. Over time, junior engineers and technicians should have stronger RF test guidance, new products enter production with robust test strategy, and the production team become more capable, more confident, and less dependent on ad hoc troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the RF technical lead for Production Engineering, providing technical direction and guidance to junior engineers, technicians, and cross‑functional teams.
• Lead the troubleshooting approach for RF production issues, coaching engineers and technicians through diagnosis, containment, root cause, and corrective action.
• Improve first‑pass yield, reduce repeat failures, and decrease troubleshooting time by building stronger RF troubleshooting discipline and root‑cause follow‑through across the team.
• Support production test for RF, modem, and wideband digitizer hardware using equipment such as spectrum analyzers, VNAs, signal generators, power meters, and oscilloscopes.
• Develop, maintain, and improve automated and legacy test systems using scripting or tools such as Python, LabVIEW, or TestStand.
• Partner with Design Engineering on test strategy, test coverage, NPI readiness, and design‑for‑test improvements so production test needs are addressed earlier in the product lifecycle.
• Recommend, review, and improve RF test methods, equipment, fixtures, procedures, automation, and documentation for clarity, repeatability, technical accuracy, and long‑term test capability.
• Escalate and drive recurring technical issues toward root cause when test strategy, product design, documentation, fixtures, or equipment are creating production failures.
• Escalate production RF risks with clear data, recommended actions, and ownership so schedule, quality, and program tradeoffs can be resolved by the right decision makers.
• Help establish operating discipline around production RF issues, including clear ownership, escalation, root cause follow‑through, and communication across Engineering, Production, Quality, Supply Chain, and Program Management.

Required Experience

• U.S. Citizenship.
• 5+ years of hands‑on RF test experience.
• Strong understanding of RF test fundamentals and RF measurements, with hands‑on experience using equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector network analyzers, signal generators, power meters, and oscilloscopes.
• Experience troubleshooting RF failures in a lab or production environment.
• Experience scripting or programming test equipment using Python or similar tools.
• Ability to mentor engineers and technicians.
• Ability to work mostly onsite due to lab and production hardware.
• Strong judgment under production schedule pressure, with a practical problem‑solving mindset and willingness to work close to production hardware.
• Ability to communicate clearly across technical and non‑technical groups when production, quality, or schedule risk is present.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with one or more of the following is helpful: RF systems operating roughly from 70 MHz to 3 GHz, including L‑band, S‑band, modems, receivers, downconverters, or wideband digitizers.
• RF performance metrics such as phase noise, noise figure, SFDR, spurious performance, TOI/IP3, gain flatness, sensitivity, or EVM.
• Automated production test systems.
• Python, LabVIEW, TestStand, Linux, Git, Bitbucket, Jira, or similar tools.
• NPI, design‑for‑test reviews, aerospace, defense, satellite communications, or ground systems.
• Leading cross‑functional technical issues involving Production, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, or Program Management.
• Experience mentoring engineers or technicians, leading technical reviews, or helping establish team‑level engineering discipline.

Salary

Competitive salary based on experience and education. Salary Range: $110,000–$160,000.

The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, and skills.