Lead Satellite Test Operations Engineer, Amazon Leo

Socket.dev; Kirkland (WA); On-site; USD 136,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign-on payments

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Amazon Leo is seeking a Lead Satellite Test Operations Engineer to lead the Satellite Test Operations Team across multiple shifts in Leo's full-rate production facility. You will stabilize work content while driving process improvements and ensuring safety and quality in aerospace hardware manufacturing.

You will partner with design engineering, quality, EH&S, and supply chain to meet KPI targets and continuously optimize test throughput, cost, and performance while mentoring a high‑performing

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering and related field.
• 2+ years leading tactical aerospace production lines.
• 2+ years of experience in a test engineering environment.

Responsibilities

• Champion leadership principles to drive ownership and teamwork.
• Create a culture of safety and quality in satellite test operations.
• Establish strong relationships with design engineering, quality, EH&S and supply chain.
• Drive operational excellence using data analytics and Lean methods.
• Manage frontline test support personnel as needed and triage issues.
• Guide the manufacturing team through complex satellite test inputs from multiple disciplines.

Skills

Leadership

Aerospace production

Test engineering

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Tools

Test rigs

Measurement instruments

Job description

Company overview

Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network. Its mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet to customers and communities around the world, and we’ve designed the system with the capacity, flexibility, and performance to serve a wide range of customers, from individual households to schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.

Role overview

As a Lead Satellite Test Operations Engineer within Amazon Leo, you will report directly to the Satellite Manufacturing Test Engineering Manager. You will be a hands-on leader for the Test Operations Engineering team, responsible for delivering results against the Value Stream's KPIs for satellite test and managing the team that tests complex satellite systems at scale. You will work with supervisors, technicians, schedulers, and production coordinators who are directly responsible for production output to deliver results and continuously iterate on production test processes. Safety and product quality are paramount. As Leo's production system scales, your responsibilities will include stabilizing the work content while leading process improvement efforts to increase production output.

Key job responsibilities

• Champion Amazon’s Leadership Principles to drive a culture of ownership, accountability, teamwork, and working hard while having fun.
• Create a culture of safety and quality through active engagement and leadership of the satellite test workforce.
• Establish strong working relationships with design engineering, quality, EH&S, and supply chain teams.
• Drive operational excellence with a combination of data analytics and Lean operations.
• Manage, if necessary, the personnel responsible for frontline test support, triage, and debug
• Use knowledge and experience in understanding, collaborating, and trading complex inputs from multiple other disciplines (Electrical, RF, Thermal, Dynamics, Mechanisms, Materials, Tooling, Assembly, and Test) to guide the manufacturing team through satellite test

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.

A day in the life

The Satellite Test Operations Engineer will serve as a test operations leader across multiple shifts in Leo's full rate production facility. They will lead the Satellite Test Operations Team in identifying production bottlenecks, resolving test blockers, conducting thorough root-cause investigations, and implementing process improvements. The successful candidate has extensive operations experience and a thorough understanding of aerospace/space hardware manufacturing processes. They will own the daily operating rhythm of the satellite test operations team, unblocking and escalating issues with satellite test. This is a fast-paced, intellectually challenging position working with leaders in multiple technology areas. You’ll have relentlessly high standards for yourself and everyone you work with, and you’ll be constantly looking for ways to improve your product’s performance, quality and cost. This is a leadership role for a highly collaborative individual that combines superb technical and analytical capabilities to optimize precision manufacturing procedures.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or a related field
• 2+ years of experience leading tactical execution of aerospace production lines
• 2+ years of experience in a test engineering environment
• Demonstrated ability to work beyond functional lines to influence stakeholders and drive quantifiable improvement in manufacturing performance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience defining KPI's/SLA's used to drive multi-million dollar businesses and reporting to senior leadership
• 3+ years of hardware development, test lab, space/aerospace maintenance or hands-on engineering environment experience

Equal opportunity and inclusion

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

Benefits and compensation

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers 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. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Kirkland - 136,000.00 - 184,000.00 USD annually