Sr. RF Comms Systems Engineer, Amazon Leo

Amazon; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 186,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Leo seeks a Sr. RF Comms Systems Engineer to define high-throughput wireless solutions for satellite links. You will lead bring-up, integration, and testing of PHY/MAC and beamforming systems in a lab environment, coordinating across RF, FPGA and software teams.

You'll architect 3GPP-based test plans, verify conformance, and optimize link budgets while collaborating with vendors and internal groups to deliver state-of-the-art satellite connectivity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field; 7+ years in L1/L2 or beamforming.
• Experience with RF lab equipment, bring-up, test and integration activities.
• Experience with verification and integration on FPGA.
• Masters/PhD preferred in wireless systems or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead bring-up, integration, and debugging of advanced PHY/MAC and beamforming radio systems for satellite comms.
• Architect and execute 3GPP-based testing for satellite-ground networks and define equipment requirements for conformance testing.
• Collaborate across PHY, RF, digital beamforming, MAC, and firmware teams to ensure seamless integration and top performance.
• Characterize performance, analyze data, identify root causes, and drive high-quality releases.
• Develop test procedures with Linux, Python, and Bash; work with lab equipment to verify time/frequency requirements.
• Trade link budgets and verify RF/IF configurations for payloads; work with vendors and FPGA verification teams.

Skills

3GPP conformance

OFDM & MIMO

Beamforming

RF lab equipment

FPGA verification

Python scripting

MATLAB

C/C++

Git

Linux scripting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Masters/PhD in wireless or related field

Tools

Channel emulator

Spectrum analyzers

Signal generators

Oscilloscope

Wireshark

FPGA tooling (Vivado)

Linux

Job description

Description

Amazon Leo is an initiative to launch a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world.

As a Sr. RF Comms Systems Engineer, you will work with a wide variety of functional groups and will be deeply involved in system integration and test of next generation Amazon Leo Satellites.

The Role:

This is a unique opportunity to define a groundbreaking, high-throughput wireless solution with few legacy constraints meet with 3GPP standards. The team works with customer requirements and wireless implementation teams to bring-up, integration and tuning, and debugging of advanced PHY/MAC and beamforming radio systems for state-of-the-art satellite communication system.

In this role you will:

• As a technical contributor, be at the forefront of bring-up, integration, and debugging of advanced PHY/MAC and beamforming radio systems for state-of-the-art satellite communication system.
• Architect, document, and execute 3GPP based testing for satellite to ground networks. Work with vendors to define equipment requirements to achieve 3GPP conformance testing. Ability to adapt test plans daily based on capabilities of HW/SW delivered by the dev teams.
• Collaborate across disciplines—including PHY algorithms, RF design, digital beamforming and antenna, MAC, and firmware teams - to ensure seamless integration and best-in-class wireless performance.
• Understand Doppler pre and post compensation techniques with CFO/SFO in LEO comms systems and test them in the laboratory environment for 3GPP. Knowing channel emulators is a plus.
• Ability to trade link budget and verify RF line-up for payloads in RF and IF configurations.
• Characterize performance, analyze data, root-cause system-level issues, and ensure high product quality.
• Work with a team and take responsibility for power, clock, RF, air, network debugging in lab.
• Contribute development-test bring up procedures with Linux, Python, bash scripting etc.
• Experience with wireless synchronization and signal generators / spectrum analyzers to verify that time/frequency requirements are being met.
• Experience, knowledge and skills on wireless system design, integration, bring up and debug of wireless PHY and RF systems on SoC platforms.
• Strong understanding of OFDM and MIMO-based wireless systems across both baseband and RF domains, with a solid foundation in related communication theory and signal processing.
• Work in lab environment and stay in front of the setups for debugging with ref equipment
• Work on scripting to change a SW/HW pieces incrementally and understand its effect on payload (via probing RF, IF, clock, channel quality messages) with help of Specan, siggen, scope, frequency counter, attenuators etc
• Work cross-functionally with RF, ASIC, SW, Comsys, Testbed teams and vendors to move forward in testing and integration. Be involved in verification and integration on the FPGA.

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.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field, or experience working in electrical engineering field
• 7+ years professional experience working in L1/L2 or beamforming
• Experience with RF lab equipment, bring-up, test and integration activities
• Experience with verification and integration on FPGA

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters/PhD with emphasis in wireless communication systems
• Proficiency with modeling in MATLAB and/or C/C++; Experience in test automation setup and scripting languages such as Python/Perl/Matlab
• Broad spectrum of knowledge to be able to understand end-to-end network system architecture from wireless RF and physical layer all the way up to application end-point
• Must have 3GPP NTN and ORAN knowledge to address conformance testing
• Experience with leading technical initiatives and key deliverables.
• Must have the ability to work in a small team and drive to go beyond expectations to deliver results
• Should have background in wireless LTE, 5G/6G, RLC, PDCP, RRC and RAN protocols
• Knowledge of IP, UDP, TCP, HTTP protocols and analysis tools such as Wireshark
• Experience with current software development processes and tools including Agile, TDD, BDD, CI, Git
• Implementation experience with wireless synchronization and parameter sensing techniques such as ranging/positioning based on signaling as well as low‑power design expertise
• Ideal candidate has a wireless communication systems or digital signal processing background, a passion for building, integrating and testing real-world carrier‑grade communication systems
• Extensive experience with Lab test equipment such as channel emulator, spectrum analyzers and Signal and network traffic generators

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.

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 .

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