Senior Manager, RF System Integration and Test, Amazon Leo

Amazon Leo is building a satellite constellation delivering Ka-band broadband and NTN Direct to Device connectivity to standard 3GPP handsets. Nothing launches until its radio performance is proven, and nothing stays healthy in orbit without the means to watch it. Both are the responsibility of RF System Integration and Test team in Amazon Leo.

We are looking for a senior engineering leader to own this function. You will lead an organization of managers and engineers accountable for RF and RAN-level verification across multiple generations of Ka-band broadband and the NTN Direct to Device payload - product lines at different stages of maturity, from production through integration to definition. You will also own the purpose-built test and monitoring systems that make that verification possible.

As a growing team this is a build-the-organization role as much as a run-the-organization role. The function is scaling substantially against a production ramp and a Direct to Device launch, across multiple sites. You will set the multi-year verification strategy, own the investment case for it, and be accountable for the verified performance data that gates every generation"s launch readiness.

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.

Key job responsibilities

Verification strategy across product lines

• Own the multi-year RF and RAN-level verification strategy spanning multiple generations of proprietary Ka-band broadband and 3GPP NTN Direct to Device
• Define what constitutes sufficient evidence of radio performance for launch readiness, and hold that line under based on lab and outdoor tests
• Own end-to-end RF verification of each new generation as hardware and software arrive, including line-replaceable unit acceptance testing that de-risks program timelines
• For Ka-band: own performance and conformance verification of customer terminal and gateway links, production and general-availability readiness, throughput and capacity investigation, over-the-air debug and field validation
• For NTN Direct to Device: own RF conformance of the payload, radio resource management verification, radio-access-to-core end-to-end testing, user equipment acceptance testing, and the progression from laboratory into over-the-air trials
• Direct test infrastructure definition for future capability - new spectrum bands, and integrated communication and sensing

RF and RAN-level system verification

• Own RF characterization across both product lines: EIRP, beam pattern and pointing accuracy, beam steering, array calibration, spectral conformance, and transmit and receive array performance
• Own RAN-level and radio resource management verification: scheduling, beam hopping, admission control, power control, link adaptation, and behavior under load and across capacity modes
• Own verification of the RAN system-level use cases that determine whether the service actually works, including initial network entry, handover and mobility, radio link monitoring and recovery, session continuity, and GNSS-less operation
• Ensure these campaigns are executed across both the indoor laboratory and the mobile test laboratory, so that behavior proven in a controlled environment is confirmed under real-world motion, geometry and propagation

Test and monitoring systems as a product portfolio

• Own the roadmap, investment case and delivery of a portfolio of purpose-built test and monitoring systems, developed in house as custom hardware and software rather than assembled from commercial instrumentation
• Own the ground-based monitoring network that provides automated, real-time visibility of phased array transmit and receive health and signal quality on live payloads. This is the only mechanism by which payload RF performance can be observed in production, and scaling it from a limited set of ground stations toward constellation-wide coverage is a strategic deliverable, not a tooling task
• Own the mobile test laboratory development and opeation - vehicle-based platforms that take RF and RAN-level verification into the field
• Own flight-representative channel-emulation test venues, which serve as reference environments for payload qualification across the organisation
• Decide build versus buy across the portfolio, and own the consequences of those decisions

Organizational leadership

• Lead and develop a team of engineering managers, and extend the organizational structure as the scope scales
• Own hiring strategy for a specialized and competitive talent pool spanning RF, antenna, protocol and test-systems engineering and software / automation development
• Lead a multi-site organization, including laboratory build-out and operational readiness across facilities
• Develop senior technical and managerial talent, and build bench strength ahead of need

Planning and investment

• Own annual and multi-year planning for the function: headcount, operating expense, and capital
• Own the investment case for test infrastructure and laboratory build-out, and defend it in planning forums
• Manage significant test capital and vendor commitments, including silicon and protocol stack partners

Cross-organization leadership

• Partner with systems and PHY/MAC design teams on what must be verified and how, with payload development on designing for testability, and with the Payload Integration and Test (PIT) team for payload qualification and flight validation organization whose gates consume your evidence
• Represent verification status, risk and readiness to program and executive leadership
• Lead technical engagement with silicon, protocol stack and test equipment partners at commitment level

About the team

Communication Systems is the systems engineering and technology organisation responsible for designing, simulating, integrating and verifying satellite communications across every generation of Amazon Leo - Ka-band broadband and NTN Direct to Device. The team owns the signal chain from PHY and MAC design through RF verification, and produces the analytical and verification foundation the business depends on for capacity planning, coverage forecasting and network investment decisions. RF System Integration and Test is the function that turns design intent into proven performance.