Test Engineer - Satellite Hardware

About Lynk

Lynk is a space communications venture with a novel idea for a constellation of small satellites dedicated to telecommunications services. The company is looking for a tinkerer who can support the venture’s efforts to build out and test the key technologies related to the firm’s space and ground payloads. If you love tinkering with a Raspberry Pi or Arduino for home projects and want to work in reliability, data collection, data analysis, troubleshooting, and working with single-board computers, FPGAs, GPUs, CPUs, SoCs, SDRs, and Antennas then you should help Lynk build the most novel communications system the world has ever seen.

Job Summary

As a Hardware Test Engineer at Lynk, you will wear many hats in the world of electronics and RF hardware and software. The immediate role of the Hardware Test Engineer will be to support testing of the payload hardware in the lab environment. While playing with all this hardware on a bench, you’ll probably need to pick up a soldering gun, assemble circuits on a breadboard, and use an oscilloscope, vector network analyzer, and spectrum analyzer.

Core Responsibilities

• Integrate space and lab hardware electronics and design test beds (fixtures, procedures, etc.) for operational verification of technologies (hardware and software).

• Design, develop, specify, and maintain hardware and software for Electronic Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) to be used to support spacecraft payload verification (particularly before, during, and after functional and environmental testing).

• Bench-level work with electronics and bit-level analysis to debug and troubleshoot issues that arise during testing (including functional and environmental testing).

• Working alongside engineers and technicians, Inform the design, development, and optimization of the company’s operational testing procedures/policies for our Production and R&D campaign for our space technology.

• Automate testing and data collection tools to ensure testing can be done reliably and repeatedly

Basic Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree (or better) in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or similar degrees

• Hands-on experience with single-board computers, microcontrollers, FPGAs, GPUs, CPUs, SoCs, software-defined radios, and/or antennas.

• Ability to generate schematics and read and understand datasheets for integrated circuits.

• Working knowledge of electronic components and test equipment.

• Experience using Linux-based systems.

• Experience with standard RF lab equipment is required: Oscilloscopes, Spectrum/Vector Network Analyzer, Multimeter, etc.

• Programming Proficiency in one or more programming languages (e.g. C++, C, Python, MATLAB, etc.)

• Must have good communication skills and be able to work independently as well as in a team environment.

Preferred Qualifications, Testing Experience in areas such as

• EMI testing (RE 102, RS103)

• Vibration Testing (Experience with GEVs)

• Familiarity with ethernet, serial and/or CAN communication protocols

• Recent participation in projects developing space payload hardware and software (preferably communications systems).

ITAR Requirements:

To comply with U.S. Government export control regulations (ITAR), applicants must be one of the following: (i) a U.S. citizen or national, (ii) a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) a refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) an asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158. Individuals who do not meet these criteria must be eligible to obtain the necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. For more information, please refer to the ITAR guidelines.

Learn about ITAR here.

Job Location

Chantilly, VA