Senior System Test Engineer

The world still has coverage blind spots. You could help eliminate them at Skylo.

Skylo has pioneered a standards-based approach to satellite connectivity. We connect smartphones and IoT devices directly to satellites. No special hardware, no entirely new networks. Just billions of existing devices, suddenly reachable anywhere on Earth. We're not building toward this future. We're already in it.

Our direct-to-device service is live on millions of activated devices across five continents, covering more than 72 million square kilometers, in partnership with leading satellite operators, mobile network operators, Tier-1 chipset makers, and OEMs worldwide. And we're just getting started.

At the heart of it all is Skylo's commercial NTN vRAN: a 3GPP standards-based, cloud-native platform that seamlessly bridges terrestrial and satellite networks. It's the infrastructure that makes true anywhere, anytime connectivity possible.

When you join Skylo, you'll work at the intersection of three markets reshaping how the world stays connected: mass-market consumer devices, automotive, and industrial IoT. Enabling people outdoors and critical workflows in the world's most remote places.

This is a rare chance to work on technology that matters, at a company that's already proving it works

This role is located Mountain View, CA where we are onsite 3 days a week in office.

Summary Of How You Will Impact Skylo

We are seeking a highly skilled System Test Engineer to design and execute quality assurance strategies for Skylo’s end-to-end satellite Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN). This role will focus on ensuring system reliability, performance, and compliance with 3GPP standards across device, radio access, and core network layers. The engineer will be responsible for test planning, execution, and analysis to validate network features, field deployments, and customer-facing services.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive test plans to validate Skylo’s NTN system functionality, scalability, and performance - from understanding requirements, to defining test plans to execution to automation
• Collaborate with system architects, software developers, and network engineers to define test strategies for new features and releases.
• Conduct integration, interoperability, and regression testing across device, RAN, core network, and satellite segments.
• Perform lab-based and field-based testing to validate performance under real-world conditions.
• Analyze and debug complex system issues, identifying root causes across hardware, software, and network layers.
• Define KPIs, collect telemetry, and assess observability tools for ongoing system validation.
• Document test results, provide clear feedback to development teams, and drive resolution of issues.
• Actively participate in test automation, enhancing test coverage for different test categories
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to best practices in system validation methodologies and processes.

Required Experience

• Proven track record in system test or validation engineering or acceptance testing for large-scale, distributed, or telecommunications systems.
• Strong understanding of 3GPP cellular protocols (LTE/5G/NBIOT-NTN), with a strong emphasis on RAN and Core Network components.
• Strong understanding of QA processes - from defining acceptance criteria to requirements to test suites
• Hands-on experience with system integration, performance benchmarking, and end-to-end validation.
• Hands-on experience with load testing, chaos testing, fault injection, efficiency testing
• Hands-on experience with protocol validation, device testing (using AT commands and otherwise), UE emulators
• Familiarity with RESTful APIs for testing using tools such as Postman, along with gRPC APIs
• Ability to script and/or program in either Bash, Python, Go, Ruby on a Unix/Linux or equivalent program and to execute automation jobs using Jenkins
• Strong troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, execution-driven environment with minimal oversight.
• Excellent communication skills for cross-functional collaboration.
• Every role at Skylo uses AI tools daily to amplify output. We expect active habits using AI tools and a track record of folding new ones into your workflow quickly

Nice to have

• Experience with satellite or NTN systems, including LEO/MEO/GEO connectivity.
• Familiarity with RF testing methodologies, lab equipment, and field measurement tools.
• Exposure to cloud-based infrastructure and virtualized test environments.
• Advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, Computer Science, or related discipline.
• Hands-on experience using JIRA & Confluence
• Experience with designing and building test automation frameworks using Robot Framework and Python
• Experience leading system validation projects or mentoring junior engineers.

Additional information

The compensation range for this position is: $125,000 - $135,000 plus equity. This range reflects the low and high end of the range Skylo reasonably and generally expects to pay the hired candidate in this role.

EEO Statement

Skylo is an equal-opportunity employer and we celebrate diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, parent or caregiver status, political affiliation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. Please let us know if you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability.