RF Cellular & Electrical Engineering Validation Engineer - Autonomous Products

Job Description

Job Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end hardware validation strategy for the TCU: define the test architecture, DV/PV plan, and pass/fail criteria across 4G LTE, 5G NR, Wi-Fi/BT, and GNSS, and own the entry and exit criteria for each program gate

• Define and execute cellular transmitter and receiver parametric validation — EVM, ACLR, spectral flatness, spurious emissions, reference sensitivity, and blocking — across bands, power levels, and temperature corners

• Own OTA parametric validation (TRP/TIS) and multi-antenna MIMO performance, including Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC) and diversity imbalance, and correlate conducted bench results to OTA and on-vehicle data

• Lead validation of GNSS performance and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) satellite-to-cellular capability, including TTFF, acquisition and tracking sensitivity, C/N0, and interference resilience

• Identify platform desensitization, including Maximum Sensitivity Degradation (MSD) from harmonic and intermodulation exceptions during carrier aggregation and concurrent multi-radio operation — isolate the aggressor, whether RF, digital, or supply — then specify and validate the mitigation, from high-attenuation LC notch filtering to shielding and grounding changes

• Validate the electrical platform — high-speed digital interfaces, power distribution networks (PDN), and memory architecture (discrete DRAM/NAND versus MCP) — against automotive thermal, space, and key-off current constraints

• Architect and implement the Python test automation framework: instrument drivers over SCPI/VISA and vendor APIs, hardware abstraction, a reusable test-case library, sequencer, and structured reporting — so a test is written once, runs on any qualified bench, and serves both interactive debug and automated regression from one codebase

• Automate the test setup itself, not just the measurement. Build programmatic control of the bench — RF switch matrices, programmable attenuators, and signal routing so a test selects its own path without recabling; automated path-loss sweeps and per-path calibration files applied across frequency; thermal chambers, OTA positioners, programmable supplies, and electronic loads driven from the test sequence; and DUT provisioning including firmware flashing, modem and SIM configuration, and diagnostic, AT-command, and CAN control. Gate every run on an automated bench self-check — instrument presence and firmware revision, calibration currency, path-loss validity — and capture bench and DUT build identity with the results so a measurement is reproducible months later, on a different bench or at a different site

• Drive hardware readiness for carrier certification (PTCRB, GCF, and operator programs) and global regulatory compliance (FCC, ISED, CE/RED), pre-screening in-house so the lab visit confirms rather than discovers

• Serve as the technical interface across hardware design, firmware, Tier-1 manufacturing partners, and cellular chipset vendors; bridge engineering validation into the factory calibration and test flow, and mentor engineers and technicians on measurement discipline

Job Requirements

• Degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, Telecommunications, or a related field, or equivalent experience

• P3: 5+ years of hands-on RF and EE validation experience, with at least one product taken through certification and volume production. P4: 8+ years, including technical ownership of multiple programs and the ability to set validation architecture independently

• Automotive, mobile handset, IoT, or telecom hardware experience; automotive TCU or telematics strongly preferred

• Strong command of 3GPP physical-layer requirements and RF front-end (RFFE) architectures, together with signal integrity and power integrity fundamentals

• Demonstrated ability to debug across the RF/EE boundary — you have personally chased an issue from an RF symptom to a power or digital root cause, or the reverse

• Hands-on expertise with cellular callboxes and network emulators (Keysight UXM, R&S CMW500/CMX500, Anritsu MT8000A): signaling and non-signaling modes, carrier aggregation and RB/MCS configuration, sensitivity search, throughput and BLER, fading, and VoLTE and NTN scenarios

• Expert use of VNAs (SOLT/TRL/ECal calibration, de-embedding versus port extension), spectrum and signal analyzers (RBW/VBW and detector selection, SEM/OBW/ACLR, EVM, phase noise), oscilloscopes (high-bandwidth probing, power-rail transients, eye diagrams and jitter on DDR, automotive Ethernet, and USB), and power meters (average versus peak sensors, TDD burst measurement, path-loss compensation)

• GNSS simulator experience (Spirent GSS-series, Safran/Orolia, or equivalent) covering multi-constellation scenarios, TTFF cold/warm/hot, tracking sensitivity, and trajectory playback; plus supporting equipment — SMUs for microamp key-off current, load-dump generators, RF shield boxes and switch matrices, and OTA and thermal chambers

• Python (preferred), MATLAB, or LabVIEW for instrument control (SCPI/VISA), automated bench and fixture control, unattended sweep campaigns, and parametric data analysis — with the measurement discipline behind it: calibration traceability, fixture and path-loss characterization, uncertainty budgets, and bench-to-bench and bench-to-EOL correlation

• Clear communication with non-RF stakeholders and the ability to own multiple programs under aggressive schedules. Nice to have: OTA chamber and TRP/TIS methodology; Wi-Fi 6/6E, BT/BLE, UWB, or C-V2X validation; automotive EMC standards (CISPR 25, ISO 11452, ISO 10605); firmware literacy in C, bootloaders, and Linux; and CI-driven hardware test with results published against each build