Full-Time
Test Engineer
Elve
11-50 employees
Manufactures high-efficiency mmWave power amplifiers
Compensation Overview
$85k - $125k/yr
Davis, CA, USA
In Person
Bachelor's, Associate's
 QA & Testing (1) |
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- Familiarity with testing electronic devices, preferably including microwave devices or radio-frequency amplifiers.
- Familiarity with electronic test equipment and high-voltage power supplies, including high-voltage safety practices.
- Familiarity with oscilloscopes, multimeters, and other electrical test equipment.
- Ability to read and interpret test procedures and assembly drawings.
- Hands-on experience building devices of any kind.
- Bachelor's engineering degree or an associate's degree in a technical field with equivalent work experience.
- One to five years of professional engineering experience.
- Basic hands-on tools experience.
- Ability to lift 50 pounds.
- Perform product tuning, testing, and troubleshooting of radio-frequency microwave devices.
- Measure S-parameters of passive and active devices.
- Measure gain and power-transfer information on amplifiers and assess stability.
- Perform radio-frequency measurements on amplifiers and passive components.
- Operate high-voltage test equipment up to 15 kilovolts.
- Create and document test procedures and automate them using Python.
- Design, develop, and deploy test and quality infrastructure and systems.
- Use oscilloscopes, multimeters, signal generators, diode detectors, power meters, vector network analyzers, and spectrum analyzers.
- Work with waveguide and waveguide couplers, coaxial cables, and high-voltage power supplies.
- Experience using a network analyzer and other radio-frequency test equipment and accessories.
- Experience with radio-frequency amplifiers or waveguide hardware.
- Experience with ultra-high-vacuum systems.
- Coding experience, particularly Python for automation and data processing or analysis, ideally with hardware communication.
- Knowledge of environmental test processes and equipment.
- Experience with high voltage.
- J-STD-001 training.
Elve makes high-efficiency, lightweight mmWave power amplifiers (TWTAs) for satellite links and long-distance ground connections. The amplifiers use traveling-wave tubes and nanocomposite emitters to achieve high electron emission at lower temperatures, enabling longer device life and better performance across Ka-, Q-, V-, and E-bands. Manufacturing combines advanced materials, additive manufacturing, and automated production to enable cost-effective, high-volume vacuum-electronic devices and a direct-to-consumer model for telecoms, satellite, defense, and imaging markets. The company's goal is to scale production to about 2,000 amplifiers per year and expand into space connectivity and defense applications.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
Series A
Total Funding
$15M
Headquarters
Davis, California
Founded
2020
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 2026 TRL-8 qualification opens pLEO and tactical satellite procurement conversations.
- June 2026 MACOM collaboration expands Elve’s reach into satellite and defense channels.
- February 2024 Series A and AFRL contract funded manufacturing scale-up in Davis.
What critics are saying
- Elve still relies on Space Force SBIR funding; commercial demand remains unproven.
- MACOM and Nokia partnerships validate technology, not volume orders or recurring revenue.
- If the in-orbit TRL-9 demo slips past 2026, credibility and financing weaken fast.
What makes Elve unique
- Elve mass-manufactures mmWave TWTAs, replacing hand-built vacuum electronics with automated production.
- August 19, 2026 TRL-8 qualification validated Elve’s 100W Space TWTA for flight hardware.
- Elve’s E-band Nokia demo showed 10 Gbps with over tenfold transmit power.
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Benefits
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Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -2%1 year growth
↑ 0%2 year growth
↑ 4%Elve achieves TRL-8 space qualification for 100 W mmWave Space TWTA platform. August 19, 2026 On August 19, 2026, Davis, California-based high-power amplifier manufacturer Elve announced that its 100 W millimeter-wave (mmWave) Space Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier (TWTA) platform achieved Technology Readiness Level 8 (TRL-8) space qualification. Executed under a U.S. Space Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract, the environmental and thermal-vacuum testing validates the payload hardware against NASA and U.S. Space Force flight standards. Platform architecture and technical specifications. Elve's 100 W mmWave TWTA family uses specialized fabrication techniques to manufacture high-power RF amplifiers designed to operate across high-frequency bands. The platform line encompasses space-qualified, military-qualified, and ground-based hardware variants engineered to support high-throughput satellite communications, high-resolution radar, and electronic warfare applications. Key platform parameters verified during TRL-8 qualification include: * RF Power Output: Continuous 100-Watt power generation across mmWave operating frequencies. * Environmental Testing: Verification under simulated vacuum, thermal cycling, acoustic, and vibrational launch profiles compliant with NASA-STD-7001 and military flight specifications. * Variant Integration: Scalable hardware configurations supporting proliferated low Earth orbit (pLEO) satellite buses and tactical ground terminals. Contract context an d spectrum acceleration. The qualification milestone addresses growing RF power requirements as satellite communications networks move into higher frequencies to bypass lower-band orbital spectrum congestion. Elve's development pipeline is supported by strategic investment from In-Q-Tel (IQT), the non-profit strategic investor for the U.S. national security community. "Reaching this operational benchmark represents a pivotal moment for Elve and our stakeholders," said Jennifer Salmon, Chief Product Officer at Elve. "The qualification has validated our hardware for the harshest environments, making mmWave power accessible at scale for modern space architectures. Moving to the final orbital demonstration is a step we are eager to take." "This space qualification readiness milestone positions Elve's products for missions critical to the rapid, proliferated deployments required in space," added Abi Sivananthan, Vice President of Technology at In-Q-Tel. Next steps to orbital demonstration. With TRL-8 qualification finalized, Elve is advancing its 100 W mmWave Space TWTA platform toward an in-orbit flight demonstration to achieve TRL-9 operational status. The company is scaling production capacity at its Davis, California facility to supply qualified hardware for upcoming defense and commercial small-satellite constellations.
MACOM Technology Solutions and Elve will demonstrate integrated V-Band linearised travelling wave tube amplifier technology at the International Microwave Symposium in Boston from 9-11 June 2026. The demonstration will combine MACOM's analogue predistortion linearisation technology with Elve's TWTA platform to improve linear power performance and efficiency in high-frequency systems. The collaboration aims to showcase enhanced system efficiency and performance for satellite communications and defence applications across ground and space-based platforms. The integration offers improved usable output power and more efficient operation at millimetre-wave frequencies. Founded in 2020, Davis, California-based Elve specialises in manufacturing millimetre-wave power amplifiers. MACOM, headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, designs and manufactures semiconductor products for telecommunications, industrial, defence and data centre applications.
Elve and Nokia have successfully demonstrated the first E-band point-to-point wireless transmission using Elve's Vermillion TWTA technology with Nokia Wavence UBT-m radios. The test achieved over ten times the transmit power of current mmWave backhaul radios whilst maintaining 10 Gbps data rates. The proof of concept enables exploration of wireless point-to-point solutions supporting high data rates over longer distances. The technology could revolutionise connectivity in remote areas and enable high-density 6G backhaul, with rapid deployment capabilities for emergencies and natural disasters. The collaboration between Elve, which develops high-power mmWave amplification technologies, and Nokia's Microwave Business Group aims to advance both E-band and D-band radio solutions for wireless transport capabilities.
Elve demonstrates first e-band point-to-point wireless transmission using A TWTA for Cellular Backhaul. San Francisco, CA (BUSINESS WIRE) - Today, Elve announced the successful demonstration of a full-duplex, bi-directional wireless radio transmission at E-band using Elve's Vermillion TWTA technology with Nokia Wavence UBT-m point-to-point radios. This marks a first in the history of the telecommunications industry. The initial transmission test results show more than ten times the transmit power of the most powerful mmWave backhaul radios on the market today, while maintaining a data rate of 10 Gbps. This proof of concept paves the way for Elve and Nokia to jointly explore technological advancements in wireless point-to-point solutions, with the potential to revolutionize critical services connectivity, supporting high data rates over longer distances. High-power microwave and mmWave radio links provide an ideal solution to bring low-latency, cost-efficient, and reliable high-data-rate connectivity to remote areas, while also enabling high-density, high-performance 6G backhaul. Microwave links can be deployed rapidly in case of emergencies and natural disasters, bringing instant cellular connectivity to virtually any location. "Elve was built to unlock access to mmWave power at scale, enabling higher data rates wirelessly for space and terrestrial applications," said Diana Gamzina, Founder and CEO of Elve. "The team at Elve is proud of this joint, first-ever technology demonstration achieved with Nokia, one of the leading visionary cellular equipment providers." About Elve Elve develops high-power mmWave amplification technologies designed for scalable manufacturing and high-efficiency RF systems. The company's TWTAs support applications including satellite communications, sensing, and advanced RF infrastructure across frequencies from Ka-band through W-band. Elvespeed.com (C) 2026 Business Wire, Inc Join your peers You may also like... * Sivers Semiconductors And MaxLinear Partner To Develop Point-To-Point Radio Solution MaxLinear, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXL), and Sivers Wireless, a subsidiary of Sivers Semiconductor AB, announced today the joint development of a V-Band RF/Modem solution that enables disruptive unlicensed... * Filtronic Launches New Generation E-Band Transceiver Module Filtronic plc, the designer and manufacturer of RF, microwave, and mmWave products for the wireless telecoms, mission-critical communications and defence applications markets, today announced the... * MTT-S 2009: Endwave Launches High Volume, Advanced e-band TX/RX Pair Endwave Corporation, a leading provider of high-frequency RF devices and integrated subsystems, has announced that their advanced E-band TX/RX pair is now available in high volumes. * BridgeWave Announces Flex4G-5000 Ultra-High Capacity Radio Systems BridgeWave Communications, a market leader in wireless backhaul systems, today announced the Flex4G-5000 80GHz ANSI and ETSI millimeter wave radio systems. * IDT Enters mmWave Market With The Introduction Of Industry's Highest Performance Integrated Modem Solutions Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT) recently introduced its next-generation 10Gbps-class millimeter wave (mmWave) modem for wireless infrastructure carrier class deployments in both access and... * The Advantages Of Millimeter Wave Transmission Systems Over Fiber Optics * M/A-COM Technology Solutions Announces Two New Power Amplifiers For 13 And 15 GHz Point-To-Point Applications * Endwave Announces E-Band Tx/Rx Modules For Multi-Gigabit Data Transmission * Cellular Backhaul Drives Point-To-Point Radio Market * Cellular Backhaul Point-To-Point Radio Market Will Peak In 2007 * Boosting Coverage And Capacity: The Future Of mmWave Fixed Wireless Access * Broadcom Announces Industry's First 60GHz Wireless Mesh Solution For Wireless Infrastructure
Additionally, Elve raised $15M in Series A funding, enabling the company to open a commercial manufacturing facility.