Field Test and Validation Engineer

Austin Sensing Company•Austin, TX

About The Position

Austin Sensing Company is hiring a Field Test and Validation Engineer to measure how its radar, acoustic, and RF sensing systems perform in real operating conditions. The engineer will design and run tests to establish what products can reliably detect, track, and withstand, then work with engineering teams to resolve identified issues. Most testing takes place at the company's dedicated test site, approximately one hour from its Austin office, with additional work at customer locations and military facilities as needed. The role involves planning controlled experiments, setting up equipment, collecting trustworthy data, and turning results into clear engineering recommendations. The field schedule requires working at the test site 4–7 days per week, including weekends.

Requirements

Experience testing and validating hardware systems in outdoor or operational environments.
Ability to turn product requirements into measurable tests and clear acceptance criteria.
Experience designing controlled experiments and accounting for measurement uncertainty.
Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or a comparable tool for data analysis and test automation.
Hands-on troubleshooting skills across hardware, software, networking, and power systems.
Experience collecting and analyzing synchronized data from multiple devices.
Clear technical writing skills and ability to explain results, limitations, and recommended next steps.
Willingness to work at the test site 4–7 days per week, including weekends, and travel to other test locations as needed.
Comfort setting up and operating equipment outdoors in changing conditions.

Nice To Haves

Experience testing radar, RF, acoustic, counter-UAS, or other sensing systems.
Familiarity with radar performance metrics, signal processing, and target tracking.
Experience using GNSS, RTK, or other positioning systems to establish ground truth.
Experience conducting drone flight tests or coordinating with drone pilots.
Experience testing environmental durability and system reliability.
Experience working at military ranges, customer sites, or other controlled facilities.
A degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, physics, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Develop test plans and acceptance criteria for radar, acoustic, and RF sensing systems.
Run field tests measuring detection range, probability of detection, false alarm rates, tracking accuracy, coverage, and latency.
Establish ground truth using independent position measurements, synchronized logs, and documented target activity.
Evaluate performance across different targets, terrain, weather, clutter, interference, and installation configurations.
Coordinate test sites, equipment, target vehicles, and personnel to ensure tests are safe, repeatable, and productive.
Set up sensors, networking, power, data recording, and instrumentation in laboratory and field settings.
Analyze test data, investigate unexpected results, and distinguish product issues from test setup errors.
Work with RF, signal processing, embedded systems, and software engineers to reproduce failures and verify fixes.
Build scripts and tools for data collection, analysis, and repeatable performance reporting.
Maintain test records identifying hardware and software versions, configurations, conditions, and results.
Work with deployment engineers to validate performance at customer sites and bring field findings back to engineering.