RF/mmWave Post-Silicon Validation Engineer

K2 Space•Seattle, WA

12d

About The Position

K2 is seeking a hands-on RF/mmWave Post-Silicon Validation Engineer to bring up and characterize highly integrated RF and mmWave SoCs from first silicon through product integration. This role involves close collaboration with RFIC designers, systems/DSP, mixed-signal, firmware, hardware, and validation teams to characterize RF performance, validate calibration algorithms, debug complex silicon issues, and establish the company's RF test and validation capabilities from the ground up. The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-paced environment and contribute to the success of a high-growth Series D-funded company.

Requirements

BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or related field.
5+ years of RF/mmWave silicon validation, characterization, RFIC test, or related experience.
Strong understanding of RF transceiver architectures and RF/mmWave circuits, including LNAs, PAs, mixers, PLLs, and frequency-generation systems.
Deep hands-on experience with RF/mmWave test equipment including vector network analyzers, spectrum/signal analyzers, vector signal generators, oscilloscopes, power meters, noise-figure analyzers, and phase-noise measurement equipment.
Strong understanding of RF measurement techniques, calibration, de-embedding, noise, linearity, modulation quality, and spectral analysis.
Experience developing automated characterization environments using Python or similar scripting languages and instrument-control interfaces.
Strong debugging skills and ability to isolate problems across silicon, package, PCB, firmware, and measurement environments.
Experience working closely with RFIC designers and systems engineers to correlate measurements with circuit simulations and system models.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment and build RF test capability from the ground up.

Nice To Haves

Ka-band or higher-frequency mmWave silicon characterization experience.
Experience with wideband RF transceivers.
Experience validating digitally assisted RF circuits and calibration algorithms.
Familiarity with modulated waveform measurements, EVM, ACLR, and communication-system performance.
Experience with RF probing, mmWave fixtures, calibration, and package/PCB de-embedding.
Familiarity with high-speed ADC/DAC interfaces and mixed-signal SoCs.
Experience with automated PVT characterization and large-scale measurement data analysis.
SI/PI, RF packaging, antenna, and high-frequency PCB experience.

Responsibilities

Bring up and characterize RF/mmWave silicon, including TX/RX signal chains, LNAs, PAs, mixers, LO generation, PLLs, and RF front ends.
Develop and execute RF characterization plans across frequency, power, voltage, temperature, process, and operating modes.
Measure key RF performance including gain, noise figure, output power, compression, linearity, EVM, ACLR, phase noise, spurious performance, harmonics, sensitivity, and dynamic range.
Develop automated RF/mmWave test setups for characterization, regression, data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Work closely with RFIC designers to correlate silicon measurements with simulations and identify performance gaps and root causes.
Partner with systems/DSP teams to validate RF calibration and signal-processing algorithms on silicon and correlate performance with system models.
Debug complex issues spanning silicon, package, PCB, firmware, calibration, test setup, and system behavior.
Support the transition from chip-level RF characterization to product integration and system-level validation.
Contribute to building the RF/mmWave validation lab, measurement infrastructure, test methodology, and automation from the ground up.
Document characterization results, silicon limitations, workarounds, and lessons learned for future silicon generations.