What you'll doAs a member of the Viasat Technical Delivery & Release team, you will partner with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and Software Release Managers to ensure the highest quality and operational readiness for our global In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) systems. You will bridge the gap between complex satellite communications engineering and the real-world passenger experience, acting as a critical gate for product validation and customer acceptance.
In this role, your primary focus will be the end-to-end integration, validation, and debugging of GM40 systemarchitectures, alongside specialized test campaigns for Honeywell terminal components (including JetWave configurations). You will help drive the transition from legacy test methodologies to modern, proactive validation models, ensuring seamless network performance across diverse RF, IP networking, and linefit/retrofit aircraft environments.
Core Tasks & Responsibilities- Primary System Validation: Lead the testing and integration of GM40 IFC systems, validating software and hardware functionality against rigorous performance and baseline requirements.
- Honeywell Terminal Integration: Complete and optimize test campaigns for Honeywell terminal components, ensuring seamless terminal-to-satellite link alignment and sub-system cohesion.
- Proactive Debugging & Lab Triage: Actively isolate, fix, and debug network, RF, and terminal failures within the lab environment, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships to prevent "on-wing" failures.
- Modernize Legacy Methodologies: Review, update, and improve legacy test protocols, finding opportunities to streamline test execution and transition manual testing into modern automation frameworks.
- Regulatory & Interface Compliance: Ensure all test campaigns satisfy aviation regulatory compliance, Honeywell/Viasat Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and exacting satcom standards.
- Meticulous Documentation: Maintain precise, comprehensive documentation of test setups, results, configuration changes, and system anomalies to drive continuous improvement across dev domains.
The day-to-day- Hands-on Product Acceptance Testing: Conduct thorough testing on rack-mounted IFC hardware, GM40 environments, and actual Honeywell satcom terminal components to mirror real-world aircraft profiles. Additional test platforms for multi-orbit verification and validation will be included in future testing scope.
- Analyze & Optimize: Review test results daily, updating and improving specific test cases within the active campaign based on real-time feedback and system updates.
- RF & Network Solving: Apply network diagnostic tools and RF fundamentals to isolate issues across IP networks, satcom routing protocols, and terminal interfaces.
- Multi-functional Syncs: Participate in technical status meetings to provide data-driven readiness reports, flag blocker bugs, and collaborate with distributed engineering teams to unblock lab environments.
What you'll need- Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related technical field. Equivalent professional experience and technical certifications will also be considered.
- Professional Experience: 5+ years of dynamic, hands-on experience in Test Engineering, Systems Integration, Quality Assurance, or Field Applications Engineering.
- Domain Expertise: Demonstrated experience working with In-Flight Connectivity (IFC), In-Flight Entertainment (IFE), or satellite communication (SATCOM) networks. Direct experience with Honeywell JetWave hardware or GM40 architectures is highly preferred.
- Technical & Networking Core: Solid foundation in IP networking (TCP/IP, UDP, DNS), routing protocols, Linux/Unix CLI environments, and standard network diagnostic tools (e.g., Wireshark).
- Avionics & RF Knowledge: Foundational understanding of RF engineering principles (link budgets, signal pathways) and familiarity with aviation data protocols and standards (e.g., ARINC 429, ARINC 791/792).
- Tools & Frameworks: Proven experience tracking defects, documenting test execution, and publishing technical metrics using Atlassian Jira and Confluence.
What will help you on the job- Automation Frameworks: Familiarity with creating, running, or maintaining automated test scripts (e.g., Python, Robot Framework, Selenium, or PyTest).
- AI-Assisted Tooling: Exposure to applying AI-augmented coding assistants (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) to accelerate scripting and automated triage velocity.
- Cloud & DevOps Platforming: Basic familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines supporting modular software architectures.
Salary range$141,500.00 - $224,000.00 / annually.For specific work locations within San Jose, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, the base pay range for this role is $176,000.00- $264,000.00/ annually
At Viasat, we consider many factors when it comes to compensation, including the scope of the position as well as your background and experience. Base pay may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. Learn more about Viasat's comprehensive benefit offerings that are focused on your holistic health and wellness at https://careers.viasat.com/benefits.
