Propulsion Test Eng. Manager, Propulsion Design Engineering,Project Kuiper

Project Kuiper is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite

broadband network. Its mission is to deliver fast, reliable

internet to customers and communities around the world, and we’ve

designed the system with the capacity, flexibility, and performance

to serve a wide range of customers, from individual households to

schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies, and other

organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.

Export Control Requirement : Due to applicable export control laws

and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national,

U.S. permanent resident (i.e., S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

The Kuiper Propulsion Team is seeking a Test Engineer Manager to

lead the Propulsion Development Test Team. The team is responsible

for the design, build, optimization, and execution of electric

propulsion testing of all propulsion subsystems, including the Hall

effect thruster, cathode, feed system, avionics, propellant

storage, and integrated propulsion system. Development testing is

focused on characterizing and validating existing flight designs

and development hardware. Test objectives include improved

understanding of failure modes to inform design improvements,

production acceptance testing non-conformance investigations, and

root cause investigations of on-orbit anomalies anomalies. This

team will work closely with Propulsion’s Production Test Team,

supporting improvements and scaling of production acceptance test

infrastructure and process improvements. You will work with

stakeholders across the Propulsion Manufacturing and Design Teams

to coordinate and support development test efforts. - Your team

will define and document test processes and implementation,

including test plans & detailed procedures, test software

development, test execution, data analysis, and test reports. Your

team will develop new test capabilities and optimize existing test

systems for both production and development testing. - In addition

to building up the needed test infrastructure and execution of

development testing, your team contributes to finding solutions to

challenging technical problems by investigating root causes for

hardware and test failures, and assists in the disposition of

production & flight non-conformances. - Your team leverages the

growing amount of ground-test and flight data to inform

determination of the severity and prevalence of observed anomalies,

and formulate methods to accelerate production acceptance testing

without impacting hardware screening capabilities. - You will lead

by example by developing a strong understanding of the flight

hardware and its test systems as well as contribute to hiring,

mentoring, and career growth of the engineers on your team, and

within the Propulsion Manufacturing and Engineering organization.

The Propulsion Development Test Engineer Manager leads the team by

example to ensure capabilities and plans are available to test

existing hardware and candidate design improvements. You will work

closely with other teams within the Propulsion Group such as the

design, subject matter expert, production test, and manufacturing

teams in order to execute development test needs and to maintain

deep knowledge of both the hardware under test and test venues. A

successful candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment and is

able to apply their technical expertise and commitment-to-quality

to positively impact organization goals. The Kuiper Propulsion

Design Team is responsible for the design and development of the

propulsion system which provides maneuvering capability to the

spacecraft. The Propulsion Design Team is made up of engineers from

a variety of disciplines (e.g. aerospace engineering, physics,

electrical engineering) which are responsible for different aspects

of the development process : such as mechanical design, systems

engineering, propulsion subject matter experts, manufacturing, and

test. This integrated team structure allows direct communication

and rapid process feedback while also promoting close collaboration

across the team. Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering,

Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or

equivalent experience - 2+ years experience managing engineering

teams - 5+ years developing test automation, data acquisition, or

control software - 5+ years experience with electrical test

equipment and data acquisition systems - 5+ years investigating

hardware failures, performing root cause analysis, and delivering

written reports to engineering teams in Aerospace Engineering,

Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a

related field. - Experience managing engineers for the testing of

satellite propulsion hardware - Experience developing software with

Python, LabVIEW, or TestStand - Experience testing electric or

chemical propulsion systems - or their subsystems - Experience

developing and operating pressurized fluid systems in aerospace

environments - Experience developing test processes in a production

environment - Experience with Highly Accelerated Stress Screening

(HASS) or quantifying strength of screening metrics for production

test venues. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not

discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability,

or other legally protected status. Our inclusive culture empowers

Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you

have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment

during the application and hiring process, including support for

the interview or onboarding process, please visit for more

information. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on

payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part

of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of

medical, financial, and / or other benefits. Applicants should apply

via our internal or external career site.