Systems Test Engineer - Optical

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we’re on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We’re looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

As a Systems Test Engineer - Optical Systems
, you will be responsible for developing and executing comprehensive test strategies for optical communication systems while also supporting system-level test activities across a broad portfolio of products and technologies.

You will collaborate with systems and design engineers early in the development lifecycle to ensure testability is incorporated into product designs and verification approaches. You will lead test planning, test system architecture, automation development, troubleshooting, and performance characterization activities while providing technical leadership across multiple programs.

You will be expected to operate with minimal supervision, influence technical decisions, and drive test solutions that support development, qualification, manufacturing, and customer acceptance testing.

• Define verification and validation strategies for optical systems, subsystems, and integrated hardware platforms.
• Work with Systems Engineering to derive test requirements from customer and program specifications.
• Develop system-level test plans, procedures, validation methods, and verification matrices.
• Design and implement optical, electrical, RF, and system-level test architectures, fixtures, and calibration methodologies.
• Develop automated test solutions using Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, C#, or similar tools.
• Design and execute optical characterization testing including:
• Optical power and loss measurements
• Link performance testing
• BER (Bit Error Rate) testing
• Receiver sensitivity verification
• Pointing, Acquisition, and Tracking (PAT) validation
• Environmental and qualification testing
• Support testing of integrated systems containing optical, RF, digital, networking, and embedded technologies.
• Analyze test data and generate performance assessments against system requirements.
• Troubleshoot complex optical, electrical, software, mechanical, networking, and system integration issues.
• Develop and maintain calibration plans for automated test equipment and optical instrumentation.
• Support system integration, field testing, demonstrations, environmental testing, and customer acceptance activities.
• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective action efforts for development and production hardware.
• Generate technical documentation, test reports, procedures, and design review materials.
• Present technical findings to program leadership, customers, and engineering teams.
• Mentor junior engineers and technicians in systems test methodologies, automation, and best practices.
• Influence system architecture and design decisions to improve testability, manufacturability, reliability, and operational performance.
• Support proposal activities, technical volume development, and cost estimating efforts as needed.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives supporting test automation, standardization, and operational efficiency across the Systems Test organization.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Systems Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 7+ years of experience designing, developing, integrating, and testing complex hardware systems.
• Experience developing and executing test strategies for fiber-optic, free-space optical (FSO), photonic, electro-optical, RF, digital, or integrated…