Software Test Engineer

Job Description

Software Test Engineer (Payload) | Xona

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Xona, a navigational intelligence company focused on bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth. Xona is developing Pulsar, the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit, which will deliver a future-proof, global positioning system. This Software Test Engineer role is pivotal in designing, building, and executing comprehensive test procedures for the satellite payload’s application software, directly contributing to Xona’s mission of achieving absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection in navigation.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Burlingame, CA
• Mission: Validate payload application software to ensure flight-ready verification evidence for Xona’s PNT satellite infrastructure.
• Tech Stack: C/C++, Bash, Python, SPI, I2C, UART, hardware debugging tools, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers

What You’ll Actually Do
• Test Procedure Design: Design, build, and execute structured software test procedures to validate payload application software across integration milestones, system-level campaigns, and environmental test events.
• Feature Validation: Assist the payload software team in the test and validations of new feature additions to the system.
• Automated Testing: Design and implement automated test scripts and frameworks for testing communication protocols, sensor interactions, and hardware control.
• Defect Identification: Identify, document, and track software defects and hardware-related issues.
• Process Contribution: Contribute to the development and improvement of testing processes and tools.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Proficient understanding of software test principles and methodologies, with a specific focus on validating payload application software in complex satellite systems.
• Experience: Proven experience in designing, building, and executing structured software test procedures across various integration milestones and test events, including direct interaction with hardware. This includes experience with embedded systems testing.
• Skills: Strong programming capabilities in C/C++, Bash, and Python, coupled with a solid knowledge of common communication protocols such as SPI, I2C, and UART.
• Bonus: Experience utilizing hardware debugging tools like oscilloscopes and logic analyzers; familiarity with aerospace testing standards; and practical experience with continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.