Director, System Test

Job description

The world still has coverage blind spots. You could help eliminate them at Skylo.   Skylo has pioneered a standards-based approach to satellite connectivity. We connect smartphones and IoT devices directly to satellites. No special hardware, no entirely new networks. Just billions of existing devices, suddenly reachable anywhere on Earth. We're not building toward this future. We're already in it.   Our direct-to-device service is live on millions of activated devices across five continents, covering more than 72 million square kilometers, in partnership with leading satellite operators, mobile network operators, Tier-1 chipset makers, and OEMs worldwide. And we're just getting started.   At the heart of it all is Skylo's commercial NTN vRAN: a 3GPP standards-based, cloud-native platform that seamlessly bridges terrestrial and satellite networks. It's the infrastructure that makes true anywhere, anytime connectivity possible.   When you join Skylo, you'll work at the intersection of three markets reshaping how the world stays connected: mass-market consumer devices, automotive, and industrial IoT. Enabling people outdoors and critical workflows in the world's most remote places.   This is a rare chance to work on technology that matters, at a company that's already proving it works SUMMARY OF HOW YOU WILL IMPACT SKYLO As the Director, System Test, you will lead the organization responsible for ensuring that Skylo’s services are production-ready before release. The System Test team serves as Skylo’s quality gate, defining and executing service-level acceptance and automation to ensure releases are validated, observable, and operationally ready before handoff to Operations. In this role, you will build the frameworks, infrastructure, and standards used to validate complex satellite-to-cellular network behavior across devices, satellites, cloud infrastructure, and mobile network operator integrations. You will lead a global team responsible for system-level validation while remaining deeply engaged in the technical systems that ensure reliable service validation at scale. - Own end-to-end system testing across Skylo’s global network platform, spanning RAN infrastructure, 3GPP-based cloud-native core networks, back-office and provisioning systems, and integrations with customer and MNO partner networks - Lead a high-performing global team by managing performance through OKRs and KPIs, remaining technically engaged in diagnosing complex system failures and building a culture of innovation and reliability across multiple time zones. - Define and drive Skylo’s system test strategy to establish a consistent, data-driven view of test coverage, automation efficiency, and bug escape prevention across engineering teams. - Envision, design, and scale Skylo's worldwide system test architecture and lab strategy — maintaining hybrid test environments that span physical devices, satellite channel emulators, and cloud-based automation agents to enable thorough pre-production validation of NTN-specific behaviors. - Maintain traceability between product requirements, test coverage, and release acceptance criteria to ensure complete validation of customer-facing services. - Drive company-wide frameworks and standards for quality, test automation, validation infrastructure, and defect escape prevention, ensuring consistent approaches to tooling, coverage, and release readiness across engineering teams WHAT WE LOOK FOR - Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field with emphasis on telecommunications, or equivalent practical experience. - Functional Experience: 10+ years of hands-on experience in telecommunications system testing and/or test automation, including at least 5 years in a technical leadership or people management role building high-performing teams. - Industry Experience: Experience working with or within a mobile network operator (MNO), MVNO, or network equipment vendor; familiarity with MNO operational processes and partner onboarding. - Network Change Management: Hands-on experience with formal network change control processes, defining quality gates, and managing test-to-release workflows. - Advanced Analytics (Preferred): Familiarity with the application of machine learning techniques to test automation, anomaly detection, or network performance analysis. - Non-terrestrial Networks (Preferred): Prior exposure to satellite-specific testing (GEO/LEO) and/or 3GPP NTN standards (Release 17 and beyond). - Systems & Tools: Proficiency with cloud-based test infrastructure (GCP preferred), test automation frameworks (e.g., Robot Framework), and 3GPP RAN/core protocol analysis tools. - Communication & Influence: Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical risks into clear narratives and drive alignment across engineering, operations, product, and external partners. - People Management: Experience building and leading high-performing engineering teams, with the ability to set technical direction while remaining hands-on. - Every role at Skylo uses AI tools daily to amplify output. We expect active habits using AI tools and a track record of folding new ones into your workflow quickly WHAT WE OFFER - Competitive compensation packages including a stock option based equity program. - Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, and retirement plan. - Monthly allowances for wellness and education reimbursement. - A generous time off policy, holidays. - Access to a world-class team and talent across tech domains: software, hardware, chipsets, telecom, satellite and network virtualization. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The compensation range for this position is dependent on location. These ranges reflects the low and high end of the range Skylo reasonably and generally expects to pay the hired candidate in this role. - Bay Area, CA: $215,000 - $225,000 plus equity - Non–Bay Area (U.S.): $185,000 - $195,000 plus equity EEO STATEMENT Skylo is an equal-opportunity employer and we celebrate diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, parent or caregiver status, political affiliation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. Please let us know if you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability.