1. What is a QA Engineer at Astranis?

At Astranis, the Quality Assurance and Test Engineering function is fundamentally different from a traditional software QA role. Here, you are ensuring the survival and flawless operation of our MicroGEO satellites in one of the harshest environments imaginable: space. Whether you are interviewing for an Avionics Test Hardware Development Engineer, a Senior Mechatronics Test Engineer, or an Environmental Test Technician, your work directly dictates the reliability of our spacecraft.

In this role, you will bridge the gap between design and flight. You will be responsible for validating complex electromechanical systems, developing custom test hardware, and pushing flight components to their limits through rigorous environmental campaigns. Your impact spans across multiple product teams, ensuring that our satellite payloads, avionics, and mechatronics can withstand launch vibrations, extreme thermal vacuums, and radiation.

This position requires a unique blend of hands-on hardware intuition, first-principles engineering, and automated testing expertise. You will not just be running tests; you will be designing the test architectures, building the physical rigs, and writing the software that interacts with spacecraft hardware. Expect a highly dynamic, fast-paced environment where your technical decisions directly influence our launch schedules and the success of our mission to bring the world online.

2. Common Interview Questions

The questions below are representative of what you will face during the Astranis interview process. They are designed to test your depth of knowledge, your practical experience, and your problem-solving methodology. Use these to identify patterns in how you should structure your answers.

Hardware & Electronics

This category tests your foundational understanding of the physical components you will be testing and your ability to design the interfaces for them.

• Draw a schematic for a low-pass filter and explain how you would select the cutoff frequency for a noisy sensor.
• How do you protect a DAQ input channel from an overvoltage event on the device under test?
• Walk me through the differences between I2C and SPI, and explain when you would use one over the other.
• How would you measure the current draw of an actuator that peaks at 20 amps for 5 milliseconds?
• Explain the concept of ground loops and how you prevent them in a complex test rack.

Test Design & Automation

These questions evaluate your ability to architect scalable, reliable, and automated test setups from scratch.

• Design a test architecture to validate a new reaction wheel assembly before it is integrated into the satellite.
• How do you structure a Python script to ensure that a hardware failure safely shuts down the test equipment?
• Walk me through your process for designing a custom breakout board for a new avionics module.
• What are the key considerations when designing a mechanical fixture to hold a PCB during a vibration test?
• How do you manage and version-control your test scripts and calibration data?

Environmental Testing & Reliability

This tests your specific knowledge of validating hardware for extreme environments.

• Explain the difference between random vibration and sine vibration testing.
• How do you calculate the thermal mass of a test fixture, and why does it matter in a TVAC test?
• What are common failure mechanisms for electronics exposed to extreme cold?
• How do you ensure that your test cables do not outgas and contaminate the thermal vacuum chamber?

Root Cause Analysis & Behavioral

These questions focus on your debugging methodology, your resilience, and how you work within a fast-paced team.

• Tell me about a time you found a critical bug late in a testing campaign. How did you handle it?
• Walk me through a scenario where your test data contradicted the design engineer's expectations. How did you resolve the disagreement?
• Describe a time you had to build a test setup with limited resources or an incredibly tight deadline.
• How do you prioritize which tests to run when the launch schedule is compressed?
• Tell me about a hardware failure you caused. What did you learn from it?

3. Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparing for a hardware-focused QA and Test Engineering role at Astranis requires a strategic review of both your theoretical knowledge and your practical, hands-on experience. Interviewers will look for your ability to transition seamlessly between high-level system architecture and low-level component debugging.

Focus your preparation on these key evaluation criteria:

Hardware Fundamentals – You must demonstrate a strong grasp of electrical, mechanical, or mechatronic first principles. Interviewers will evaluate your understanding of circuit design, sensor integration, kinematics, and signal integrity. You can show strength here by confidently whiteboarding schematics or mechanical concepts and explaining your design trade-offs.

Test & Validation Methodology – This evaluates how you approach breaking and validating complex systems. Interviewers want to see your strategy for designing test fixtures, selecting instrumentation, and defining test coverage. Demonstrate this by walking through past projects where you designed a test campaign from scratch and successfully identified critical failure modes.

Root Cause Analysis & Problem Solving – When a test fails, you need to know how to isolate the issue. Interviewers will test your debugging methodology across hardware and software boundaries. You will excel in this area by structuring your troubleshooting steps logically, using data to drive your hypotheses, and remaining calm under ambiguous scenarios.

Execution & Culture Fit – Astranis operates at a rapid startup pace. You will be evaluated on your ownership, bias for action, and ability to collaborate with cross-functional design teams. Highlight instances where you took the initiative to solve a bottleneck, built a tool that accelerated testing, or successfully communicated complex technical risks to stakeholders.

4. Interview Process Overview

The interview process for a QA and Test Engineer at Astranis is rigorous, practical, and highly focused on your actual engineering capabilities. You will typically begin with a recruiter screen to align on your background, role expectations, and compensation. This is followed by a technical phone screen with a hiring manager or senior engineer, which usually dives into your resume, past projects, and foundational engineering principles.

If successful, you will be invited to an onsite interview at our San Francisco headquarters. The onsite loop is comprehensive and deeply technical. It generally consists of multiple panel interviews, a presentation of your past work, and hands-on or whiteboard sessions. You should expect to solve real-world problems that our engineers face daily, rather than answering abstract brainteasers.

Our interviewing philosophy emphasizes collaboration and practical problem-solving. Interviewers want to see how you think on your feet, how you handle being pushed to the limits of your knowledge, and how you interact with the team. Do not be surprised if an interviewer hands you a physical component or asks you to draw a test setup on the whiteboard.

This visual timeline outlines the typical progression from the initial recruiter screen through the final onsite technical panels. Use this to pace your preparation, ensuring you review your foundational theory for the early screens and practice your whiteboarding and presentation skills for the onsite loop. Keep in mind that specific rounds may vary slightly depending on whether you are interviewing for an avionics, mechatronics, or technician role.

5. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Your interviews will heavily index on your ability to design tests, build hardware, and troubleshoot complex systems. Below are the primary evaluation areas you will encounter.

Hardware & Electronics Fundamentals

Because you will be validating physical spacecraft components, a deep understanding of hardware is non-negotiable. Interviewers will assess your knowledge of analog and digital circuits, sensor interfaces, and power electronics. Strong performance looks like the ability to quickly draw a circuit, identify potential failure points, and explain how you would measure specific signals.

Be ready to go over:

• Signal Integrity & Noise – Understanding how to mitigate noise in test setups, grounding techniques, and shielding.
• Component Knowledge – Deep familiarity with op-amps, ADCs, DACs, microcontrollers, and communication protocols (I2C, SPI, CAN, RS-422).
• Mechatronics & Actuation – For mechatronics roles, expect questions on motor control, encoders, kinematics, and closed-loop control systems.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – RF fundamentals, radiation effects on electronics, and high-voltage power systems.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Draw a circuit to read an RTD sensor and explain how you would size the components."
• "How would you design a test fixture to characterize the torque ripple of a stepper motor?"
• "Walk me through how you would debug a noisy I2C bus on a custom avionics board."

Test Architecture & Instrumentation

You are not just running tests; you are building the infrastructure to run them. This area evaluates your ability to select the right tools for the job and design reliable, repeatable test setups. You must demonstrate familiarity with data acquisition (DAQ) systems, lab equipment, and test automation.

Be ready to go over:

• Instrumentation Selection – Choosing the right oscilloscopes, multimeters, load cells, or thermal sensors for a specific test.
• Test Fixture Design – Mechanical and electrical design of test jigs, including PCB design for breakout boards or custom DAQ interfaces.
• Automation & Scripting – Using Python or similar languages to automate instrument control and data collection.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Real-time operating systems for hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing, LabVIEW architectures.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Design an automated test setup to cycle a mechanical actuator 10,000 times while logging position and current."
• "What factors do you consider when selecting a DAQ system for a high-speed vibration test?"
• "Explain how you would write a Python script to control an electronic load and a power supply over SCPI."

Environmental Testing & Reliability

Space is an unforgiving environment. Astranis needs engineers who understand how to validate hardware against extreme conditions. This area is evaluated by discussing your experience with environmental test campaigns and your understanding of failure modes induced by space environments.

Be ready to go over:

• Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) – Understanding heat transfer in a vacuum, thermocouple placement, and thermal cycling profiles.
• Vibration & Shock – Familiarity with random vibration, sine sweeps, shock testing, and how to fixture components for the shaker table.
• EMI / EMC – Basics of electromagnetic interference testing and mitigation.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Outgassing requirements, radiation total ionizing dose (TID) testing.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you ensure a test fixture does not introduce unwanted resonances during a random vibration test?"
• "Walk me through the safety and procedural steps of setting up a thermal vacuum test."
• "If a component fails at the cold plateau of a thermal cycle, how do you determine if it was a test setup error or a hardware failure?"

Root Cause Analysis & Debugging

Things will break, and you need to find out why. Interviewers will present you with hypothetical failures or ask about your past experiences debugging complex issues. Strong candidates use a structured, data-driven approach to isolate variables rather than guessing.

Be ready to go over:

• Fault Isolation – Strategies for dividing a system into smaller testable blocks to find a fault.
• Data Analysis – Using test logs, telemetry, and oscilloscope traces to identify anomalies.
• Corrective Action – How you document failures and work with design teams to implement fixes.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Statistical process control, reliability modeling (MTBF).

Example questions or scenarios:

• "A flight computer resets randomly during a vibration test. Walk me through your debugging steps."
• "Tell me about the most difficult hardware bug you have ever tracked down. What was your methodology?"
• "You notice a 5% drift in a sensor reading over a week of testing. How do you determine the root cause?"

6. Key Responsibilities

As a QA and Test Engineer at Astranis, your day-to-day work is highly cross-functional and hands-on. You will spend a significant portion of your time in the lab or on the manufacturing floor, working directly with flight hardware. Your primary responsibility is to design, build, and execute the test campaigns that prove our satellite components are ready for flight.

You will collaborate closely with electrical, mechanical, and software design engineers to understand the requirements and failure modes of new products. Based on this, you will design custom test fixtures—often involving CAD design, PCB layout, and mechanical assembly. You will also write the automation scripts required to run these fixtures, ensuring tests are repeatable and data is captured accurately.

Beyond building test setups, you will lead environmental test campaigns. This involves instrumenting hardware with thermocouples and accelerometers, operating thermal chambers and shaker tables, and carefully monitoring telemetry during the tests. When anomalies occur, you will drive the root cause analysis, analyzing data and performing tear-downs to provide actionable feedback to the design teams.

7. Role Requirements & Qualifications

To be successful in this role, you need a strong foundation in engineering principles and a proven track record of hands-on hardware development. Astranis looks for candidates who are builders and problem solvers, not just test operators.

• Must-have skills:

  • Deep understanding of electrical or mechanical engineering fundamentals.
  • Hands-on experience with lab instrumentation (oscilloscopes, multimeters, DAQs, logic analyzers).
  • Proficiency in Python for test automation and data analysis.
  • Experience designing and assembling mechanical or electrical test fixtures.
  • Strong capability in structured root cause analysis and hardware debugging.

• Nice-to-have skills:

  • Previous experience in the aerospace industry or working with space-flight hardware.
  • Familiarity with environmental testing (TVAC, vibration, shock, EMI/EMC).
  • Experience with PCB design software (Altium) or mechanical CAD (SolidWorks).
  • Knowledge of communication protocols (I2C, SPI, CAN, RS-422, SpaceWire).

• Experience level:

  • For engineering roles, candidates typically have a BS or MS in Electrical, Mechanical, or Aerospace Engineering, with 3+ years of relevant industry experience. Senior roles require 5+ years with a history of leading complex test campaigns. Technicians should have strong hands-on fabrication, assembly, and lab experience.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need prior aerospace experience to be hired as a QA/Test Engineer at Astranis? While aerospace experience is highly valued, it is not strictly required for all roles. If you have strong fundamentals in hardware testing, mechatronics, or environmental validation from industries like automotive, robotics, or medical devices, you can be a very competitive candidate.

Q: How much coding is required for this role? You are not expected to be a software engineer, but you must be proficient enough in Python (or similar languages) to write robust scripts for instrument control, test automation, and data parsing. Be prepared to discuss your code and potentially write short scripts during the interview.

Q: What is the working model at Astranis? Because this role requires constant interaction with physical hardware, lab equipment, and environmental chambers, it is an onsite position based at the Astranis headquarters in San Francisco. Remote work is generally not feasible for hardware test engineering and technician roles.

Q: How long does the interview process typically take? The process usually moves quickly, reflecting the startup pace. From the initial recruiter screen to the final offer, it generally takes between 3 to 5 weeks, depending on interviewer availability and how quickly you can schedule your onsite loop.

9. Other General Tips

• Think Out Loud: When whiteboarding a circuit or a test setup, narrate your thought process. Interviewers care more about how you approach the problem and the trade-offs you consider than whether you get the perfect answer immediately.
• Know Your Resume Cold: Expect to be grilled on the details of any project you list. If you claim you designed a test fixture, you must be able to discuss the material selection, the sensor integration, and the specific challenges you overcame.
• Brush Up on First Principles: Astranis values engineers who understand the underlying physics of the systems they are testing. Review basic mechanics, thermodynamics, and circuit theory before your technical screens.
• Ask Pointed Questions: Use the end of your interviews to ask specific questions about the team's current challenges, the lab infrastructure, or the upcoming launch manifest. This shows genuine interest and helps you evaluate if the company is the right fit for you.
• Emphasize Safety and Rigor: Working with high voltage, heavy machinery, and thermal chambers requires a safety-first mindset. Highlight your experience in writing standard operating procedures and maintaining lab safety.

10. Summary & Next Steps

Joining Astranis as a QA and Test Engineer means taking on immense responsibility. You are the final line of defense ensuring that complex avionics and mechatronics will survive the violence of launch and the harshness of space. This role offers the rare opportunity to build custom hardware, write automation software, and directly impact the success of a mission designed to connect the unconnected.

The compensation data above reflects the broad range across different levels of test engineering and technician roles at Astranis. When reviewing these figures, consider your specific domain expertise, years of hands-on experience, and whether you are applying for a technician, mid-level, or senior engineering position. Equity and benefits are also key components of the overall package at a fast-growing startup.

To succeed in your interviews, focus on solidifying your hardware fundamentals, practicing your whiteboarding skills, and structuring your debugging methodologies. Approach each technical question logically, communicate clearly, and demonstrate your passion for building and breaking complex systems. You can explore additional interview insights and resources on Dataford to further refine your strategy. You have the engineering foundation required; now it is time to showcase your ability to execute at the highest level.