Amazon Leo 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.
We are seeking an innovative and solution-oriented System Development Engineer (SysDE II) to join our team to develop innovative solutions and automated pipelines for automation vision inspection and test applications. This role combines hardware, software, OT and IT stack development within an active satellite manufacturing facility.
In this position, you will primarily work on developing and maintaining automated visual inspection systems and production test software that integrate directly with manufacturing equipment, leveraging machine vision libraries, image processing pipelines, and hardware interfaces to deliver reliable, high-throughput defect detection and end-of-line test execution while ensuring minimal operator intervention and consistent data traceability across the production floor. Ideal candidate will have direct hands-on experience developing machine vision or automated optical inspection applications in a manufacturing environment, building test automation frameworks that interface with PLCs, sensors, or mechatronic fixtures, or hands-on integration of camera systems and image processing algorithms with industrial control platforms such as Ignition SCADA or similar HMI/data acquisition systems.
Key job responsibilities
- Design and implement automated visual inspection systems using machine vision cameras, lighting, and image processing algorithms for production defect detection
- Develop test automation software and frameworks that interface with PLCs, sensors, and mechatronic test fixtures for end-of-line validation
- Build image processing pipelines and classification models to identify defects across varying part geometries, surface conditions, and production rates
- Architect scalable inspection and test system architectures supporting high-throughput manufacturing lines with minimal cycle time impact
- Create monitoring, alarming, and reporting solutions for inspection system health, test yield trends, and defect analytics
- Implement calibration routines, golden sample validation, and statistical process controls ensuring inspection accuracy and repeatability over time
- Maintain technical documentation for test procedures, inspection recipes, and system configuration
- Lead technical troubleshooting and root cause analysis for inspection false calls, test failures, and hardware integration issues affecting production
- Support production operations through test system automation, reducing manual inspection touchpoints and improving throughput reliability
- Drive continuous improvement for inspection accuracy, test coverage, cycle time reduction, and system maintainability
- Collaborate with production, quality, manufacturing engineering, and equipment vendors while managing escalations and coordinating resolution of yield-impacting issues
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., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
A day in the life
This highly collaborative position interfaces across multiple Amazon Leo teams in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
The successful candidate will have strong experience in machine vision, automated inspection, or test system development, with the ability to understand and contribute to image processing algorithm design, test coverage strategy, and hardware-software integration.
The role requires hands-on technical expertise combined with strategic thinking to drive continuous improvement in defect detection, test reliability, and production yield.
The typical schedule requires 5 days in-person per week, participation in on-call and weekend rotations to align with Leo production shifts.
About the team
The Ground Support Equipment Automation (GSEA) team is responsible for designing and commissioning automation and tooling for Satellite testing and production. This in-house team of engineers and support technicians work directly with satellite designers, testers, and manufacturing engineers to solve unique problems in high-volume satellite production.
- Experience in automating, deploying, and supporting large-scale infrastructure
- Experience programming with at least one modern language such as
Python,
Ruby, Golang,
Java,
C++,
C#,
Rust- Experience with Linux/Unix
- Experience with
CI/CD pipelines build processes
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent
- 3+ years of designing or architecting (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- 3+ years of hands-on experience developing or deploying machine vision systems, automated optical inspection, or image processing applications.
- Experience building services using
AWS products
- Experience in networking, storage systems, operating systems and hands-on systems engineering
- Knowledge of database systems and SQL
- 3+ years of hands-on experience developing or deploying machine vision systems, automated optical inspection, or image processing applications in a manufacturing or industrial environment.
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
https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, WA, REDMOND - 129,200.00 - 174,800.00 USD annually