WLAN Performance Testing - Staff Engineer

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General Summary:

The WLAN Performance Test Engineer is responsible for validating the throughput, latency, RF performance of Wi-Fi products and Power efficiency under various real-world and lab conditions. The role ensures compliance with IEEE 802.11 standards and identifies performance bottlenecks at PHY/MAC layers.

Key Responsibilities

1. Performance Validation

• Conduct throughput testing using tools such as iPerf, IxChariot, octoScope, Spirent, or IXIA.
• Validate performance across different Wi-Fi standards (802.11ac/ax/be).
• Measure PHY data rate, throughput, Packet loss, Jitter, Latency, retransmission rate

2. RF & OTA (Over-the-Air) Testing

• Perform RF validation including RvR, RSSI, SNR,Adjacent channel interference
• Simulate customer field environment and test performance with different devices including iOS, Mac, Android, Windows
• Execute testing inside shield boxes or anechoic chambers.

3. Load & Scalability Testing

• Validate performance under high client density scenarios.
• Simulate concurrent traffic (VoIP, video streaming, web traffic).

4. Interference Testing

• Test performance under co-channel and adjacent channel interference.
• Evaluate performance in 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands.

5. Automation & Scripting

• Develop automation scripts using C Sharp, Python.
• Automate log collection, KPI extraction and triaging.

6. Debug & Root Cause Analysis

• Analyze packet captures (Wireshark).
• Interpret logs from AP, STA, and driver layers.
• Work with firmware and PHY teams for issue resolution.

7. Establish performance benchmarks and release qualification criteria

8. Mentor engineers, review test strategy/design and promote testing best practices

9. Support customer escalations with in-depth performance analysis.

Required Skills & Qualification

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree
• 10-15+ years of experience in WLAN System or performance validation
• Wireless Protocols: Strong understanding of IEEE 802.11 standards (a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be), OFDM, MIMO, MU-MIMO, QoS (WMM)
• Tools: Experience with IXIA / Spirent / Keysight test equipment, iPerf, Wireshark
• Networking: Knowledge of TCP/IP stack and preferred experience in Layer 2/Layer 3 networking.
• Analytical tools: Expertise in log analysis tools (Wireshark, tcpdump) for troubleshooting connectivity and performance issues
• Automation framework development experience

Minimum Qualifications:

OR

Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Systems Test Engineering or related work experience.

OR

PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Systems Test Engineering or related work experience.

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