RF Test Engineer

We specialise in turning advances in sensing, AI, and communications into operational capability for the edge, where connectivity may be degraded or denied. Our work focuses on accelerating the deployment of technology, improving decision-making for frontline teams, and protecting people and critical assets in demanding environments.

Headquartered in Bristol, Rowden employs around 160 people and operates over 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities. We have a growing international footprint and are one of Europe’s fastest-growing engineering businesses.

About the role

As part of this journey, we are expanding our RF test and evaluation capability to make sure our sensing and communication systems perform as intended across our products and research projects.

This function supports the design and delivery of RF and mixed-signal hardware platforms through hands-on validation of system performance. From early hardware bring-up through to structured product validation, test engineering helps us understand how systems actually behave and feeds that back into the design and development process.

As an RF Test Engineer, you will develop and run test strategies that validate RF system performance across the signal chain. You will work in the lab with real hardware, build automated test setups, and work closely with RF, hardware, software, and QA engineers to make sure our systems meet their performance requirements.

This is a hands-on role that sits between development and validation. A lot of the work starts with understanding how a system works and what it’s trying to achieve, before working out the right way to test it. Sometimes that’s a quick lab measurement to answer a specific question. Other times it’s a more structured test suite that needs to be repeatable across product releases.

You will play a key role in making sure our RF systems are well-understood, properly characterised, and ready for deployment in demanding environments.

While this role offers hybrid working options, it requires a minimum of 3 days per week on-site at our Bristol HQ, with regular time in the lab and occasional travel to support integration or deployment activities.

Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance.

More information about security clearance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels