Senior RF Engineer

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Senior RF Hardware Engineer to our team. If you are great at what you do, enjoy working in a startup environment, and are passionate about developing leading-edge electronics for satellites, spacecraft, and aerospace systems, we would like to hear from you.

At the Senior II level, you will be tasked with full-stack hardware development for complex modules and small systems. You will have the opportunity to start at concept development and progress through detailed design, analysis, layout, build, test, and delivery, doing hands-on work at each phase. The Senior II level also introduces technical leadership opportunities, gaining responsibility for small teams of hardware engineers developing new products and systems.

At a small company and a startup, your work will make direct contributions to the success of the business. The work is challenging and impactful, requiring both breadth and depth of technical knowledge. Our products are made for high-reliability space and airborne applications, so designs require high levels of technical rigor while maintaining the agility of a startup environment.

The successful candidate will also present engineering design review materials to our customers and executive team. As such, excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Design and develop RF, mixed-signal, and digital hardware for electronically steered antenna (AESA) communication systems.

Support the adaptation of existing hardware designs for new customer platforms, operational environments, and regional requirements.

Develop RF front-end, power distribution, control, and interface circuitry for phased-array communication terminals.

Own the development of hardware modules and subsystems from requirements through schematic capture, layout, integration, verification, and production release.

Develop hardware requirements, perform trade studies, and support subsystem architecture development.

Perform detailed schematic design for complex RF, mixed-signal, and high-speed digital circuit boards.

Support PCB layout activities in Altium Designer, including stack-up definition, component placement, routing reviews, and design-for-manufacturing considerations.

Perform engineering analyses including worst-case circuit analysis, signal integrity, power integrity, thermal, and reliability assessments.

Develop and execute hardware bring-up, integration, debugging, and design verification activities.

Support RF characterization, system integration, troubleshooting, and root-cause investigations using laboratory test equipment.

Define and execute environmental, qualification, and compliance testing activities, including EMI/EMC verification.

Collaborate closely with all the relevant engineering teams throughout the product lifecycle.

Support technical design reviews, engineering documentation, requirements traceability, and customer-facing technical activities.

Contribute to product qualification, certification, manufacturing transfer, and production support activities.

Provide technical support for field trials, demonstrations, customer evaluations, and deployment activities.

Mentor junior engineers and technicians while promoting engineering best practices and technical rigor.

Apply knowledge of adjacent disciplines, including software, systems, RF, and mechanical engineering, to support efficient product development and integration.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor of Science (BS) degree or higher in Electrical Engineering from an accredited university.

Minimum of 6 years of relevant experience in board-level electronics design, analysis, and test.

Direct experience designing high-reliability electronics for space or defense applications, including part derating, worst-case analysis, and thermal constraints.

Experience owning the design phase of complex board-level electronics, including trade studies, key part selection, and detailed design.

Experience delivering hardware designs through production and deployment.

Expertise in PCB layout, including high-density interconnect (HDI) stackup design and high-speed routing.

Experience running board-level signal integrity and/or power integrity simulation tools such as Ansys SIwave, ADS SIPro, or Mentor Hyperlynx.

Strong working knowledge of adjacent fields, such as software and mechanical, that guides hardware design and system design

Expert-level proficiency in electronics design tools such as Altium.

Extensive lab experience for bring-up and verification of new hardware.

Excellent written and spoken communication skills.

WHAT WE OFFER

Experience leading small teams of hardware engineers to develop multi-module assemblies, including hardware architecture, requirements, make/buy decisions, and interconnects.

Design for space radiation environments

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. Please be aware that many roles will be subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors including new starter’s nationality, any previous or dual nationalities held, place of birth and country of residence may limit those roles that you can perform for the organization. Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members not through our approved vendor list or Talent Acquisition will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.

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