Senior RF & Tactical Communications Engineer

DeltaQuad; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation days

Travel reimbursement

Pension scheme

Lunch provided

Team activities

Job summary

DeltaQuad develops autonomous UAV systems and seeks a Senior RF & Tactical Communications Engineer to own communication performance across platforms. You will design, validate, and integrate resilient C2, telemetry, data-link and video architectures for airborne and multi-UAV operations.

You will lead link budgets, antenna integration, interference testing and flight validation, coordinating with tactical radios, SATCOM and IP-based systems, while ensuring safe, compliant configurations and

Qualifications

• Requires hands-on RF communications experience.
• Experience with RF systems from design to validation is essential.
• Strong knowledge of antennas, RF front ends and link budgets.
• Experience with IP networking and QoS is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Define resilient communication architectures with primary, alternate, contingency and emergency paths.
• Translate mission needs into requirements for range, throughput, latency, availability and degraded-link behaviour.
• Develop RF link budgets, propagation models, interference assessments and performance margins.
• Select and integrate tactical radios, antennas, SATCOM terminals, trackers and IP-based communication systems.
• Own antenna placement, polarisation, pattern coverage, diversity, MIMO geometry, isolation and airframe interaction.
• Specify RF cables, connectors, filters, switches, amplifiers and protection components.
• Optimise frequency, bandwidth, transmit power, modulation, routing, multicast, QoS, beamforming and mesh parameters.
• Analyse RSSI, SNR, noise floor, packet loss, latency, throughput, airtime and per-chain performance.
• Test interference, coexistence, multipath, blockage, antenna shadowing, jamming and degraded network conditions.
• Execute laboratory, range, vehicle and flight tests with traceable acceptance criteria and instrumented data.
• Reproduce field failures, isolate RF and network root causes, and define safe workarounds or corrective actions.
• Maintain controlled configurations, security requirements, commissioning procedures, interface documents, test reports and rollback instructions.
• Evaluate emerging tactical radio, phased-array, SATCOM and antenna technologies and support product handover.

Skills

RF engineering

Tactical networking

Antenna integration

SATCOM/IP-based systems

MIMO/ phased-array

Link budgets & RF measurements

RF testing & validation

Flight testing support

Troubleshooting across RF, network, SW

Documentation & configuration control

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, RF/Microwave Engineering or equivalent

Tools

Spectrum analysers

VNAs

Signal generators

Power meters

Job description

DeltaQuad develops autonomous UAV systems for demanding operational environments. Our platforms are built to perform where reliability, resilience and operational readiness are critical.

About the Resilience Team

The Resilience team bridges engineering and operations. We develop, validate and strengthen technologies that improve the resilience and operational effectiveness of our UAV platforms. By combining engineering expertise with real-world testing and operational feedback, we ensure our systems are ready for deployment in challenging environments.

The role

As a Senior RF & Tactical Communications Engineer, you are the technical owner of communication performance across our UAV platforms. You design, integrate and validate resilient command and control, telemetry, video and data-link architectures for airborne, ground, relay and multi-UAV operations.

The role covers link engineering, antenna integration, network configuration, interference testing, troubleshooting, flight validation and controlled release. You will work with tactical radios, MIMO and MANET systems, directional and electronically steered antennas - phased-array, SATCOM and IP-based mission systems.

What you'll do

• Define resilient communication architectures with primary, alternate, contingency and emergency paths.
• Translate mission needs into requirements for range, throughput, latency, availability and degraded-link behaviour.
• Develop RF link budgets, propagation models, interference assessments and performance margins.
• Select and integrate tactical radios, antennas, SATCOM terminals, trackers and IP-based communication systems.
• Own antenna placement, polarisation, pattern coverage, diversity, MIMO geometry, isolation and airframe interaction.
• Specify RF cables, connectors, filters, switches, amplifiers and protection components.
• Optimise frequency, bandwidth, transmit power, modulation, routing, multicast, QoS, beamforming and mesh parameters.
• Analyse RSSI, SNR, noise floor, packet loss, latency, throughput, airtime and per-chain performance.
• Test interference, coexistence, multipath, blockage, antenna shadowing, jamming and degraded network conditions.
• Execute laboratory, range, vehicle and flight tests with traceable acceptance criteria and instrumented data.
• Reproduce field failures, isolate RF and network root causes, and define safe workarounds or corrective actions.
• Maintain controlled configurations, security requirements, commissioning procedures, interface documents, test reports and rollback instructions.
• Evaluate emerging tactical radio, phased-array, SATCOM and antenna technologies and support product handover.

Who you are

At DeltaQuad, we value mindset as much as experience. You are an analytical, hands-on engineer who takes ownership and enjoys solving difficult RF and communication problems.

You validate decisions with measurements and data. You can troubleshoot across RF, networking, power, software, mechanical integration and operator configuration while maintaining configuration control.

You communicate clearly across disciplines and distinguish between an operational workaround and a validated product change.

Flight testing and deployments may require international travel or participation in a formally managed out-of-hours support arrangement.

What you bring

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, RF/Microwave Engineering, Applied Physics or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in RF communications, tactical networking, aerospace, defence, robotics or other mission-critical systems.
• Proven experience taking an RF system from architecture or field issue through measurement, integration and operational validation.
• Strong knowledge of link budgets, receiver sensitivity, noise figure, propagation, fading, antennas, transmission lines and RF front ends.
• Practical experience with antenna integration, MIMO, MANET, tactical radios, SATCOM or advanced wireless systems.
• Hands-on competence with spectrum analysers, VNAs, signal generators, power meters and RF test fixtures.
• Working knowledge of IP networking, routing, multicast, VLANs, QoS, packet capture and network diagnostics.
• Understanding of interference, coexistence, contested-spectrum effects and communication fallback strategies.
• Experience with phased arrays, electronically steered antennas, SDR, RF simulation or GNSS/PNT is an advantage.
• Strong analytical, documentation and problem-solving skills.

Why DeltaQuad

• Work on technology with real-world operational impact.
• Design and validate resilient communication systems for next-generation autonomous UAVs.
• Work with the latest technologies in autonomous aviation, RF communications, tactical networking, SATCOM, advanced antenna systems and mission software.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of passionate engineers.
• Take ownership from architecture and integration to operational deployment.
• See your work tested, flown and used by customers around the world.

What we offer

• Coaching and professional growth opportunities
• 27 vacation days (based on full-time)
• 38-hour workweek with flexible working hours
• Travel reimbursement of €0.25/km or full compensation for public transport (2nd class)
• Excellent pension scheme through the PME pension fund
• Work in an innovative, high-tech environment with real-world impact
• Open, informal company culture where your ideas are valued
• Lunch provided by DeltaQuad, monthly team drinks, and regular team activities

Please note that, as part of our recruitment process, we may request a Certificate of Conduct (VOG) and conduct a background screening in accordance with our screening policy. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation throughout this process.