RF Ground Segment Lead — Mission-Critical Communications

Rocket Lab Corporation; Auckland; On-site; NZD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Impactful missions

Team ownership & autonomy

Fast-paced environment

Challenging engineering problems

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Auckland seeks an RF Team Lead – Ground Segment to own and evolve the ground segment behind our launch and space systems. You’ll lead a tight-knit team of engineers and technicians, driving the design, development, and operation of ground-based RF communications and navigation systems.

You’ll sit at the intersection of engineering excellence and operational delivery, moving fast to solve hard problems and influence mission success through RF expertise and collaboration with

Qualifications

• Proven RF leadership experience with mentoring teams under fast timelines.
• Strong RF fundamentals: link budgets, cascaded analysis, modulation/coding.
• Experience with RF test and verification equipment and methods.
• Solid systems engineering mindset: requirements, validation, documentation.
• Knowledge of IP networking and real-world RF deployment.

Responsibilities

• Set direction, coach performance, and build capability in a team responsible for critical RF infrastructure.
• Act as SME and product owner for ground station systems covering RF performance and interfaces.
• Drive development, commissioning, and upgrades of ground stations and networks.
• Partner with SpaceOps to prepare for missions and ensure system readiness.
• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and program teams to deliver end-to-end solutions.
• Contribute to strategic RF projects and roadmap new capabilities.

Skills

RF leadership

RF design fundamentals

RF testing

Systems engineering

IP networking

CCNA (nice-to-have)

CCSDS standards knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field

Tools

VNAs

Spectrum analysers

System-level testing

CCNA certification (nice-to-have)

Job description

Rocket Lab in Auckland seeks an RF Team Lead – Ground Segment to own and evolve the ground segment behind our launch and space systems. You’ll lead a tight-knit team of engineers and technicians, driving the design, development, and operation of ground-based RF communications and navigation systems.

You’ll sit at the intersection of engineering excellence and operational delivery, moving fast to solve hard problems and influence mission success through RF expertise and collaboration with