Director of Space-Based Radar Payloads

Rocket Lab Corp.; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 198,000 - 422,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Director, Radar Payload to lead the development of space-based radar payloads, including SAR, and oversee RF engineers on a fast-paced program. You will guide architecture, waveform design, and mission planning, ensuring performance and integration with the spacecraft bus, while mentoring a multidisciplinary team.

This role demands deep radar experience, strong leadership, and a proven track record delivering complex spaceborne payloads from concept to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or aerospace engineering with 12+ years of relevant experience.
• Hands-on experience developing and delivering radar systems from requirements through mission operations.
• Deep knowledge of SAR imaging modes (stripmap, spotlight, ScanSAR, TOPS) and processing algorithms for space-based platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end development of space-based radar payload systems, including architecture design, prototyping, integration, test and flight development.
• Define radar payload requirements specifications and performance metrics considering orbital parameters and mission constraints.
• Drive waveform design, antenna architecture, and signal processing chains optimized for space-based operations.
• Lead analyses such as radar equation modeling for various orbits, clutter analysis, SNR, ambiguity resolution, and Doppler centroid variations.
• Oversee development of radar calibration procedures and image quality assessment methodologies for spaceborne systems.

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Director, Radar Payload to lead the development of space-based radar payloads, including SAR, and oversee RF engineers on a fast-paced program. You will guide architecture, waveform design, and mission planning, ensuring performance and integration with the spacecraft bus, while mentoring a multidisciplinary team.

This role demands deep radar experience, strong leadership, and a proven track record delivering complex spaceborne payloads from concept to