Electrical Engineering Systems (RF Focus) - Launch Vehicles

Firefly Aerospace; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Pet Insurance

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace Inc. is an American end-to-end space transportation company focused on delivering economical access to space for small payloads through launch and spacecraft vehicles.

Cedar Park, TX, serves as a hub for innovation across avionics and RF systems. The RF Focus Electrical Engineering role leads design, development, and testing of flight RF systems and ground stations, coordinating with approval agencies and multi-disciplinary teams to meet schedules.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
• 3+ years designing electronics systems with RF emphasis.
• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with focus on communications, microwave or satellite.
• Experience with flight vehicle RF transmission systems design and analysis.
• Experience with RF ground station design and operation.
• Experience with project management and small team leadership.
• Hands-on integration of electronics in airborne vehicles.
• Understanding of launch-vehicle subsystems and avionics interfacing with RF systems.
• Experience with environmental testing (thermal, vacuum, shock, vibration, humidity, salt fog).
• Experience with link margin analysis for end-to-end systems.
• Experience with test equipment like network analyzers, SDRs, signal analyzers, generators, meters, GPS simulators.
• Experience with Python, GNURadio, or LabVIEW.
• Experience with BER, SNR, EVM, OSI layers.
• Knowledge of communication systems including FEC and modulation types like BPSK, QPSK, QAM, PCM/FM.
• Atlassian tool usage for communication and documentation.
• Ability to collaborate with other engineering disciplines and regulatory authorities.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop the flight RF systems and the associated ground receiving stations.
• Manage the acquisition of components for this system, including subcontractor coordination and management.
• Coordinate in-house design, development, and test tasks to meet delivery schedules.
• Coordinate with government approval agencies to obtain approvals for operation.
• Manage and coordinate the team’s efforts to complete project tasks.
• Support vehicle testing and launch day activities as the expert on this system.
• Support Launch operations and communication systems as required.
• Support hardware simulation environments to fully test the RF Communication end-to-end.

Skills

RF systems design

Ground station design

Project management

Python

GNURadio

LabVIEW

Network analyzers

Software defined radio

Satellite communications

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with focus on communications/microwave/satellite

Tools

Python

GNURadio

LabVIEW

Network analyzers

Job description

Electrical Engineering Systems (RF Focus) - Launch Vehicles

Firefly Aerospace Inc. is an American end-to-end space transportation company committed to providing economical and convenient access to space for small payloads through the design, manufacture, and operation of reliable launch and spacecraft vehicles. Firefly’s launch vehicles utilize common technologies, manufacturing infrastructure, and launch capabilities, providing LEO launch solutions for up to ten metric tons of payload. Combined with Firefly’s in-space vehicles, such as the Space Utility Vehicle (SUV) and Blue Ghost Lunar Lander, Firefly provides the space industry with a single source for missions from LEO to the surface of the Moon or beyond. Firefly is headquartered in Cedar Park, TX.

SUMMARY

Firefly Avionics Systems Engineers will leverage their experience in designing, developing, testing, and obtaining approval for RF transmission and communication systems for our launch vehicles and ground stations. Qualified candidates will be responsible for leading entire projects through defining tasks, tracking progress, designing the system architecture, coordinating with the approval agencies, and working through various development challenges. You will be part of the avionics team and will work closely and collaborate with all other teams across the company. Some responsibilities may include:

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and develop the flight RF systems and the associated ground receiving stations
• Manage the acquisition of components for this system, including subcontractor coordination and management
• Coordinate in-house design, development, and test tasks to meet delivery schedules
• Coordinate with government approval agencies to obtain approvals for operation
• Manage and coordinate the team’s efforts to complete project tasks
• Support vehicle testing and launch day activities as the expert on this system
• Support Launch operations and communication systems as required
• Support hardware simulation environments to fully test the RF Communication end-to-end

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
• 3+ years of engineering experience designing/developing electronics system and assemblies, with an emphasis on RF systems
• Master’s degree in electrical engineering with focus on communications systems, microwave engineering or satellite development.
• Experience with flight vehicle RF transmission systems design and analysis
• Experience with RF ground station design and operation
• Experience with project management and small team leadership
• Hands on experience with integration of electronics in airborne vehicles
• Understanding of basic subsystems of a launch vehicle and how avionics integrate within the vehicle and interface with RF systems
• Experience with environmental analysis and test including thermal cycle, thermal vacuum, shock, vibration, humidity and salt fog
• Experience with designing a link margin analysis for an end to end system
• Experience with test equipment such as network analyzers, software defined radios, signal analyzers, signal generators, power meters, GPS simulators, etc.
• Experience with Python, GNURadio, or LabView
• Experience with Bit Error Rates (BER), System Noise Figure, EVM, OSI layers
• Knowledge of communication systems including different types of forward error correction (FEC), ranging tones or modulation types such as BPSK, OQPSK, SOQPSK, QAM, PCM/FM
• Communication and documentation skills using the Atlassian suite of tools
• Ability to collaborate with other engineering disciplines and regulatory authorities

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, pet Insurance, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.