Lead RF Engineer

Safran - Navigation & Timing; City of Rochester (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Safran Federal Systems in Rochester, NY seeks a Lead RF engineer to design a next-generation receiver with high jamming resilience for harsh environments. You will lead RF and non-RF circuit design, guide technical direction, and ensure robust hardware from schematic capture to PCB layout.

The role involves collaborating with a small, high-performing team, mentoring engineers, and supporting system-level test, qualification, and documentation.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 6+ years of experience in RF and electrical hardware design and validation.
• Strong knowledge of RF topics central to this position, including RF receiver circuit design, Stripe Line design, Doppler effects, resilience to jamming, multi-antenna receivers/MIMO, AGC, SDR signal chain, and design for harsh environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead RF and non-RF circuit design, including schematic capture, component selection, PCB layout, and simulation and modeling as required.
• Guide technical direction across projects as requirements and priorities are established, working with other disciplines to develop system designs and requirements.
• Support ruggedization and qualification efforts, taking lab-demonstrated performance toward field-ready, deployable hardware.
• Support qualification and validation of key RF test infrastructure.
• Mentor other engineers and help strengthen the team’s capabilities in RF design, general engineering design, integration, and test.
• Develop and maintain internal design practices and documentation for RF and board-level development.
• Contribute to proposals, technical reviews, and, when applicable, government program deliverables.
• Communicate effectively with cross-functional teams and suppliers and help influence decisions.
• Provide mentorship to junior engineers, helping grow team expertise in RF fundamentals, hardware design workflows, and debugging techniques.
• Contribute to PCB layout assessments and reviews to ensure manufacturability and performance.
• Support system-level test and validation, working across disciplines to ensure functionality and design margin.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of internal design standards and engineering documentation.

Job description

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Lead RF engineer to work on a next generation receiver with highest in class jamming resilience that operates in the toughest, most hostile environments. This engineer will join a motivated team and rapidly iterate and test multiple design candidates before moving to harden the design of the most successful prototype. As part of the process, the successful candidate will be deeply involved with system design, component selection, schematic capture, and PCB layout. Additionally, the engineer will work with a cross-functional team to design and implement tests that ensure that the receiver performs well- and can be benchmarked to the performance of other designs as part of the selection criteria.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Lead RF engineer to work on a next generation receiver with highest in class jamming resilience that operates in the toughest, most hostile environments. This engineer will join a motivated team and rapidly iterate and test multiple design candidates before moving to harden the design of the most successful prototype. As part of the process, the successful candidate will be deeply involved with system design, component selection, schematic capture, and PCB layout. Additionally, the engineer will work with a cross-functional team to design and implement tests that ensure that the receiver performs well- and can be benchmarked to the performance of other designs as part of the selection criteria.

As a member of a small high performing team, a strong teamwork ethos is required to be successful in the role. We succeed together by pushing each other to do better, fostering growth, and striving for excellence across disciplines.

Our Technology

We're the world leader in Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (R-PNT) solutions that improve the reliability, performance, and safety of critical high-risk operations, even in GPS/GNSS denied environments. We provide virtually fail-safe GNSS and PNT solutions for military, defense contractors, and commercial applications worldwide.

How I Will Contribute

• Lead RF and non-RF circuit design, including schematic capture, component selection, PCB layout, and simulation and modeling as required.


• Guide technical direction across projects as requirements and priorities are established, working with other disciplines to develop system designs and requirements.


• Support ruggedization and qualification efforts, taking lab-demonstrated performance toward field-ready, deployable hardware.


• Support qualification and validation of key RF test infrastructure.


• Mentor other engineers and help strengthen the team’s capabilities in RF design, general engineering design, integration, and test.


• Develop and maintain internal design practices and documentation for RF and board-level development.


• Contribute to proposals, technical reviews, and, when applicable, government program deliverables.


• Communicate effectively with cross-functional teams and suppliers and help influence decisions.


• Provide mentorship to junior engineers, helping grow team expertise in RF fundamentals, hardware design workflows, and debugging techniques.


• Conduct PCB layout assessments and reviews to ensure proper component placement, manufacturability, thermal management, and electrical performance


• Support system-level test and validation, working across disciplines to ensure functionality and design margin.


• Contribute to the development and refinement of internal design standards and engineering documentation.

What You Bring To Safran Federal Systems

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or a related field.


• 6+ years of experience in RF and electrical hardware design and validation.


• Strong knowledge of RF topics central to this position, including:

• RF receiver circuit design and tuning


• RF Stripe Line design, particularly antennas and directional couplers


• Doppler effects in high-velocity and high-acceleration systems


• Techniques for establishing resilience to jamming


• Multi-antenna receivers and MIMO


• Automatic gain control (AGC) techniques


• The software-defined radio (SDR) signal chain, from the front end through demodulated bits


• Experience designing for harsh environments, including shock and vibration, wide temperature ranges, high velocity and acceleration, and radiation hardening.


• Prior work in defense, aerospace, or other high-reliability hardware environments.


• Background in GNSS or high-precision timing and sensing systems.


• Security clearance or the ability to obtain one.


• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to build trust, work effectively with customers and clients, consider different perspectives, and make sound decisions.


• Ability to remain poised under pressure and communicate effectively both orally and in writing.


• Willingness and ability to travel up to 10% of the time.


• Ability to remain in a stationary position for 50% of the time and occasionally move around the office to access file cabinets, office equipment, and other resources.


• A collaborative attitude and willingness to have fun with an amazing team!

About Safran Federal Systems

Safran Federal Systems has been awarded as aWinner of the USA Today and Rochester Metro Area Top Workplaces 2026 Award.

In 2022, Safran acquired Orolia, now Safran Trusted 4D, the world leader in Resilient PNT. At the intersection of critical infrastructure and national defense, Safran Trusted 4D solutions govern and protect the integrity of systems that shape the world. In early 2019, Orolia Defense & Security spun off as a separate entity from its parent company Orolia, with the mission of providing resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions and custom engineering services to U.S. Government agencies, U.S. Defense organizations, and their contractors.

In August of 2019, Orolia Defense & Security acquired Talen-X, a U.S. company specializing in advanced GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Simulation solutions and Interference, Detection, and Mitigation (IDM) technologies. Talen-X's portfolio was an ideal fit and has helped to enhance Safran FS's overall offerings. The acquisition enabled Talen-X's existing resources, operations, and capabilities to be scaled and accelerated to better support the warfighter. Read the press release here.

Safran Federal Systems operates as a proxy-regulated company, Free of Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI). As such, Safran FS Defense & Security is approved to work on the full spectrum of U.S. Government classified and unclassified projects and is positioned to support strategic partnerships in the development of key PNT technologies for the defense market.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Please note this description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice