Manager, RF Hardware Engineering

Socket.dev; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Flexible PTO

Friendly work environment

Extra perks

Job summary

ICEYE US in Irvine, CA seeks a Manager of RF Hardware Engineering to lead the RF hardware, radar, and communications hardware team across SAR payloads and space vehicles. You will own the RF architecture and guide design decisions to meet mission performance through the full program lifecycle.

You will manage a multidisciplinary team, drive RF standards, and coordinate with systems engineering, mechanical, and embedded software stakeholders to deliver a flight article ready for environmental

Qualifications

• 8+ years RF hardware engineering experience including spacecraft or payload RF system design.
• 2+ years direct engineering management or technical lead experience.
• Deep background in RF hardware design including high-speed digitizers, low-noise RF circuits, antenna and phased arrays.
• Experience in RF test and validation, including anechoic testing and data analysis.
• Experience developing RF subsystem requirements from mission-level goals.
• Proficiency in microwave and RF analysis using Python or equivalent.
• Familiarity with SAR imaging concepts and system design.
• Advanced degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering or related field.
• 4+ years hands-on SAR payload design experience.
• Direct experience with space vehicle communications hardware design.
• Experience with AIT for spacecraft and payloads.
• Experience with formal verification/validation of space-rated RF systems.
• Background in radar hardware architecture, waveform design, or pulse compression.
• Experience leading RF capture contributions — RFIs/RFPs.
• Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of RF hardware, radar, and communications hardware engineers; own hiring and career development.
• Own RF subsystem program execution: work breakdown, scheduling, risk tracking, and status reporting against milestones.
• Set and enforce RF hardware engineering standards, processes, and operating framework across design, test, and verification.
• Serve as RF hardware technical authority to systems engineering, mechanical, thermal, and program management.
• Own RF hardware architecture for SAR payloads and space vehicles, including transmit/receive chains and RF front ends.
• Direct RF hardware analysis for antennas and phased arrays including gain, scan, and mutual coupling.
• Guide hardware/software and hardware/firmware co-design with embedded software/FPGA teams on high-speed interfaces.
• Own vehicle- and payload-level communications hardware architecture ensuring end-to-end link performance.
• Oversee RF subsystem requirements development to meet mission goals.

Job description

Manager, RF Hardware Engineering

At ICEYE, we design, build and operate the largest fleet of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites in the world. Using advanced technology, our constellation collects topographical data about any location on Earth, day or night, through any weather conditions.

Headquartered in Southern California, our customers are society’s heroes – intelligence professionals, warfighters, first responders, and scientific researchers. As a trusted mission partner, the United States and its allies depend on us for critical information when it matters most.

Role Description

ICEYE US is developing next-generation spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payloads and full space vehicles, and is seeking an RF Hardware Manager to lead the engineering team responsible for payload RF hardware, radar systems, and communications hardware design. Sitting within the Space Systems engineering team, this role owns the RF hardware architecture across SAR payload, radar subsystems, and vehicle-level communications — ensuring that antenna arrays, high-speed digitizers, RF front ends, and data links meet mission performance requirements across the full program lifecycle.

The manager will absorb and institutionalize relevant historical knowledge of ICEYE's SAR payload designs and RF architecture, guiding the translation of that knowledge into ICEYE US products, while simultaneously building the RF hardware foundation to support full space vehicle development. They will own the concept of operations (CONOPS) to inform RF design decisions across all engineering domains, serve as the primary RF technical authority at all program lifecycle reviews, and drive the team toward a verified, integrated flight article ready for environmental test and launch.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of RF hardware, radar, and communications hardware engineers; own hiring, onboarding, performance development, and technical career growth for direct reports.

• Own RF subsystem program execution: work breakdown, scheduling, resource loading, risk tracking, and status reporting against program milestones (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR).

• Set and enforce RF hardware engineering standards, processes, and operating framework governing how RF systems, radar hardware, and communications hardware are designed, analyzed, tested, and verified across the program lifecycle — including RF analysis standards, test automation frameworks, documentation formats, and RF verification readiness criteria.

• Serve as the RF hardware technical authority and primary cross-functional counterpart to systems engineering, mechanical, thermal, avionics, embedded software, firmware, and program management stakeholders.

• Own the RF hardware architecture for SAR payloads and space vehicles, including transmit/receive chains, high-speed digitizers, low-noise RF circuits, power amplifiers, and RF front-end subsystems.

• Direct detailed RF hardware analysis for antennas and phased antenna arrays, including gain, beam pattern, polarization, scan performance, and mutual coupling.

• Guide the team in hardware/software and hardware/firmware co-design with embedded software and FPGA firmware engineers on high-speed digital interfaces, timing architectures, and data acquisition chains.

• Own vehicle-level and payload-level communications hardware architecture — RF uplink/downlink, inter-subsystem RF links, and ground interface RF definitions — ensuring end-to-end link performance meets mission ConOps and data rate requirements.

• Oversee RF subsystem requirements development and engineering requirements derivation to meet system-level mission performance goals.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in RF hardware engineering, including spacecraft or payload RF system design through the full design lifecycle.

• 2+ years of direct engineering management or technical lead experience, including tasking, mentorship, and performance ownership for a multi-discipline RF or hardware engineering team.

• Deep background in RF hardware design including high-speed digitizers, low-noise RF circuits, antenna and phased array systems, and RF front-end integration.

• Demonstrated experience in RF test and validation, including anechoic testing, phased array characterization, RF test automation, and data analysis.

• Experience developing RF subsystem requirements and deriving engineering requirements from mission-level performance goals.

• Proficiency in microwave and RF analysis using Python or equivalent tools.

• Familiarity with SAR imaging concepts and system design.

• Advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

Preferred Qualifications

• 4+ years of hands‑on experience in SAR payload design, integration, and test.

• Direct experience with communications hardware design for space vehicles, including uplink/downlink RF systems and link margin analysis.

• Experience with assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) for spacecraft and payloads, including environmental test (vibration, TVAC, EMI/EMC).

• Experience with formal verification and validation of space-rated RF systems.

• Background in radar hardware architecture, waveform design, or pulse compression chain design.

• Experience leading RF capture contributions — RFIs, RFPs, and technical proposals.

• Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, or a related field.

Pay Range and Compensation Package

• The estimated base salary range for this role is $165k - $200k depending on experience
• Other benefits include health coverage, flexible PTO, a friendly work environment, plus extra fun perks!

Physical Requirements

This position primarily works in an office environment. It requires the ability to sit or stand for long periods of time and frequent walking. Daily use of a computer, phone, office equipment and other computing and digital devices is required. Some travel may be necessary – the ability to travel by car, plane, train, bus, vessel, or metro, operate a motor vehicle and maintain a valid Driver’s License and/or effectively navigate public transportation is required.

While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee must be able to read and respond to inter-office communications as well as effectively participate in meetings. The employee is often required to sit and use their hands or fingers, to lift up to 50 lbs., pull, push, carry, handle, or feel. The employee is required to carry, handle items, reach with arms and hands, to stoop, kneel, or crouch; talk, or hear. Mental demands may require prolonged concentration, reading comprehension, understanding and interpretation of concepts, ideas, and philosophies. The physical demands of the position described herein are essential functions of the job and employees must be able to successfully perform these tasks for extended periods. Reasonable accommodations may be made for those individuals with real or perceived disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job described unless such accommodations would cause ICEYE US an undue burden.

EEO Statement

ICEYE US is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law.