Principal RF Engineer (Starshield)

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 285,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Paid parental leave

3 weeks of paid vacation

10 or more paid holidays

Job summary

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP is seeking a Principal RF Engineer to work on advanced development programs that support US National Security. This role involves collaborating with various engineering teams to design RF capabilities for low earth orbit communications and remote sensing.

The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of RF engineering experience, a strong background in modeling tools like HFSS and MATLAB, and the ability to maintain a Top Secret SCI clearance. The position includes competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in RF engineering.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret SCI clearance.
• Experience with designing RF systems for communication or remote sensing.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with engineers to design and validate RF systems.
• Develop and conduct full life cycle support for RF hardware.
• Create electromagnetic simulation models for hardware.

Skills

RF engineering experience

Modeling tools (HFSS, CST)

Programming in C/C++ or Python

RF test equipment skills

Link budget analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering

Master’s degree in electrical engineering

Tools

MATLAB

VNA

Spectrum analyzer

Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

Principal RF Engineer (Starshield)

Starshield leverages SpaceX’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. As an RF engineer on the Starshield team, you will be working on advanced development programs in support of US National Security. You will work with a team of fellow RF engineers, DSP engineers, software engineers, hardware engineers and end users to design and build RF capabilities for proliferated communications and remote sensing in low earth orbit. You will work in a highly collaborative and fast‑paced environment, where we are exploring unsolved problems and applying the SpaceX mindset of iterating rapidly to go from design and demo to operational capability at lightning pace.

Responsibilities

• Work in close collaboration with hardware, FPGA, DSP, and software engineers to design and validate RF systems
• Responsible for development and full life cycle support of RF hardware spanning PCBA board testing and defect detection, full functional testing of an assembled unit, and resolving on‑orbit vehicle anomalies
• Create electromagnetic simulation models of hardware (antennas, filters, PCB layout) to design and evaluate performance
• Modify electrical schematics and mechanical drawings for flight applications as they relate to reliability and manufacturability

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, or electrical engineering
• 8+ years of experience RF engineering
• Experience with modeling/analysis tools/software such as HFSS, CST, ADS, MATLAB, C/C++, and/or Python
• Experience with RF test equipment such as VNA, spectrum analyzer, etc.
• Experience creating and maintaining link budgets and analysis related to communications or remote sensing systems

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering with emphasis in microwave/RF engineering
• Experience modeling RF and channel impairments such as multipath, phase noise, group delay, fading and nonlinear distortion
• Experience designing RF systems including radio astronomy, SIGINT, ELINT, radar, or wireless communications
• Experience with basic principles of antenna theory
• Experience with software‑defined radios and frameworks, such as GNU Radio
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret SCI clearance

Additional Requirements

• An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions; if so, you will be subject to pre‑employment drug and random drug and alcohol testing
• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Compensation and Benefits

Principal RF Engineer: $200,000.00 – $285,000.00 per year.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long‑term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long‑term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short‑ and long‑term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

Equal Opportunity Employer

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of 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.