Principal RF Payload Lead Engineer

USA Tech Recruit; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Unknown is seeking a Principal RF Payload Lead Engineer to own the end-to-end RF payload architecture and the complete lifecycle from requirements to on-orbit support.

The role is the first engineering hire in a new Space Network group, offering significant influence and technical direction within a fast-growing satellite communications company.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of RF engineering or related field experience.
• Proven experience shipping commercial RF or satellite products, new development.
• End-to-end RF system design ownership from requirements to testing.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end RF payload architecture including phased-array antennas and RF front ends.
• Lead beamforming strategy, calibration, and coverage optimization; manage EIRP/G/T.

Skills

RF engineering

End-to-end design ownership

Beamforming / antenna systems

Cellular standards + NTN knowledge

Security clearance eligible

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Electrical/Aerospace Engineering (RF focus)

Tools

Phased-array design tools

RF test equipment

Job description

A fast-growing satellite communications company is building the next generation of direct-to-device connectivity, enabling ordinary smartphones and IoT devices to connect through satellite networks across areas without reliable terrestrial coverage. Its technology sits at the intersection of satellite communications and cellular networking, leveraging cloud-native, standards-based network infrastructure to deliver connectivity at commercial scale across industries including agriculture, maritime, logistics and mining.

The company is looking for a Principal RF Payload Lead Engineer to own the end-to-end architecture, design, development and on-orbit performance of RF communications payloads supporting direct-to-device connectivity. This is the first engineering hire into a new Space Network group, making it a highly influential individual contributor role where you'll establish technical direction, engineering processes and design practices from the ground up.

The ideal candidate has designed RF systems, taken them through build and validation, and ultimately seen them deployed in real-world commercial products. This is not a theoretical or simulation-only role - you'll own the complete technical lifecycle from requirements and architecture through hardware delivery, integration, test and mission operations support.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the end-to-end RF payload architecture, including phased-array antennas, RF front ends, frequency planning and waveform selection aligned with cellular standards.
• Lead phased-array design and analysis, including beamforming strategy, beam steering and scan performance, calibration, EIRP, G/T, coverage optimization and handover.
• Own end-to-end communications link design, including link budgets, modulation and coding, Doppler analysis, interference analysis and regulatory considerations.
• Define system requirements and make architecture and technology trade-offs across RF, antenna, communications and satellite subsystems.
• Lead RF payload integration and test, including functional testing, RF performance verification, over-the-air testing and environmental qualification.
• Work closely with cellular engineering teams to ensure compatibility with 3GPP standards and NTN behavior over satellite links.
• Collaborate with RAN and core network teams to ensure end-to‑end system performance and interoperability.
• Support hardware delivery, system integration, on-orbit performance analysis and mission operations.
• Establish technical processes, methodologies and engineering standards for the new RF payload organization.
• Serve as the senior technical authority for RF payload decisions and drive projects independently from concept through deployment.

Key Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in RF engineering, communications systems engineering or a closely related field.
• Proven experience developing and shipping commercial RF or satellite communications products, particularly where the work involved genuinely new product development rather than maintaining or incrementally modifying an existing system.
• Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of RF system design — including specifying and designing the system, building hardware, validating performance and executing testing.
• Experience taking RF products into real-world commercial deployment, ideally through products such as IoT modules, wearables, handsets, chipsets or mobile network operator programs.
• Strong hands‑on experience with phased-array or electronically steered antenna systems, including beamforming, calibration and over‑the‑air testing.
• Deep understanding of cellular standards, particularly 4G LTE, 5G NR and/or 3GPP NTN, with experience applying these technologies to satellite communications.
• Strong understanding of RF communications system architecture, link budgets, modulation/coding, Doppler, interference and RF performance.
• B.S. or M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or a related discipline with an emphasis in RF, communications or electromagnetics.
• Strong cross‑functional communication skills and the ability to work effectively across RF, antenna, satellite, cellular, RAN and network engineering teams.
• Comfortable operating as a senior individual contributor with significant technical ownership and influence.
• Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. security clearance.
• Best suited to candidates who want to remain deeply technical rather than move primarily into people management.
• Candidates whose experience is limited to maintaining existing systems, academic research or simulation‑only RF work are unlikely to be a strong fit.

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