Product Chief Engineer, 5G and Tactical Communications Products

Assured Space Access, Inc; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) with company matching

Relocation assistance considered

Job summary

Assured Space Access Technologies, Inc. in Irvine, CA seeks a Senior Chief Engineer for its 5G products line. You will own the technical success of the product line from concept through sustainment and act as the primary technical authority for performance, architecture, and risk.

You will lead an integrated team across systems, software, mechanical, electrical, antenna, RF, and applications engineering. The role requires a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (master’s preferred), 12+

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• 12+ years of engineering experience in wireless communications products.
• Leadership of multidisciplinary product or system development.
• Ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own the system architecture, performance requirements, baselines and roadmap for the base station and router.
• Lead system-level trade studies for 5G NR, RF front-end and antenna, Wi‑Fi, SATCOM, cybersecurity and rugged packaging.
• Ensure product performance in field: throughput, latency, coverage and interference resilience.
• Set and maintain technical baseline under configuration control; approve changes with cost and schedule impact.
• Chair design reviews and verification programs; drive certification strategy and FCC/military approvals.
• Drive manufacturability, cost, reliability, and transition from prototype to production.
• Lead customer interactions; translate needs into product requirements and roadmap priorities.
• Mentor engineers and coordinate with program manager on priorities and risk.
• Travel to customer sites and partner facilities as needed.

Skills

Leadership

System architecture

Wireless technologies

Regulatory compliance

Engineering leadership

On-site Irvine

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Assured Space Access Technologies, Inc. is a defense and engineering firm delivering phased array, radar, RF payload, and secure communications solutions to government and prime contractor customers. We are headquartered in Irvine, California. This position leads our 5G Products line: the CyberBase™ tactical secure 5G base station (a ruggedized gNodeB) and a secure 5G smart router, built for vehicles, ships, shore sites, and unmanned platforms for U.S. military and commercial customers.

Team

Engineering, 5G Products

Location

Irvine, CA (on-site)

Employment Type

Full-Time, Exempt

Base Salary Range

$180,000 – $235,000 per year

Clearance

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. An active clearance is preferred.

Position Summary

As the Product Chief Engineer for 5G Products, you own the technical success of the product line through its entire life cycle: concept, development, certification, production, fielding, and sustainment. You are the primary technical authority for product performance, architecture, cost, schedule, risk, and customer satisfaction, and the single person the CTO, the Technical Program Manager, business development, and the customer look to when the question is “will this work, and when.” The 5G line is production‑ready, not a study. CyberBase provides a private 5G network with Ethernet or standalone core; the smart router converts 5G into Wi‑Fi 6/6E and 10 GbE Ethernet in an IP67 enclosure sized for a ship or a vehicle roof. Both operate with SATCOM backhaul, in maritime mesh, and through UAV relay, and both must withstand MIL‑STD‑810 environments, MIL‑STD‑461 EMI, contested spectrum, and FCC and military spectrum certification. You will lead an integrated product team of systems, software, mechanical, electrical, antenna, RF, and applications engineers, working alongside a dedicated Technical Program Manager who owns schedule and resources while you own the technical baseline. This is a senior, hands‑on technical leadership seat. You will make the architecture calls, chair the design reviews, stand in front of the customer, and, because the team is small, still open the enclosure and look at the board when something does not work.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Ownership of the Product

• Define and maintain the system architecture, performance requirements, technical baselines, and technology roadmap for the base station, the smart router, and derivative products across all configurations.
• Lead system-level trade studies spanning 5G NR radio and core network architecture (including Open RAN options), RF front-end and antenna design, Wi‑Fi integration, SATCOM backhaul, cybersecurity and zero‑trust user partitioning, power, thermal, and ruggedized packaging.
• Own product performance in the field: throughput, latency, coverage, coexistence between 5G, Wi‑Fi, GPS, and SATCOM radios in one enclosure, resilience to interference and jamming, and behavior in disconnected and denied environments.
• Establish and maintain the technical baseline under configuration control; approve engineering changes and their effect on performance, cost, certification status, and fielded units.

Product Development and Certification

• Chair design reviews and Test Readiness Reviews for the product line; hold the integrated product team to exit criteria, margins, and technical risk closure.
• Own the certification strategy and execution, including FCC equipment authorization, military spectrum and frequency assignment, and customer‑mandated security and interoperability testing, and the design decisions that keep the product certifiable as bands and features are added.
• Drive design for manufacturability, cost, reliability, and sustainment; lead the transition of new configurations from prototype to production with suppliers and production test.
• Set the standard for verification: test plans that prove the product against its requirements in our System Integration Laboratory and in the field, with data the customer can accept.

Customer, Business, and Roadmap

• Serve as the senior technical interface to customers, prime contractors, and partners: define requirements, develop technical proposals, deliver demonstrations, support deployment, and resolve field issues at the Tier‑3 level.
• Partner with business development and the applications engineer to translate operational needs (private tactical networks, ship‑to‑shore and ship‑to‑ship mesh, forward‑base connectivity, UAV relay) into product requirements and roadmap priorities.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and standards, such as 3GPP releases, Open RAN, Wi‑Fi 7, small cell and massive MIMO, fixed wireless access, and tactical datalink integration, and develop technology insertion plans that keep the product line ahead of the threat and the competition.
• Support proposals, cost and schedule estimates, and customer reviews with technical volumes and engineering estimates.

Team Leadership

• Provide technical direction, mentoring, and design authority to the 5G integrated product team; grow the systems, RF, software, and antenna engineers into product experts.
• Work day‑to‑day with the 5G Technical Program Manager on priorities, staffing, and risk; run the weekly 5G engineering and business development technical syncs.
• Coordinate with the Ground Based Radar Product Chief Engineer and the discipline leads on shared engineers, shared laboratories, and common technology (phased array antennas, RF front ends, power, cybersecurity).
• Travel to customer sites, field demonstrations, test ranges, and partner facilities as needed.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a closely related discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
• 12+ years of engineering experience in wireless communications products, with 5+ years leading multidisciplinary product or system development as a chief engineer, system architect, or technical lead.
• Demonstrated ownership of a communications product through its life cycle (architecture, development, certification, production, and fielding), with accountability for performance, cost, schedule, and risk.
• Deep understanding of 3GPP 5G NR radio access and core network architecture, private and standalone 5G networks, RF front‑end and antenna considerations, and Wi‑Fi integration and coexistence.
• Experience leading formal design reviews and verification programs, and managing technical baselines under configuration control.
• Experience with regulatory certification of radio products (FCC or equivalent) and with ruggedized products qualified to MIL‑STD‑810 and MIL‑STD‑461.
• Proven ability to lead engineers, resolve complex technical problems under schedule pressure, and communicate technical status and risk to executives and customers.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship.
• Ability to work on site in Irvine, CA.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with tactical or military communications systems, Open RAN solutions, small cells, massive MIMO, or fixed wireless access platforms.
• Experience with maritime, vehicle, or airborne communications products, including SATCOM backhaul integration and mesh networking.
• Working knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks (NIST 800‑171, RMF) and zero‑trust network design as applied to communications products.
• Familiarity with phased array antennas, digital beamforming, and spectrum sharing between radar and communications systems.
• Experience taking a product from a small development team into production, including supplier engineering and production test.
• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance.

What we offer

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k) with company matching; and paid time off.
• Professional development support, including training and certifications relevant to your field.
• Relocation assistance considered case by case.
• Hands‑on ownership of real scope in a growing defense technology company.

Equal Opportunity

Assured Space Access Technologies, Inc. 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, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Compensation Range: $180K - $235K