RF Design Engineer

Specter; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Specter is hiring an Antenna and RF Hardware Design Engineer to own antenna and RF hardware design from EM simulation through fabrication, measurement, and production qualification. The role supports PCB‑level matching, isolation, and layout decisions while collaborating with the RF team.

The ideal candidate will have 3–5 years of RF hardware experience, strong fundamentals, hands‑on measurement skills, and familiarity with HFSS/CST.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of RF hardware design experience on production wireless hardware.
• Strong RF fundamentals: transmission lines, impedance matching, S‑parameters, signal integrity.
• EM simulation: HFSS, CST, or equivalent.
• Hands‑on RF measurement: VNA, S‑parameter, and pattern or gain measurement.
• PCB‑level RF design experience: stack‑up, controlled impedance, RF routing, isolation.
• Sub‑GHz or ISM band experience (902–928 MHz preferred).
• Project ownership and timeline discipline, you flag risks early and deliver.

Responsibilities

• Antenna design: Model patch, array, and air‑gap antennas through fabrication and qualification.
• RF front‑end design: Design matching networks, harmonic filtering, and PA/LNA chains.
• Multi-radio integration: Integrate Wi‑Fi, HaLow, and other radios on shared platforms.
• PCB‑level RF design: RF schematic/layout decisions, stack‑up, controlled impedance, isolation.
• Measurement and bring‑up: Characterize designs with VNA, S‑parameters, radiation patterns.
• Production qualification: Define acceptance criteria and coordinate with test teams.
• Design and IP documentation: Maintain design files and qualification artifacts.

Skills

RF fundamentals

Impedance matching

EM simulation

RF measurement

PCB‑level RF design

S‑parameters analysis

Project ownership

Tools

HFSS

CST

VNA

Job description

Company Background

Specter's mission is to help automate the physical world.

Today, we build video sensors with state-of-the-art AI agents that answer any question, anywhere in their environments. Our systems can automatically detect and reason about any physical activity captured on camera, from security incidents (e.g. perimeter intrusion, theft, LPR), to safety monitoring (e.g. PPE detection, injured people), to operational efficiency (e.g. material tracking, congestion monitoring). We offer both long range wireless (1km range) and wired sensor variants to suit any deployment.

Our co-founders Xerxes and Philip are passionate about empowering our partners in the fast approaching world of physical AI and robotics. We are a small, fast growing team who hail from Anduril, Tesla, Uber, and the U.S. Special Forces.

The Role

Specter is hiring an Antenna and RF Hardware Design Engineer to own the antenna and RF hardware design that sets the ceiling on our deployment range, capacity, and sectorization geometry. This role takes antenna designs from EM simulation through fabrication, measurement, and production qualification, and supports the broader RF team on PCB-level matching, isolation, and layout decisions.

Responsibilities

• Antenna design: Model patch, array, and air-gap antennas in HFSS or CST. Take designs from simulation through fabrication, measurement, and qualification.
• RF front-end design: Design matching networks, harmonic filtering, and PA/LNA chains for sub-GHz and Wi-Fi radios.
• Multi-radio integration: Integrate Wi‑Fi, HaLow, and other radios on shared platforms. Own coexistence and isolation across co‑located standards.
• PCB‑level RF design: Own RF schematic and layout decisions: stack‑up, controlled impedance, RF routing, and isolation. Review PCB layouts with the EE team.
• Measurement and bring-up: Characterize designs on VNA, run S‑parameter and radiation pattern measurements, and drive bring‑up of new RF hardware.
• Production qualification: Define acceptance criteria for RF designs and partner with the test team on qualification methodology.
• Design and IP documentation: Maintain design files, measurement reports, and qualification artifacts.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of RF hardware design experience on production wireless hardware.
• Strong RF fundamentals: transmission lines, impedance matching, S‑parameters, signal integrity.
• EM simulation: HFSS, CST, or equivalent.
• Hands‑on RF measurement: VNA, S‑parameter, and pattern or gain measurement.
• PCB‑level RF design experience: stack‑up, controlled impedance, RF routing, isolation.
• Sub‑GHz or ISM band experience (902–928 MHz preferred).
• Project ownership and timeline discipline, you flag risks early and deliver without being chased.

Nice to Have

• Antenna design experience: patch, array, air‑gap, or other constrained‑form‑factor antennas.
• Multi‑radio platform integration and coexistence (Wi‑Fi + sub‑GHz, Wi‑Fi + cellular, or similar).
• 802.11 standards knowledge, ideally including 802.11ah / Wi‑Fi HaLow.
• Anechoic chamber operations or near‑field scanning.
• FCC Part 15 awareness as it relates to intentional radiators.
• Altium or comparable PCB layout tool familiarity.