RF Design Engineer

vigilant; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Be part of a small, agile team

Work directly with visionary founders

Make a tangible impact on national security

Job summary

A fast-growing technical services firm in Seattle is seeking an experienced Senior RF Design Engineer to lead innovative product development in RF and microwave electronics. The candidate will work closely with a dedicated team, focusing on design, verification, and compliance for state-of-the-art systems in a fast-paced environment. With over 5 years of relevant experience, you will drive design projects, mentor junior engineers, and ensure product excellence within the defense sector.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of technical experience in RF/Millimeter wave electronics and antenna design.
• Expertise in RF parameters such as sensitivity, dynamic range, gain, and noise analysis.
• Experience leading technical teams and cross-functional groups against project plans.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, verification, and testing projects for RF systems.
• Develop test plans and analyze data for microwave and mmWave designs.
• Ensure product compliance with industry-specific certifications and regulations.

Skills

Beamforming

Electronic Warfare

Antenna Simulation

Antenna Design

Characterization

Electrical Engineering

Functional Verification

Education

BS in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics

Tools

CST

HFSS

Altium

Cadence

Job description

*direct-hire only for now, no recruiters please.

About Vigilant.Engineering

vigilant .engineering is a fast-growing technical services firm specializing in dual-use hardware innovation—serving both defense and commercial sectors. We partner with startups and OEMs to accelerate product development, deliver engineering excellence, and unlock strategic growth opportunities.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior RF Design Engineer (3-24 GHz) to support and lead fast-paced product development projects while working closely with a small group of scientists, engineers, and business leaders in a rapid development environment. The candidate will be responsible for the design and analysis of RF systems including advanced prototyping, product engineering, and supporting production transition. In addition, the candidate should be skilled in project planning budget & schedule management, and written and verbal communication. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to think creatively and to operate within a flexible, fast-paced program dedicated to advancing the state of the art in Electronic Warfare.

Principal Responsibilities

• Lead design, verification and test projects for radio frequency, microwave, and millimeter wave electronics for wireless power transfer systems, including frequency converters, rectification diodes, and other active & passive components
• Apply scientific techniques toward design of mmWave and microwave circuits and systems. Use full-wave solvers (such as HFSS or CST), semi-analytical approaches, and numerical models to validate theory. Prove out models with experiments that mitigate technical risk. Propose components and novel design approaches
• Design, develop and qualify mmWave, microwave, and RF subsystems for beamforming antenna systems. Review adjacent subsystem designs and quantify RF impacts. Support RF PCB layout including generation of RF artwork for integration into mixed signal boards. Conduct design reviews. Revise designs as required to achieve product performance and product goals
• Develop test plans for microwave and millimeter wave designs. Analyze data alongside test engineers that provides clarity around KPIs. Diagnose problems found in EV/DV/PV development phases, direct mitigations, and resolve emergent issues from deployments
• Perform analyses to optimize total system architecture for affordability, safety, reliability, maintainability, testability, regulatory, and certification
• Teach/mentor junior engineers and technicians on making millimeter wave test measurements and review test results
• Collaborate closely and drive the resolution of technical issues by working with cross-functional teams such as industrial design, mechanical, EE, architecture, product design, NPI, and supply chain
• Perform collaborative design reviews of RF and EE designs to ensure systems function as-designed prior to prototype fabrication
• Ensure product compliance with all industry specific certifications/regulations
• Collaborate with Program management, Systems Engineering, and other cross functional teams to drive product definition, design decisions, team alignment, and day to day program execution.
• Support resolution of technical issues by working with the cross-functional teams, such as, Mechanical, SW, Technology teams, Quality/Reliability, CM, and vendors.

Basic Qualifications

• BS in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of technical experience (post academic) in the field of RF/Millimeter wave electronics, antenna design and RF/Millimeter wave electronics test
• 3+ years of experience using one of the 3D EM simulation tools such as CST, HFSS, FEKO, SEMCAD, EMPro, TICRA or XFDTD
• Familiarity with PCB design capture tools such as Altium, Cadence, etc.
• Familiarity with solid-state device characteristics, dynamic impedance matching, and RF power characterization
• Expertise in the RF domain including understanding of advanced transmitter designs, including RF performance parameters such as sensitivity, dynamic range, gain and noise analysis, bandwidth, and digital parameters such as Analog-to-Digital conversion, ENOB, SFDR, timing and synchronization
• Experience with link budget analysis, antenna performance characteristics, and propagation
• Experience and knowledge of printed circuit board (PCB) technologies, such as rigid, flex, hybrid, HDI, etc.
• Knowledge of the relationship between physical layout and electrical/RF performance
• Experience leading technical teams, cross‑functional groups and vendors against project plans
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Comprehensive understanding of the product development, validation, and support life cycle for a complex vertical product
• Prior Consulting Experience
• Ability to meet vigilant .engineering, customer and/or government security screening and background check requirements are required for this role
• Due to contractual obligations with the U.S. government, this position requires the candidate to be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident) as defined by applicable federal regulations.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of industry (post academic) experience
• Digital RF transmitter and receiver design
• Demonstrated experience bringing new product categories to market
• Experience in ECAD tools (Microwave office, ADS, Ansys HFSS, Siwave, etc)
• RF/Microwave electronics design and test experience
• Experience with one of the mainstream RF circuit simulation tools: AWR, ADS, Genesys
• Experience with antenna prototyping tools and techniques
• Experience with antenna measurement techniques and tools such as anechoic/reverb chambers, near field EM measurements
• Experience leading a team of engineers and technicians
• Master or Doctorate of Science degree from an accredited course of study in engineering, computer science, mathematics or physics and experience in a professional engineering classification is preferred
• Experience performing bench level measurements for high speed signal and power
• Experience leveraging technical and product development experience and strong cross-collaboration relationships to influence product direction
• Experience running signal integrity simulations

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a small, agile team shaping the future of dual-use innovation.
• Work directly with visionary founders, engineers, and operators.
• Make a tangible impact on national security and commercial tech advancement.

Vigilant Engineering, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

Seniority Level

Senior

Job Functions

Engineering Services, RF, Antenna Design, Simulation, Electronic Warfare, Defense and Space Manufacturing

Employment Type

Contractor

Skills

Beamforming, Electronic Warfare, Antenna Simulation, Antenna Design, Characterization, Electrical Engineering, Functional Verification