RF Microwave Design Engineer - Level 4 - Dulles

0909 SP - Orbital Space Systems; United States; On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Dulles, VA seeks a RF Microwave Design Engineer – Level 4 for an on-site role focused on SDR and RF components for satellite communications. You will lead a small team to define and design robust RF solutions within mass, power, and volume constraints, working in a fast-paced environment on a 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off.

Qualifications include a STEM degree with 8+ years, active Top-Secret clearance, hands-on RF test equipment experience, RF analyses, RF circuit

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with 8 years of professional experience OR Master’s degree with 6 years OR PhD with 4 years.
• Requires an active U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope.
• Ability to work with others from engineering and non-engineering disciplines in a fast-paced team environment.
• Good oral presentation skills and comfort with customer interaction.
• Ability to write technical documents clearly and concisely.
• Well organized and able to keep track of and make progress on multiple simultaneous tasks.
• Strong skills in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Experience with RF circuit card design of software defined Radios.
• Experience with RF analysis and trade studies to meet RF performance parameters.
• Hands on experience with RF test equipment (spectrum analyzers, signal generators, oscilloscopes, DMMs, AWGs).
• Experience with digital waveforms such as WCDMA, BPSK, QPSK, DVB-SX.
• Experience with RF simulation tools such as Microwave Office, ADS or others.

Responsibilities

• Design SDR and other RF components for satellite communications systems.
• Analyze communications systems for satellite and interplanetary applications.
• Perform RF analyses including gain, noise figure, and intercept point.
• Support requirements flow-down from top-level documents.
• Prepare and present design reviews for internal and external customers.
• Interact with internal teams and external customers regularly.
• Verify requirements against subcontractor and prime implementations.
• Summarize findings for customers.

Skills

RF design

RF analysis

RF test equipment

Digital waveforms

RF simulation tools

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Master’s degree in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

Microwave Office

ADS

MATLAB

Mathcad

Visual Basic for Applications

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE

Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time Description

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history. Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations.

Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams.

As a RF Microwave Design Engineer – Level 4 located in Dulles, VA, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work. The candidate will work as an RF/Analog design engineer developing SDR and other components for satellite communications applications. As a senior principal engineer, the candidate will have a senior role in a small team to define and design robust RF solutions while working within system constraints on mass, power, and volume. The successful candidate will have strong technical skills coupled with the ability to operate within a fast-paced environment. This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

In this job, you will:

• Design of software defined radio (SDR) and other RF components for satellite communication systems.
• Design and analysis of communications systems for satellite and interplanetary applications.
• The candidate must be familiar with RF analyses such as link budgets, digital modulation/coding, gain/loss budgets, noise figure, etc.
• Requirements flow-down from top-level customer document through subsystem-level definition to component-level specification.
• The candidate is expected to produce clear, concisely written documents that will be used as the technical basis for high dollar value procurements.
• Prepare and present design reviews for internal and external customers.
• The candidate will have regular interaction with the internal engineering and program management team as well as the external customer.
• Requirements verification based on customer’s top-level requirements compared to subcontractor and prime contractor actual implementation.
• The candidate will be able to concisely summarize findings and present them to the end customer.
• Subcontractor management (some travel required) and manufacturing interface definition including performance specification, interface control drawing, and statement of work generation.
• The candidate will work with potential subcontractors to ensure any technical solution meets the top-level customer's needs while satisfying system and program constraints.
• Support integration and test of the communications system including unit-level functional and environmental testing, spacecraft level testing, and in-orbit checkout (some travel and occasional shift work required).

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with 8 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 6 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 4 years of professional experience.
• Requires an active U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope.
• Ability to work with others from engineering and non-engineering disciplines in a fast-paced team environment.
• Good oral presentation skills and comfort with customer interaction.
• Ability to write technical documents clearly and concisely.
• Well organized and able to keep track of and make progress on multiple simultaneous tasks.
• Strong skills in Microsoft Office (particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint).
• Experience with RF circuit card design of software defined Radios.
• Experience with performing RF analysis and trade studies to meet RF performance parameters including (Gain, noise figure, Intercept point, stability, power consumption, etc).
• Hands on experience with RF test equipment such as spectrum analyzers, signal generators, oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, arbitrary waveform generators, etc.
• Experience with digital waveforms such as WCDMA, BPSK, QPSK, and DVB-SX.
• Additionally, experience with and understanding of RF designs and validation test to support these waveforms.
• Experience with RF simulation tools such as Microwave office, ADS, or other simulation tools.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading small engineering teams in development or production of RF systems.
• Familiar with engineering analysis tools such as MATLAB or Mathcad, and support tools such as Visual Basic for Applications.
• Experience with cost account management for engineering portion of multi-year program, including cost and labor hour estimating, task scheduling and earned value tracking.
• Experience or understanding of antenna design.
• Experience with HFSS.
• Experience with analog design of various circuits such as Opamps, regulators, feedback loops, power supply, etc.

Other duties as assigned.

If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team!

Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.

Northrop Grumman Total Rewards Primary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives.

In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO.

U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

Existing Applicants: Need to update your contact information or email address? Once logged in, click on Candidate Home in the upper right corner and scroll to the bottom of that screen to see buttons for: Update Contact information to update your legal name, address, and phone number. Edit Account Settings to edit your email address.

We are a pioneering company. With careers across all areas: air, cyber, land, sea and space – our 90,000 employees work as one to defend and define the future. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will give you every opportunity to do your best work. Working together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines, we share a drive to push the boundaries of science, technology and engineering to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide.