Satcom Systems Engineer - RF/Modem & Space Defense

KBR, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401K plan with company match

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Flexible work schedule

Job summary

KBR’s SATCOM Systems Engineer role focuses on architecture, analysis, integration, and oversight of advanced satellite communications systems. You will work across RF, IF, baseband, and networking layers to evaluate modems and terminal architectures and carry out link budgets and performance modeling.

The position requires 5+ years of hands-on experience in communications and RF engineering, with DoD program exposure and active SECRET clearance.

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related field.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in communications system development.
• Experience supporting modem, waveform, or RF subsystem design or integration.
• Experience supporting integration and system-level testing.
• Experience working in DoD or defense communications programs.
• Knowledge of RF engineering principles including non-linear effects, phase noise, filtering, frequency planning, and interference analysis.
• Understanding of digital communications theory including modulation, coding, synchronization, and detection.
• Experience evaluating or implementing ModCod strategies and adaptive coding and modulation.
• Experience with multiple access schemes.
• Experience performing link budget analysis and system performance modeling.
• Experience with modeling/simulation tools such as MATLAB or equivalent.
• Ability to translate waveform and RF performance analysis into actionable system requirements.
• Active DoD SECRET clearance.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and define modem and RF subsystem architectures for SATCOM systems.
• Evaluate modulation and coding schemes (QPSK, 8PSK, APSK variants, LDPC, Turbo, etc.) under operational link conditions.
• Assess and support implementation of multiple access techniques.
• Develop and review link budgets, spectral efficiency analysis, and interference mitigation strategies.
• Support System-on-Chip (SoC) or FPGA-based modem implementations and hardware/software partitioning decisions.
• Define system and interface requirements across RF, IF, baseband, and Layer 2 interfaces.
• Support integration and test of modem and terminal subsystems in laboratory and field environments.
• Identify technical risks and performance trades across waveform, RF, and network layers.

Skills

RF engineering

Digital communications

Modem development

SoC/FPGA

Link budgets

Interference analysis

MATLAB

System-level testing

ModCod strategies

Multiple access

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

MS in Electrical Engineering (preferred)

Tools

MATLAB

Job description

KBR’s SATCOM Systems Engineer role focuses on architecture, analysis, integration, and oversight of advanced satellite communications systems. You will work across RF, IF, baseband, and networking layers to evaluate modems and terminal architectures and carry out link budgets and performance modeling.

The position requires 5+ years of hands-on experience in communications and RF engineering, with DoD program exposure and active SECRET clearance.