Satellite RF Engineer: Service Enablement & In-Orbit Testing

astspacemobile; Lanham (MD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

AST SpaceMobile is seeking a Service Engineer to own RF and system-level correctness of satellite service passes, coordinating across ground segments and RAN domains. You will configure, validate, and troubleshoot RF chains, beamforming, and link budgets with telemetry and LTE counters to ensure service readiness.

You will drive in-orbit testing, build validation plans, and deliver production-ready handovers, leveraging Python/Lua/MATLAB for automation and data analysis.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of RF engineering, RAN, satellite or wireless systems validation.
• Deep understanding of link budget analysis including FSPL, EIRP, G/T and scan loss.
• Experience with IQ domain/DSP signal analysis and spectral inspection.
• Strong knowledge of LTE/RAN technologies.
• Scripting/automation for configuration validation and telemetry parsing.

Responsibilities

• Lead in-orbit testing and end-to-end LTE validation across payload, gateway RF chain, and RAN domains.
• Validate satellite and gateway configuration files and per-pass link budget targets.
• Perform RF and link budget analysis for LEO service passes and beam pattern validation.
• Analyze IQ captures to diagnose signal quality, calibration, and interference.
• Troubleshoot RF, RAN, payload, and gateway issues impacting LTE performance and handovers.
• Define feature acceptance criteria, KPIs, and readiness plans; oversee cross-functional reviews.
• Develop diagnostic dashboards and visualization tools to accelerate analysis.

Skills

RF engineering

RAN

LTE/RAN technologies

IQ domain/DSP analysis

Beamforming

Automation scripting

Telemetry analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering/Telecommunications/RF Engineering

Tools

Python

Lua

MATLAB

Job description

AST SpaceMobile is seeking a Service Engineer to own RF and system-level correctness of satellite service passes, coordinating across ground segments and RAN domains. You will configure, validate, and troubleshoot RF chains, beamforming, and link budgets with telemetry and LTE counters to ensure service readiness.

You will drive in-orbit testing, build validation plans, and deliver production-ready handovers, leveraging Python/Lua/MATLAB for automation and data analysis.