Satellite RF Service Engineer - In-Orbit Validation

AST SpaceMobile; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

AST SpaceMobile seeks a Service Engineer to own RF and system-level correctness of satellite service passes, from beamforming configuration through link-budget validation and post-pass RF/RAN analysis.

This role spans RF systems engineering, payload configuration, and ground segment operations. Expect cross‑functional collaboration, feature acceptance criteria, and readiness planning from lab to in-orbit test (IOT) through production handover.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years in RF engineering, RAN, satellite or wireless validation environments.
• Strong understanding of link budget analysis, FSP, EIRP, G/T, interference mitigation and RF measurement techniques.
• Experience with IQ domain/DSP signal analysis (spectrogram/FFT) and RF diagnostics.
• Deep knowledge of LTE/RAN technologies and their integration with satellite links.
• Scripting or automation experience (Python, Lua, MATLAB) for validation and telemetry parsing.

Responsibilities

• Lead in-orbit testing and end-to-end LTE validation across satellite 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 including EIRP, G/T, beam pattern, and pointing accuracy.
• Analyze IQ data to diagnose signal quality and beamforming performance.
• Troubleshoot RF, RAN, payload, and gateway issues affecting LTE performance and mobility.
• Define acceptance criteria, KPIs, validation plans, and readiness for production handover.
• Lead cross-functional technical reviews with R&D, Operations, and Service teams.

Skills

RF engineering

RAN

Satellite communications

LTE technologies

Python / Lua / MATLAB

Diagnostics tooling

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

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

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Lua

DSP signal analysis tooling

Job description

AST SpaceMobile seeks a Service Engineer to own RF and system-level correctness of satellite service passes, from beamforming configuration through link-budget validation and post-pass RF/RAN analysis.

This role spans RF systems engineering, payload configuration, and ground segment operations. Expect cross‑functional collaboration, feature acceptance criteria, and readiness planning from lab to in-orbit test (IOT) through production handover.