Senior Antenna Engineer

Inversion; Los Angeles (CA); Vor Ort; USD 137.000 - 193.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Inversion in Playa Vista, CA is seeking a Senior Antenna Engineer to lead antenna design, EM simulations, and integration for next‑generation reentry vehicles. You will own requirements capture, modeling, prototyping, and test activities within the Avionics team.

This role requires 5+ years in RF/EM, hands-on testing, and the ability to work with cross-functional groups to deliver robust antenna solutions in demanding space‑defense environments.

Qualifikationen

• Bachelors or Masters in Electrical Engineering with RF focus.
• 5+ years in antenna design, EM simulation, and integration.
• Ability to obtain U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

Aufgaben

• Lead antenna design, simulation, and placement for flight and ground comms.
• Capture requirements and perform EM simulations.
• Develop concepts and trades for gain, bandwidth, polarization, and placement.
• Model RF performance with EM tools and installed-performance analysis.
• Prototype, tune, and validate components and systems.
• Perform impedance, return loss, radiation pattern, gain tests in anechoic chamber.
• Support integration with RF front-end, vehicle structures, radomes, and thermal systems.
• Evaluate installation effects and mitigate performance degradation.
• Collaborate with RF, electrical, mechanical, thermal, software, and systems teams.

Kenntnisse

RF/EM design

Antenna simulation

Anechoic testing

HFSS CST FEKO

Security clearance eligible

Ausbildung

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Electrical Engineering

Tools

HFSS

CST

FEKO

MATLAB

Jobbeschreibung

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next‑generation capabilities from space. Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low‑Earth Orbit into an on‑demand logistics domain. We see space not as a destination, but as a platform — one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach.

Who We Are

Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision. These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds.

Inherently dual‑use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications. Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S. Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space‑based defense and logistics.

What You’ll Do

As a Senior Antenna Engineer, you will lead the design, analysis, integration, and validation of antenna systems supporting Inversion’s next‑generation re‑entry vehicles. You will work within the Avionics team to develop high‑performance antenna solutions for flight and ground applications, owning antenna development from requirements capture and EM simulation through prototyping, installed performance evaluation, and mission‑readiness testing.

This role is ideal for an experienced engineer with deep expertise in antenna design and electromagnetic analysis, and with strong judgment in translating system‑level communication and vehicle constraints into robust antenna solutions. You will help develop critical hardware and systems for cutting‑edge maneuverable reentry vehicles – advancing one of the most capable reentry vehicle platforms ever developed.

You will be a key member of the Avionics team, reporting directly to the Director of Engineering, Avionics. Our engineers are responsible for the complete lifecycle of the hardware they create, including design, analysis, prototyping, test, and integration.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Lead antenna design, simulation, and placement activities for flight and ground communication systems.
• Capture antenna requirements and perform supporting electromagnetic simulation and analysis to meet system‑level performance needs.
• Develop antenna concepts and trade studies across gain, bandwidth, efficiency, polarization, impedance matching, size, placement, and environmental constraints.
• Model and predict antenna and vehicle‑level RF performance using EM simulation tools and installed‑performance analysis methods.
• Plan and execute antenna prototyping, tuning, and validation activities for component‑level and integrated system testing.
• Perform antenna measurements including impedance, return loss, radiation pattern, gain, efficiency, and polarization using anechoic chamber, near‑field, and far‑field test methods.
• Support integration of antennas with RF front‑end hardware, vehicle structures, radomes, thermal systems, and other avionics subsystems.
• Evaluate installation effects and recommend mitigation strategies for performance degradation due to vehicle geometry, nearby structures, radomes, thermal protection systems, or other environmental constraints.
• Partner closely with RF, electrical, mechanical, thermal, software, and systems engineering teams to ensure successful antenna implementation.
• Document requirements, design trades, simulation results, test data, and design recommendations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field with RF/EM focus.
• 5+ years of professional experience in antenna design, EM simulation, and antenna integration.
• Strong R&D experience in RF and antenna systems.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance up to Top Secret.
• Deep knowledge of aperture antennas, impedance matching, Smith chart usage, polarization, bandwidth, and RF front‑end interactions.
• Proficiency with antenna modeling and electromagnetic simulation tools such as HFSS, CST, FEKO, or similar.
• Experience with antenna prototyping methods and fabrication approaches.Experience with antenna measurement techniques including anechoic chamber, near‑field, and far‑field testing.
• Understanding of antenna integration effects on vehicle or platform performance.
• Familiarity with radomes, thermal/mechanical constraints, and embedded or conformal antenna design.
• Ability to perform trade studies for gain, bandwidth, efficiency, polarization, and antenna placement.
• Strong understanding of installed antenna performance, coupling effects, and interaction with surrounding structures.
• Ability to clearly communicate antenna design concepts and tradeoffs to multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience designing antennas for aerospace vehicles, spacecraft, missiles, aircraft, or other highly integrated platforms.
• Familiarity with S‑band, L‑band, or other telemetry and communications frequency bands relevant to flight systems.
• Experience with vehicle‑level RF analysis and link budget support.
• Familiarity with antenna/RF system integration in harsh thermal, vibration, shock, EMI/EMC, and radiation environments.
• Experience with radome analysis, conformal antenna integration, or embedded antenna architectures.
• Familiarity with aerospace and defense qualification standards such as MIL‑STD‑461/810, DO‑160, SMC‑S‑016, or similar frameworks.
• Experience developing custom analysis scripts or tools in Python or MATLAB to support EM post‑processing, optimization, or test data reduction.
• Experience in startup environments or small, highly collaborative engineering teams.

Staff‑Level Consideration

We are also open to considering exceptional candidates for a Staff Antenna Engineer level. Staff‑level candidates should possess all of the qualifications listed above, in addition to 8+ years of professional experience with demonstrated technical leadership in antenna system development for aerospace, defense, or other high‑reliability applications. The Staff‑level compensation range is $161,000 – $221,000.

Office Location and Requirements

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in‑office presence.

Salary

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $137,000 – $193,000. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job‑related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

ITAR Compliance

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.

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