Senior Manufacturing RF DFX Engineer

Jobtailor; California (MO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking an experienced RF/Microwave engineer to lead the design and integration of RF assemblies for satellite communication modules. You will drive impedance-controlled routing, calibration procedures, and integration workflows to ensure high-yield, reliable production.

Responsibilities include RF BOM management, vendor coordination, first-article inspection, and manufacturing readiness reviews.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or RF/Microwave Engineering.
• 10+ years in RF/microwave design, assembly, or systems integration in product development.
• Experience with impedance-controlled routing and high-frequency components.
• Proficiency in RF design tools (Altium, Cadence, ADS, HFSS, CST).
• Hands-on RF assembly, calibration, testing, and line bring-up.
• DFX practices in volume production and documentation.
• Excellent technical documentation and communication skills.
• U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or approved refugee/asylee status.

Responsibilities

• Lead RF/microwave assembly design for satellite communication modules and subsystems.
• Own RF assembly process development and integration workflows.
• Manage RF BOM procurement, vendor coordination, and RF performance analysis.
• Drive first-article inspection, RF validation, and manufacturing readiness reviews.
• Coordinate with manufacturing, quality, and supply chain to optimize yield.
• Apply DFX concepts across the RF lifecycle and optimize board stackups.

Skills

RF/Microwave design

Technical documentation

Communication skills

DFX principles application

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering

Master's degree preferred

15+ years of experience preferred

Tools

Altium

Cadence

ADS

HFSS

CST

Job description

• Lead RF/microwave assembly design for satellite communication modules and subsystems, including RF front-ends, transceivers, filters, amplifiers, antenna feeds, waveguides, and mechanical RF hardware integration
• Own RF assembly process development, including impedance-controlled routing, shielding, connectorization, calibration procedures, and integration workflows
• Manage RF BOM procurement, vendor coordination, RF performance and tolerance analysis, and assembly oversight
• Drive first-article inspection, RF performance validation, process validation, and manufacturing readiness reviews for production ramp
• Apply DFM, DFT, DFA, DFR, and DFS principles across the RF assembly lifecycle
• Optimize RF board stackups, transmission-line geometry, materials, shielding, and assembly processes for yield and cost
• Architect RF test structures, calibration references, test points, and automated RF test coverage
• Simplify connector selection, shielding integration, component placement, and mechanical integration to reduce assembly time, rework, and errors
• Apply derating, worst-case circuit analysis, FMEA, thermal-mechanical and vibration analysis, and reliability prediction
• Coordinate component standardization, second-sourcing strategies, and obsolescence mitigation
• Partner with manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams to define acceptance criteria, optimize yield, and support production ramp for TeraWave operations

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience in RF/microwave design, RF assembly, or RF systems integration in product development and volume production environments
• Experience designing RF/microwave assemblies with impedance-controlled routing, high-frequency components, and tight performance tolerances
• Proficiency in Altium, Cadence, ADS, HFSS, or equivalent RF design and simulation tools
• Hands-on experience with RF assembly processes, including connectorization, shielding, calibration, RF testing, and line bring-up
• Demonstrated application of DFX principles (DFM/DFT/DFA/DFR) in bringing RF assemblies into volume production
• Excellent technical documentation and communication skills
• U.S. citizenship or nationality, U.S. permanent residency, or lawful admission to the U.S. as a refugee or asylee
• Master's degree in Electrical or RF/Microwave Engineering preferred
• 15+ years of relevant experience preferred
• Experience with satellite communications, phased-array antennas, mmWave systems, or high-frequency transceiver design preferred
• Experience with RF simulation and analysis (HFSS, ADS, CST) and RF characterization/test preferred
• Experience designing and manufacturing RF hardware for space, aviation, or other high-reliability thermal-vacuum environments preferred
• Experience with radiation effects on RF electronics and mitigation techniques preferred
• Background in production hardware, comprehensive DFX practices, RF process optimization, supply chain coordination, and yield optimization at scale preferred
• Hands-on environmental qualification testing (TVAC, vibration, EMI/EMC) preferred
• Ability to pass required background checks

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in RF/Microwave Assembly Design and Integration, with a strong focus on optimizing processes for satellite communication modules. Proficient in applying DFX principles and managing RF assembly workflows to ensure high performance and reliability in production environments.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• RF/Microwave Design
• DFX Principles Application
• Altium Proficiency
• RF Assembly Process Development
• Satellite Communication Experience

Hard Skills

• RF Front-Ends
• Transceivers
• Filters
• Amplifiers
• Impedance-Controlled Routing
• Calibration Procedures
• FMEA
• Thermal-Mechanical Analysis
• Vibration Analysis
• RF Performance Validation

Soft Skills

• Technical Documentation
• Communication Skills

Industry Keywords

• Satellite Communications
• Phased-Array Antennas
• High-Frequency Transceiver Design
• Environmental Qualification Testing
• Production Hardware

Tools & Technologies

• Altium
• Cadence
• ADS
• HFSS
• CST