Senior Microwave Antenna Engineer

EVONA; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

EVONA is partnering with an early-stage space technology company to develop high-performance SAR satellites. They seek a Senior Microwave Antenna Engineer to own the complete antenna lifecycle from EM design through flight-ready hardware.

You will work hands-on across RF, electrical, software and spacecraft teams to deliver an X-band, electronically steerable antenna for next-generation SAR missions. The role emphasizes ownership of prototype build, integration and test, with relocation

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in microwave antenna, RF or EM hardware development.
• Proven ability to take antenna designs from concept through prototype and test.
• Experience with phased arrays or reconfigurable antenna technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of X-band microwave antennas for SAR applications.
• Design and optimise electronically steerable / reconfigurable antenna architectures, including antenna elements, feeds and RF hardware.
• Perform antenna and electromagnetic modelling using HFSS, CST, ADS or similar tools.
• Own RF hardware from schematic capture and component selection through PCB layout, fabrication and board bring‑up.
• Develop antenna, RF backend and supporting digital PCBs.
• Build, integrate and debug antenna/RF prototypes in the lab.
• Characterise antenna performance using VNAs, spectrum analysers and anechoic chamber testing.
• Develop antenna calibration, monitoring and test approaches.
• Work across RF, electrical, software and spacecraft engineering to integrate the antenna into the complete satellite.
• Support the transition from early prototypes into flight-ready and repeatable hardware.

Skills

Microwave antenna design

RF PCB design

EM simulation tools

Test & characterization

Tools

HFSS

CST

ADS

Job description

EVONA is partnering with an early-stage space technology company developing a new generation of high-performance Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites.

We are looking for a Senior Microwave Antenna Engineer to take significant technical ownership of an advanced electronically steerable X-band antenna system, from electromagnetic design and simulation through PCB implementation, prototyping, integration and test.

This is a highly hands‑on role for an engineer who wants to design and build real flight hardware, rather than own one narrow piece of a larger programme.

What you'll be doing

• Lead the design and development of X-band microwave antennas for SAR applications
• Design and optimise electronically steerable / reconfigurable antenna architectures, including antenna elements, feeds and associated RF hardware
• Perform antenna and electromagnetic modelling using HFSS, CST, ADS or similar tools
• Own RF hardware from schematic capture and component selection through PCB layout, fabrication and board bring-up
• Develop antenna, RF backend and supporting digital PCBs
• Build, integrate and debug antenna/RF prototypes in the lab
• Characterise antenna performance using VNAs, spectrum analysers and anechoic chamber testing
• Develop antenna calibration, monitoring and test approaches
• Work across RF, electrical, software and spacecraft engineering to integrate the antenna into the complete satellite
• Support the transition from early prototypes into flight-ready and repeatable hardware

What we're looking for

• 5+ years of experience in microwave antenna, RF or electromagnetic hardware development
• Strong fundamentals in electromagnetics, microwave engineering and antenna design
• Proven experience personally taking antenna designs from concept → simulation → prototype → test
• Experience with phased arrays, electronically steered antennas, metasurfaces, reflectarrays, transmitarrays or other reconfigurable antenna technologies
• Hands‑on RF/mixed‑signal PCB design experience, ideally including schematic capture, layout and board bring‑up
• Experience with HFSS, CST, ADS or equivalent electromagnetic/RF simulation tools
• Practical RF test experience including VNA, S-parameters, gain and radiation-pattern measurements
• Experience designing within microwave frequency bands such as S, C, X, Ku, K or Ka Particularly valuable

Experience with any of the following would be highly relevant:

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) | X-band radar | Satellite payloads | Space hardware | Phased arrays | Metasurface antennas | Beam steering | High‑power RF | Antenna calibration | Anechoic chamber testing | Aerospace qualification

You’ll be joining a small engineering team where you can have genuine ownership of the antenna architecture and hardware, rather than working on a small subsystem within a large organisation.

The technology has the potential to fundamentally change how high‑resolution SAR imagery is produced from LEO, and you’ll have the opportunity to take the antenna system from its current development stage through to flight hardware and ultimately orbit.

Compensation:

Competitive base salary + equity + benefits

Relocation:

Available for the right candidate

If you’ve built microwave antennas and RF hardware and want the opportunity to own the complete antenna development lifecycle for a new satellite platform, I’d be keen to speak.