Senior RF Design Engineer - Space & Defense Lead

Northrop Grumman; Manhattan Beach (CA); On-site; USD 177,000 - 265,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Overtime eligibility

Discretionary bonus

Long Term Incentives

Health insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Manhattan Beach, CA, seeks a Senior RF Design Engineer (T05) to lead end-to-end design of space-qualified RF hardware for satellite payloads and electronic warfare systems. You will own requirements, architecture, simulation, prototyping and testing with cross-functional teams.

The role requires a strong RF/microwave background, hands-on lab experience, and the ability to obtain U.S. government clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering; 12+ years of relevant experience (10 years with Masters; 8 years with PhD).
• Experience designing, testing, and troubleshooting RF hardware in Aerospace & Defense.
• Strong RF/microwave fundamentals; hands-on with VNAs and Spectrum Analyzers.
• Extensive experience with HFSS, ADS, and Microwave Office.

Responsibilities

• Take technical ownership of RF modules, units, or subsystems (SSPAs, LNAs, converters, phased array antennas).
• Design, model, and simulate RF/microwave circuits and perform EM analyses.
• Derive and manage subsystem requirements; perform link budget and gain/loss analyses.
• Lead space-qualified PCB layouts, components, and packaging design.
• Develop test plans; conduct environmental testing (thermal vacuum, vibration, EMI/EMC).
• Lead design reviews; mentor junior engineers and coordinate with manufacturing.

Skills

RF design

RF testing

Lab equipment

Cascaded analysis

Gain/linearities

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

12+ years of experience

Tools

HFSS

ADS

Microwave Office

Job description

Northrop Grumman in Manhattan Beach, CA, seeks a Senior RF Design Engineer (T05) to lead end-to-end design of space-qualified RF hardware for satellite payloads and electronic warfare systems. You will own requirements, architecture, simulation, prototyping and testing with cross-functional teams.

The role requires a strong RF/microwave background, hands-on lab experience, and the ability to obtain U.S. government clearance.