Senior RF/Electrical Engineer

Lynk; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Lynk is hiring a Senior RF/Electrical Engineer to design, analyze, and optimize nanosatellite payloads and the associated RF/communications hardware and software. You will work across RF, electrical, mechanical, and software domains with bench testing, simulations, and antenna considerations.

You will collaborate with Systems Engineering to shape constellation architecture while progressing payload development from concept to in-orbit validation. Strong Linux and programming skills are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in RF or Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• 7+ years in design, integration, or test of space hardware.
• Experience with space payload hardware and software, preferably comms systems.
• Hands-on with SDRs, antennas, FPGAs, GPUs, CPUs, SoCs, SBCs, microcontrollers.
• Proficiency in C++, C, Python, MATLAB, etc.
• Experience with Linux systems.
• Knowledge of VHDL/Verilog and FPGA toolchains.
• Familiarity with Altium and RF air interfaces (TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, CDMA).
• Experience integrating hardware and software systems; strong PC skills.

Responsibilities

• Support spacecraft payload hardware design and software development.
• 8+ years RF/EE experience within space projects.
• Support nanosatellite antenna technology selection and design.
• Develop link budgets, simulations, and RF system dimensioning.
• Assist payload integration, testing, and delivery to launch partners.
• Plan payload testing configurations for ground and in-orbit tests.
• Interface with Systems Engineering on constellation/network design.
• Bench-level mechatronics work and software-based systems analysis.
• Maintain technical documentation for payload development.
• Work independently and within a team.

Skills

RF hardware

FPGAs

GPUs

SoCs

Microcontrollers

Linux

C++

C

Python

MATLAB

VHDL/Verilog

Altium

Networking protocols

SDRs

Education

Bachelor’s degree in RF or Electrical Engineering

7+ years of space hardware project experience

Tools

Altium

FPGA design tools

Spectrum analyzer

Job description

About Lynk

Lynk is the inventor of satellite direct to device or D2D technology, and has the world’s only commercial license from the FCC to operate a commercial D2D system. Today, Lynk allows mobile network operators’ subscribers to send and receive text messages to and from space via standard unmodified, mobile devices. Lynk’s service has been tested and proven on all seven continents, has regulatory approvals in more than 30 countries and is currently being deployed commercially based on more than 40 MNO commercial service contracts covering approximately 50 countries.

Our technology will enable all 8 billion people on the planet to stay connected with the existing standard phone in their pocket. Everywhere. No matter what.

By joining Lynk, you will have the opportunity to directly touch the lives of billions. Your mission will be to bring mobile broadband to billions, pull hundreds of millions out of poverty, and save countless lives.

Job Summary

As a Senior RF/Electrical Engineer at Lynk, you will be responsible for wearing many hats in the world of radio frequencies, electronics, hardware, and software. You will be responsible for the analysis, design, implementation, optimization and enhancement of our nanosatellite communications payload, and, ultimately, the future constellation network. Some work products will include link budgets analyses, system dimensioning for coverage and capacity including traffic analysis and simulation, initial system design and dimensioning, coverage planning, frequency planning, interference analysis and mitigation techniques. This engineer will also be responsible for supporting the iterative design and test of our nanosatellite payload hardware/electronics and software. This will include working with software defined radios, single-board computers, FPGAs, SoCs, processors, LNAs, and filters – you will also be involved in our payload antenna selection and design. While playing with all this hardware on a bench, you’ll probably need to pick up a soldering gun, use a spectrum analyzer, assemble circuits on a breadboard, and/or configure an RF channel simulator.
If you enjoy the challenge of wearing many hats and have a track record of creative thinking to solve unconventional problems, then we look forward to meeting you!

Core Responsibilities

Because Lynk is a small company, the RF/Electrical Engineer will be responsible for straddling engineering work in the domains of RF, electrical, mechanical, and software engineering.

• Support design of spacecraft payload hardware, including single-board computers, SDRs, FPGAs, SoCs, processors, LNAs, filters, amplifiers, etc., and software design and development.

• 8+ years of RF/EE experience.

• Support selection and design of nanosatellite antenna technologies

• Develop link budget analyses, simulations, traffic/capacity analysis, RF system design and dimensioning, coverage and frequency planning, etc.

• Support spacecraft payload integration, testing, delivery to launch and spacecraft bus partners/vendors.

• Designing and planning payload testing configurations on the ground when testing payload communications performance both in-lab and in-orbit.

• Interface with Systems Engineering team to inform constellation/network architecture and design based on RF communications payload performance.

• Bench level mechatronics work including testing, integration, assembly, programming and prototyping of electronics hardware and software.

• Some software-based Systems Engineering analysis.

• Supporting developing and maintaining technical documentation for payload design and development.

• Must be able to work independently and in a team environment.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree or better in RF or Electrical Engineering.

• 7+ years of experience working on projects doing design, integration, or test of space hardware.

• Experience working on projects developing space payload hardware and software, preferably communications systems.

• Hands-on experience with software-defined radios, antennas, FPGAs, GPUs, CPUs, SoCs, single-board computers, microcontrollers is highly desired.

• Programming Proficiency in one or more programming languages is highly desired, such as, C++, C, Python, MATLAB, etc.

• Should have experience working with Linux based systems.

• Familiarity with VHDL or Verilog and Altera or Xilinx FPGAs is desired.

• Proficiency with electrical design software, such as Altium is a plus.

• Strong knowledge and understanding of RF air interfaces and their use of multiple access schemes such as TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, CDMA, etc. is highly desired.

• Hands-on experience with integrating hardware and software systems is desired.

• Must be good with computers. Fluent in Linux, Windows, and Mac OSX, very capable with Microsoft Office… Excel, Project, PowerPoint, Word.

• Hands-on experience with programming microcontrollers and SDRs is desired.

• Knowledge of some communications/networking protocols, for instance, IP, TCP/IP, SNMP, SDH/SONET, Ethernet, Carrier Grade Ethernet, DSL, SS7, ISDN, Q2931, B-ISDN, X.25, 802.11, 802.16, SIP, TDMA, FDMA, CDMA, LTE, EDGE, GPRS, HSPA, GSM, etc.

Job Location

Washington, DC area