Senior RF Engineer – LEO SATCOM & Multi‑Orbit Systems

SES Space & Defense; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SES Space & Defense in Reston, VA, is seeking a Senior RF Communications Engineer to lead design, analysis, and optimization of RF performance across space architectures for mission-critical SATCOM operations.

You will integrate waveforms, modems, antennas, and RF subsystems, collaborate with space, ground, and network teams, and provide testing and readiness assessments to ensure reliability for government and commercial customers.

Qualifications

• BS degree or higher in Engineering; 4+ years related experience; MS/PhD may substitute for two years.
• Experience owning RF subsystem designs, link performance modeling, and related engineering documentation for SATCOM or aerospace systems.
• Experience supporting field operations, terminal integration, or on‑orbit performance assessment environments.
• Delivered RF or waveform based capabilities, such as new modem integrations, link optimization algorithms, or interference‑resilient communications solutions.
• Familiarity with protected communications, cybersecurity‑aware RF architectures, and DoD/national security customer contexts.

Responsibilities

• Own RF design elements within the overall space architecture, including link budgets, waveform performance, and terminal‑to‑network RF behavior.
• Lead RF integration and test activities across space, ground, and user terminals.
• Validate RF system performance against requirements such as Eb/N0 margins, throughput, interference resilience, and mission availability.
• Build and refine high performance RF links for low‑latency LEO SATCOM, ensuring robustness across dynamic orbital and tactical environments.
• Solve complex interoperability issues involving waveforms, modems, antennas, terminal radios, and networking interfaces.
• Ensure mission critical communications reliability for U.S. Government and commercial customers who rely on SES space architectures.
• Enable technical clarity and risk reduction through expert RF engineering support across multi‑orbit and multi‑vendor environments.
• Accelerate delivery of advanced, resilient RF capabilities that improve operational performance and mission outcomes.
• Involve advanced RF engineering in the context of cutting‑edge LEO and multi‑orbit SATCOM systems.
• Require working across antenna systems, waveforms, modems, link‑layer networking, and integrated ground infrastructure.

Skills

RF engineering

SATCOM systems

Link budgets

Waveforms

Modems

Antenna systems

Network interfaces

Cybersecurity aware

Troubleshooting

Education

BS in Engineering

MS or PhD substitute for experience

Tools

RF test equipment

Job description

SES Space & Defense in Reston, VA, is seeking a Senior RF Communications Engineer to lead design, analysis, and optimization of RF performance across space architectures for mission-critical SATCOM operations.

You will integrate waveforms, modems, antennas, and RF subsystems, collaborate with space, ground, and network teams, and provide testing and readiness assessments to ensure reliability for government and commercial customers.