Senior RF Engineer — Starshield Satellite Systems

InvestedintheMission; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is seeking a Sr. RF Engineer (STARSHIELD) to drive RF system design decisions and develop high-assurance hardware for satellite communications and remote sensing in low Earth orbit.

Collaborate with hardware, FPGA, DSP, and software engineers to validate RF systems, build EM models, and ensure flight reliability. A Top Secret/SCI clearance is highly valued for this role.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering
• 5+ years of RF engineering experience
• Experience with HFSS, CST, ADS, MATLAB, C/C++, or Python
• Experience with RF test equipment (VNA, spectrum analyzer)
• Experience creating link budgets for communications or remote sensing systems
• Master’s degree in electrical engineering with emphasis in microwave/RF engineering
• Experience modeling RF and channel impairments (multipath, phase noise, etc.)
• Experience with RF system design including radar, SIGINT, ELINT, or wireless comms
• Knowledge of antenna theory
• Experience with software-defined radios (GNU Radio)
• Ability to obtain- and maintain- a TS clearance

Responsibilities

• Drive program-level decisions on RF system designs
• Research novel solutions for large-scale satellite RF systems
• Collaborate with hardware, FPGA, DSP, and software engineers to design RF systems
• Development and full life cycle support of RF hardware including PCBA testing and on-orbit troubleshooting
• Create electromagnetic simulation models of antennas, filters, and PCB layouts
• Modify schematics and mechanical drawings for flight reliability and manufacturability

Skills

RF engineering

Link budgets

EM modeling

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer or electrical engineering

Master’s degree in RF engineering (preferred)

Tools

HFSS

CST

ADS

MATLAB

C/C++

Python

Job description

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is seeking a Sr. RF Engineer (STARSHIELD) to drive RF system design decisions and develop high-assurance hardware for satellite communications and remote sensing in low Earth orbit.

Collaborate with hardware, FPGA, DSP, and software engineers to validate RF systems, build EM models, and ensure flight reliability. A Top Secret/SCI clearance is highly valued for this role.