Senior RF Front-End Architect - Autonomous Drone Systems

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Zipline is hiring a Senior RF Front‑End Design Engineer in California to lead RF front‑end architecture for autonomous aircraft and ground infrastructure. You will own system‑level RF design from concept through validation and production, supporting LTE, 5G, GNSS, Wi‑Fi, ADS‑B, UAT, ISM, and future V2V links.

You will work with antenna, electrical, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure robust wireless performance, regulatory readiness, and scalable production readiness across Zipline’s

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 7+ years designing RF front‑end hardware or wireless systems for production products.
• Strong understanding of RF system architecture, receiver sensitivity, noise figure, and front‑end optimization.
• Experience with LTE, 5G, Wi‑Fi, GNSS, Bluetooth, ISM, or similar systems.
• Hands‑on experience with RF measurement equipment and test methods.

Responsibilities

• Own RF front‑end architecture, design, integration, validation, and production for Zipline platforms.
• Develop multi‑radio architectures supporting LTE, 5G, GNSS, Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, ADS‑B, UAT, ISM radios, and V2V capabilities.
• Define air‑to‑ground and vehicle‑to‑vehicle wireless architectures for autonomous operations.
• Design RF signal chains: LNAs, PAs, filters, duplexers, switches, matching networks, antenna interfaces.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to meet regulatory and production requirements.
• Mentor engineers and establish RF architecture standards and roadmaps.

Skills

RF front-end design

multi-radio integration

RF coexistence

analytical thinking

team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering

Master’s/PhD (preferred)

Tools

Vector Network Analyzers

Spectrum Analyzers

ADS‑B/UAT knowledge

Job description

Zipline is hiring a Senior RF Front‑End Design Engineer in California to lead RF front‑end architecture for autonomous aircraft and ground infrastructure. You will own system‑level RF design from concept through validation and production, supporting LTE, 5G, GNSS, Wi‑Fi, ADS‑B, UAT, ISM, and future V2V links.

You will work with antenna, electrical, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure robust wireless performance, regulatory readiness, and scalable production readiness across Zipline’s