Senior RF Mission Architect — Space Payloads

Rocket Lab USA; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 144,000 - 206,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity as part of total compensation

Employee stock purchase program

EV charging subsidies

Onsite fitness centers

Job summary

Rocket Lab USA is seeking a Senior RF Mission Architect to own core payload evolution for next‑gen space missions. You’ll balance link budgets, antenna architectures, and SWaP constraints while crafting winning technical concepts for defense and commercial customers.

You will collaborate with payload hardware, software, and spacecraft teams to ensure designs are buildable and flight‑ready, shaping the hardware roadmap and supporting proposals with rigorous architecture narratives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical or aerospace engineering or related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in aerospace/defense RF systems.
• Proven track record architecting RF, SAR/radar, or digital payloads from concept to proposal.

Responsibilities

• Architect core RF payloads and mission trades for defense and commercial clients.
• Drive technical capture by framing RF trade-offs and writing architecture narratives for proposals.
• Shape hardware roadmap and influence internal R&D, payload prototyping, and investments.
• Bridge concept designs to flight implementations with cross‑team collaboration.

Skills

RF systems

Security clearance

Radar design

Payload architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering

Tools

STK

MATLAB

Python

HFSS

CST

Job description

Rocket Lab USA is seeking a Senior RF Mission Architect to own core payload evolution for next‑gen space missions. You’ll balance link budgets, antenna architectures, and SWaP constraints while crafting winning technical concepts for defense and commercial customers.

You will collaborate with payload hardware, software, and spacecraft teams to ensure designs are buildable and flight‑ready, shaping the hardware roadmap and supporting proposals with rigorous architecture narratives.