Senior RF Mission Architect – Space Systems

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior RF Mission Architect to own early mission trades and define payload topologies for defense and commercial customers. You will balance link budgets, antenna architectures, and waveform processing while guiding the architecture from concept to proposal and through to flight.

Work with payload, software, and spacecraft teams in a fast-paced environment to shape a technology roadmap, perform System of Systems trade studies, and deliver

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in aerospace or defense RF systems.
• Demonstrated track record architecting complex multi-function RF, SAR/radar, or digital communication payloads from concept to proposal win.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance

Responsibilities

• Architect Clean-Sheet Payloads: Run early mission trades, define payload topologies, analog vs digital conversion boundary, waveform processing constraints, or integration of cryptographic requirement for optimal mission profiles.
• Drive Technical Capture: Work directly with customers and our leadership team to frame complex RF trade-offs, write the core technical architecture narratives for key proposals, and defend your design choices.
• Shape the Hardware Roadmap: Use insights from customer mission needs to directly influence our internal R&D, payload prototyping, and technology investments.
• Bridge Concept to Flight: Partner with payload hardware, software, and spacecraft teams to make sure the architectures you pitch are buildable and transition cleanly into flight development.

Skills

RF systems design

Aerospace/defense domain

Clearance TS/SCI

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other technical discipline

Advanced degree in RF/microwave, electromagnetics, radar, or related field

Tools

STK

MATLAB

Python

HFSS

CST

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior RF Mission Architect to own early mission trades and define payload topologies for defense and commercial customers. You will balance link budgets, antenna architectures, and waveform processing while guiding the architecture from concept to proposal and through to flight.

Work with payload, software, and spacecraft teams in a fast-paced environment to shape a technology roadmap, perform System of Systems trade studies, and deliver