Senior RF Mission Architect — Space Systems

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

Benefits offered by this job

Company stock

Employee Stock Purchase Program (15% A

Top-tier medical plans (HMO/PPO)

Dental and vision coverage

Paid vacation and sick time

11 paid holidays

401(k) with company match

Subsidized EV charging

Onsite fitness centers

Discounted gym memberships

Snacks and beverages

Merchandise discount

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior RF Mission Architect to lead core payload architectures. You’ll balance link budgets, antenna designs, and SWaP constraints, then translate trades into winning technical concepts for defense and commercial customers.

You’ll collaborate with payload hardware, software, and spacecraft teams to ensure architectures are buildable and smoothly transition into flight development, while shaping the hardware roadmap and supporting customer engagements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related technical field.
• 5+ years experience in aerospace/defense RF systems.
• Track record architecting complex RF, SAR/radar, or digital payloads from concept to proposal.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Architect clean‑sheet payloads; run early mission trades and define topologies.
• Drive technical capture; frame RF tradeoffs for proposals and defend designs.
• Shape hardware roadmap; influence internal R&D and payload prototyping.
• Bridge concept to flight; ensure architectures are buildable for flight development.

Skills

5+ years experience

Active TS/SCI clearance

RF/microwave architecture

Defense and commercial RF systems

Proposal and trades experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related

Tools

STK

MATLAB

Python

HFSS

CST

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior RF Mission Architect to lead core payload architectures. You’ll balance link budgets, antenna designs, and SWaP constraints, then translate trades into winning technical concepts for defense and commercial customers.

You’ll collaborate with payload hardware, software, and spacecraft teams to ensure architectures are buildable and smoothly transition into flight development, while shaping the hardware roadmap and supporting customer engagements.